Canton, MI - September 26, 2005 - RepairClinic.com®, the online source of home appliance parts and repair advice, is helping homeowners prepare for Fall's cooler weather with a focus on humidifiers. Many consumers overlook their humidifiers because these units are generally located beside the furnace - often in a basement, a garage or a rarely-opened closet.

Yet, in many states, a humidifier is an essential appliance that ensures a home stays comfortable throughout the season. It helps prevent illness and dry skin, reduces static electricity, lowers utility bill costs (humid air doesn't need to be heated as much) and prevents cracks and drying in your woodwork, furniture, carpets and rugs.

"A little annual maintenance is essential to keep a furnace-mounted humidifier running smoothly," says Chris Hall, president of RepairClinic.com. "Scale and unhealthy bacteria can build up inside these units. These can potentially cause a health risk, significantly reduce the unit's humidifying capacity, or predispose the unit to a water leak. But the good news is that humidifier maintenance is a task that even non-technical people can easily handle."

Hall provides detailed instructions on how to maintain a humidifier in RepairClinic.com's newsletter, which is sent to hundreds of thousands of do-it-yourself fiends each month. As always, the tips provided by RepairClinic.com make it possible for any homeowner to tackle tricky technical tasks with confidence. The essential steps are to:

1. Don't run a room air conditioner when the temperature inside or outside is below 60 degrees. Since air conditioners cool air by as much as 30 degrees, the unit's evaporator coils might freeze up if it's cooling air to temperatures below freezing.

2. Clean the unit (taking extra care to thoroughly clean the top trough and booth pan) and replace the filter pad. Make sure to unplug the unit first!

3. Check for, and troubleshoot, water flow problems. A lack of water to the top distribution trough will reduce the efficiency of a humidifier.

Hall recommends the use of a hygrometer, available at RepairClinic.com, along with all the parts needed to maintain and repair household humidifiers made by all major brands including Aprilaire, Auto-Flo, Autoflow, Bemis, Duracraft, Edison, GE, General, General Electric, Holmes, Hotpoint, Humid-Aire, JC Penney, Kenmore, Lobb, Sears, Skuttle, Wards, West Bend, Westinghouse, and White-Westinghouse.