Review of Wait Water Saver For Whole House Humidifiers

Whole House Bypass/Flow-Through Humidifiers

Whole house bypass/flow through humidifiers are convenient, as opposed to Drum type humidifiers. That is because they do not require regular rinsing of minerals deposited from the water supply that accumulates in a tray for drum type humidifiers.

However, if you have one, you probably noticed that it uses a lot of water. Some models (e.g. AprilAire) advertise a rating for the amount of water use (e.g. 12 or 18 gallons per day). Others, such as Honeywell Home brand, do not list this data on their specifications.

Excess use of water is costly, wasteful, and not environmentally conscious.

Wait Water Saver

The Wait Water Saver, Model: WWS-01, is an add-on for bypass/flow-through whole house humidifiers. It reduces the rate of water flowing through the humidifier, without affecting the end humidity level inside the home.

In Canada, the Wait Water Saver is sold at Rona+ for $29.99, and at Home Depot for a significantly lower price of $15.24.

The package is simple: there is the water saver itself, which is made of brass, and comes with two 1/4 inch brass nuts attached. Inside those nuts, there are two nylon compression ferrule, so you don't need to buy them separately. In the included small plastic bag, there is a piece of sanding cloth for smoothing the pipes before attaching the saver; two copper ferrules, in case you have 1/4 inch copper pipes running to your humidifier, and one screw for attaching the saver to the return air intake's plenum.

Make sure that you get a package that is not opened, and has the small plastic bag intact. The reason I say this, is that at Home Depot, I found one package missing the small bag entirely, and there were two loose bags at the bottom of the box on the shelf! So some people got a package without some necessary parts.

There is also printed instructions that describe the process of installing the saver. It is simple and to the point.

Installing The Water Saver

You will need some tools to perform the task.

• Utility knife: to cut the plastic tubing
• 2 x Adjustable Wrenches, for tightening the nuts
• Electic Drill with a very thin bit: for drilling a hole for the screw
• Philips screw driver

Read the entire instructions before you start.

Make sure the input valve is closed before you do.

When cutting the plastic tubing, try as much as possible to make the cut at a right angle, so it is even on all sides, and the cut is not slanted.

Then using the provided sanding cloth, smooth the edges of the pipe to where the ferrule will go (see the image in the instructions). This guarantees that the ferrule will not be scratched, and will fit evenly all around the pipe, so it does not leak.

Follow the instructions and everything should work, even if you are marginally handy like myself.

Measuring Water Savings

Since I have a water softener in the house, I can measure the water flow, using the display of the softener. It shows in real time the water consumption, in gallons per minute, to the nearest decimal fraction.

Before installing the water saver, the humidifier would use 0.5 gallons per minute (~ 1.9 Litres/min). After the water saver is installed, the flow went down to 0.2 gal/min! The softener occasionally reports 0.3 gal/min. So the actual number is more likely a bit below ~ 0.25 gal/min (0.95 Litres/min).

In any case, this is a saving of 50% less water, which is quite considerable, and the humidity in the house is unaffected.

Wait To Cease Manufacture Of Humidifiers

Unfortunately, this add-on may not be available for long.

Wait is a brand name of Air King. Air King was recently acquired by Lasko.

It seems that Air King has ceased manufacturing and warranty for whole house humidifiers or humidifier accessories after 30 years of making them, per this notice, which says that warranty ends on June 30th, 2025.

Similar Situation For GeneralAire Water Savor

This is a similar situation to the GeneralAire Water Savor, which was an electronic solution to excessive water use with bypass/flow-through humidifiers. It worked by pulsing the solenoid rather than keeping it open constantly for extended periods of time. This product is discontinued. When I called GeneralAire, the person on the phone could provide me with an answer on why it was discontinued ("it was before I joined the company"), nor if there is a replacement product.

My guess is that they want to sell their own humidifiers, rather than a cheaper add-on.