I'm doing direct using a humidifier float valve from HD and been trouble free for coming up 3 years. Yes, there's a risk but I balance against all the people that have had their basements flooded because their furnace humidifier failed, (personally I never have). Never cleaned the valve either as figure it's always being flushed by ro/di water.
Will also hear of TDS creep but can't say I've noticed solely due to my setup. My TDS will eventually rise after 6 months or more but figure just time to change the DI anyways.
The only negative I have is the line from my ro/di Tees to the sump and also to a storage container. When filling up my container for making water, get a slight drop in the sump due evap (since the ATO is effectivly bypassed). Might drop a gallon in my 75g sump.
