Hi GG, I'm planning to buy the hoyas when I get there. First because I must see how is the hotel first. I won't be able to buy many cuts because I don't even know if I'll be able to bring them to Brazil, wonder if the XR will detect them! I'll probably ship some cuts by mail too, it all depends what I'm going to find there. I'll be in America for 34 days, so I think I'll have enough time to buy and receive them, hope so! I'll order some from Joni, some from Carol Noel and perhaps from Ted Green. I said that I was planning to see his nursery in Hawaii and he never returned my email, probably he thought she is a crazy person or something like, because he asked me are you planning to go to LA, flight to Hawaii buy some hoyas and take them to Brazil? And when I said yes, this is my plan, he did not return my email. LOL. Let me ask something... Gardinho only sell plants not cuts right? Mitzi

I have heard the same thing and I asked my HVAC contractor about it. He told me that the bypass type will work OK if I used hot water for the humidifier water supply which is what I wound up doing. I have Geothermal heat in my house and live in the mid atlantic region. Even with the hot water supply, when it is extremely cold out (which happened often this year) the 2 humidifier units had a tough time keeping the house above 40%. I think the recommended humdity range is 35% to 45%, and when the cold was extreme (teens and below) the house hovered around 35% to 37% which is OK. During nominal winter days (night temps in the 20's and day temps in the 30s) the units worked fine and kept the house in the 40 to 43% range. I used 2 Honeywell 225B bypass units with the autmatic controller and external temp sensors. I suffer from sinus issues and the DW from dry skin and the humidifers really help those issues. I know that some recommend not needing them with heat pumps but I found that we must have them. I recommend getting the external temperture sensor with your bypass unit if you can install it (need to poke a hole to the outside). It makes life simpler with automatic adjustments to both inside humidity and outside air temp.

I have a combi steam. About 10 months in we had a problem where the water plumbed to it would not shut off when we used the oven. It just poured in to it! We had to shut off the water and then shut off the power to the oven. This reset it and it was fine for a few months until it happened again. Luckily we were able to turn the water off each time or there would have been significant water damage. After the second time Gaggenau replaced the entire oven. So from this respect their customer service was great. There was no argument or back and forth with them at all. Another less dire problem we had was the rubber seal around the door was loose and it is supposed to be attached (glued?), anyway, they were set to replace this but it was resolved with the new unit.

If you haven't done so already, I suggest you purchase a hygrometer. Buy a good one that can be calibrated. There are YouTube videos on how to do the calibration. Does your apartment have steam radiators? Steam radiators will release a good amount of moisture into the air. Perhaps your apartment isn't as dry as you think it is. What humidity level are you trying to achieve? Randy makes a good point about using a humidifier designed to be installed inside the piano. Your goal is to keep the inside wooden components of the piano from drying out. a humidifier running inside with the lid closed should not have to filled too often especially if your apartment is not too dry.