Sally, Good morning..... I'm not sure if that is a question.... Humidity probes "usually" need a cotton sock around them... specifically cotton... a 100% cotton shoelace will do.... Insert the probe into the hollow core of the shoelace..... the water needs to be distilled so there is no interference from dissolved minerals..... The water wicks up the "sock" and the wet sock will evaporate water at a rate dependent on the humidity and evaporation rate.... Then "evaporative cooling" will be reflected in the temperature measured on the thermometer that the sock is installed on..... It's the same principle as a "swamp cooler".... a certain amount of "sock" needs to be exposed above the water dish..... and the sock need to be completely covering the measuring point of the thermometer.... I would guess about 1" of sock needs to be exposed above the water source... too close and wicking water speed will not allow the evaporation to take place properly on the therm..... too much exposed and the water may evaporate before it can cool the thermometer measuring point......
All of this info is directed at therms and not humidistats or what ever those electronic gadgets are called..... any therm will do.... evaporative cooling affects all therms the same... it's like the wind chill factor....
Dave