I use a steaming type humidifier for my sinuses, once the furnace starts coming on in the night. Had one I liked, but it gave up, managed to find an exact model again. But it seems much louder some how.
The thing is, I’m one of those people irritated by continuous low noises. Like a running fish tank pump, etc. Pretty sure that would drive me mad. Air conditioning too gets on my nerves for the same reason so I rarely use it.
What I did learn to do was turn on the window AC when I left the room, letting it run while I was elsewhere in the house. Then, when returning to the living/dining area I’d switch it off and spend time in nice cooled air without all that noise.
So my question here is can I work the humidifier in a similar way? The bedroom is probably 12’x16’ or a bit more. Can I get the advantage of humidified air, overnight, by running it for a few hours before I retire? I would expect some loss of effectiveness, but I’m not really certain.
Also, I do manage to fall asleep initially with it running without much difficulty. But I’m up a few times in the night, and it gets harder closer to dawn. What about just switching it off predawn, to get more sleep maybe? Another variable is I use it set on low but it does have a high setting, but it’s noisier still.
What do you think is the best work around here? Or are they all fails?
We’d probably need to know more about your furnace type to make an answer - apparently different types of forced air heating may/may not dry out your air at all. Typically, if it’s drawing from the air inside the house (instead of a dedicated air draw from outside), it’ll ‘pull’ in outside air to replace, which if it’s dry outside, will reduce any humidity inside.
Either way, running the humidifier on high for a few hours before you go to bed will raise the ambient humidity in the room, and the drop will be dependent on how sealed the room is. It’s definitely not going to do any major harm. A couple of options I’d mention based on your stated preferences.
Consider a timed outlet device for the humidifier. Whether an old fashioned timer plug, or a modern smart plug controlled by google/alexa, you can set it to run into the early morning, but shut off during the hard to fall back asleep hours you mentioned.
Go ooooold school, and low tech, just a damp towel left to dry on a hook is going to increase the ambient humidity in the room during the night. Soak it, wring it, and hang it over/near the vents. It’s silly, but it works, and I’ve used it in hotel rooms and other areas where I don’t have the same options I do at home.
You can also use various non-powered humidifiers that work on the same principles as # 2 if having hanging towels, etc, are visually distasteful. Amazon and other retailers have options for porous ceramic and other options where water evaporates slowly over time which increases the humidity in enclosed areas slightly as a result.