You may not have realized this, but on average, we spend around 90% of our time indoors. This means your indoor air quality really matters, as it can really impact how you feel and how your health is.
Thankfully, there are measures you can take, such as buying an air purifier or humidifier.
Are you interested in what the benefits of humidification are? Then keep reading. We'll discuss everything you need to know about humidifiers.
What Does a Humidifier Do?
The purpose of cool humidifiers is to basically add more moisture to the air, just as the name suggests. If you live somewhere where it gets dry, particularly in the winter, then having a humidifier on hand can be beneficial.
This is because a humidifier works to replenish the missing humidity in the air that you need to feel comfortable. Ideally, you should keep your home's humidity level between 30% to 50% to maximize comfort and decrease the chances of the growth of mold and mildew inside and to avoid an abundance of dust mites.
If you have hard water, you should consider using distilled water in your water tank in order to reduce buildup in the machine.
How Does a Humidifier Work?
You now know what a humidifier does, but how does it work?
Well, that'd depend on what type you get. There are 4 available: cool-mist, warm-mist, evaporative, or ultrasonic. Find out more about each type below.
Cool-Mist (Impeller)
As the name suggests, this type of humidifier emits a cool mist. There's a reservoir where you fill it with water.
When turned on, the humidifier draws the water through a spinning disc. This then turns the water into a fine mist.
Many people like using this type of humidifier since it's very quiet.
Warm-Mist (Steam)
This a type of humidifier that provides warm mist instead of cold. So instead of a spinning disc, it has a heating element.
Once the water in the reservoir gets heated up past the boiling point, the humidifier is able to spray warm mist (steam) into the air to raise the humidity.
Evaporative
An evaporative humidifier is a compact machine that has a reservoir as well. You'd fill it up with some cold water so it can run properly.
The tank dispenses water into the basin of the machine. When you turn it on, the humidifier draws the water through a wicking filter from the basin. There's also a fan that turns on.
When the fan's operating, it evaporates the water that's on the wicking filter. The result is that you'll see an ultra-fine mist come through.
Ultrasonic
If you're looking for something ultra-quiet, then this is it; it's the quietest type of humidifier on the list.
Ultrasonic cool mist humidifiers have 2 ceramic plates inside. Like with the other humidifiers, it produces fine water droplets.
This is achieved through the 2 ceramic plates vibrating at a high frequency. As a result, the water gets converted into the ultra-fine droplets that you see.
Some are even compatible for use with aromatherapy, which means that you can put essential oils inside as you would with a diffuser to get added benefits.
How Many Humidifiers Do I Need?
Humidifiers are typically pretty compact. If you choose to go with those, then you'll need one for every room that your family members spend time in. For some models, you may be able to check how many square feet they are recommended for, especially if you're looking for one for a large room.
You might be able to get away with sharing some between rooms to regulate indoor humidity. For example, if you spend all night in the bedroom but then all day in the study, you can share 1 humidifier between the two rooms.
You can also get a whole-home humidifier. But contrary to its name, it can't actually humidify an entire house; it only has capabilities of humidifying a small apartment to combat dryness.
If you want to increase the relative humidity in your house with one unit, you'll have to consider a duct or furnace humidifier. You can get this installed in your existing HVAC system so that you can humidify all areas of your home simultaneously.
The Main Humidifier Benefits
Now that you know what a humidifier does, how they work, and the types of humidifiers available, you're probably wondering about the benefits of a humidifier.
You Won't Get Sick as Often
Have you found that you get sick more often when it's winter? Have you noticed that everyone else does too?
You might think that it's because of the cold temperatures, but that's an old wives' tale. While the cold temperature may possibly play a part in you getting sick by maybe lowering your immune system, this isn't why you get sick more often in the winter.
For one, it's because people tend to stay inside more during the winter. When everyone's squeezed in together in tight spaces rather than spread out outside, this provides a more efficient way of transmission for germs.
Also, you may hate having mucus in your nose, but it's actually very beneficial; it fights hard against bacteria. During the other seasons, you'll have a healthy amount of mucus, so you can fight against sickness better.
But in the winter, we all turn on our heaters and this causes the air to dry out. Not only that, but it causes the mucus in our nose to dry up as well. As a result, bacteria have a much easier time invading our bodies. Interestingly, air conditioning can have a similar effect.
In this case, you can benefit greatly from humidifiers. Since they put moisture back into the air, it means your body can produce enough mucus to stop bacteria in their tracks.
Soothe Your Allergy Symptoms
If you suffer from allergies, then you might need to take extra steps to ensure your home is as allergen-free as possible. For example, you might use hypoallergenic pillow protectors; you do spend about a third of your life in bed, after all, so what you're sleeping on makes a huge difference.
But what about during the day? You can vacuum and clean often, but you still might find yourself sneezing, sniffling, and coughing.
The good news is, humidifiers can help alleviate allergy symptoms. Remember how mucus can help fight bacteria? It can also fight allergens too.
So if you have family members in the household who suffer from allergies or are susceptible to getting ill, humidifiers can help keep everyone happy and healthy.
You'll Get Better Comfort
When it comes fall and wintertime, you might be sitting in your chair. You reach over to get something, and you're hit with a nasty static shock.
Next, you're walking down the hall. Again, you reach out to touch something, and you're met with another static shock.
This is all happening because it's much too dry inside your house. This can easily be remedied by getting a humidifier. When you bump the humidity back up, then you and your family members won't suffer from these shocks anymore.
Also, you might've noticed that you get more nosebleeds during the winter and your sinuses might feel dry. Again, this is because the air's dried up all the mucus in your nose. When this happens, the membranes can become cracked, which is what causes the bleeding.
So by putting moisture back in the air with a humidifier, you can stop those pesky nosebleeds from happening.
Your Skin Will Feel Much Better
In the winter, along with the statics shocks, you'll probably also get cracking and dry skin. This can lead to lots of moisturizing efforts, such as the purchase of additional lotions and creams. And these may not always work either.
What will work is a humidifier, since it'll boost your home's humidity levels. Once you get a few for your house, you'll notice your skin become healthier. You won't have as big a need for lotions, creams, or chapstick, as your body will naturally be more hydrated from the higher inside humidity.
Not only will this make you feel more comfortable inside your own house, but you can also forget about adopting inconvenient routines just to moisturize your skin. You also won't feel as irritated and uncomfortable as you would with dry and cracked skin all over your body.
Protect Your Electronics
Humans aren't the only ones that suffer from the static shocks that come with dry air. Static electricity can actually be very harmful to your electronics. In fact, it can be so serious that not only can it permanently damage your devices, but it can also set them on fire.
Do yourself (and your electronics) and protect everything in the household with a humidifier or several. This small investment will be completely worth it to not only make sure your electronics stay operable but also don't ignite.
Save on Your Utility Bills
How warm you feel depends on not just the outside temperature, but also the humidity.
For instance, have you ever been to Las Vegas in temperatures over 100 degrees? Now compare that to temperatures of 80 degrees in a Southeast Asian country.
The latter will usually feel hotter because of how heavy the air feels. In addition, it's harder for your sweat to evaporate, which is what keeps you feeling cool. These two factors make the latter situation feel a lot hotter than the other.
If you can add moisture to your house instead of dry heat, then it can really improve the inside conditions. You won't have to run your heater as much, which can drive down your utility bills.
In fact, some humidifiers even have automatic shut off features, so you'll be saving even more energy.
Have a Better Environment for Your Plants
Do you have some indoor plants that don't seem to thrive, no matter what you do? Perhaps you just don't have a green thumb.
Or maybe it's because the humidity levels aren't to their liking.
For most indoor plants, they do best in tropical environments. And in tropic environments, they have high humidity levels. If your house's humidity level drops past that optimal range, then your indoor plants will struggle.
In general, indoor plants will need a humidity level of 23% or higher. If you find it to be extremely dry inside, then a humidifier will easily bring that level back up.
By getting a humidifier, you won't have to constantly hover over your plants, ensuring the humidity is just right for them by using a mister. Your humidifier will take care of that for you.
Protect Your Wallpaper and Paint
When the humidity drops in your home, it's not just your body that suffers.
You might have noticed that your wallpaper and paint have been peeling over time. While the UV rays from sunlight can definitely accelerate the peeling, so can the humidity.
Many people aren't aware of this, so they're just reactive instead of proactive. But you can do better than that.
Instead of replacing your wallpaper and paint when they get worn out, get a humidifier instead. By rehydrating the air in your home, this can prolong the life of both your wallpaper and paint. This means it'll extend their lifespan so you don't have to replace them as often.
Fight Again COVID-19
As you probably already know, one of the biggest threats we face today is COVID-19. The novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic in mid-March, and now we're doing everything we can to combat the virus and flatten the curve.
An effective way is to self-isolate and only go out when necessary. But did you know you can fight the coronavirus with humidity too?
Many doctors and virologists, as well as the CDC, are recommending that people get humidifiers to battle airborne viruses. Again, this is because it can help your immune system stay strong and combat anything that comes it's way, whether it's the common cold or the novel coronavirus. This can help you on your way to a more germ-free existence, although it is important to note that this does not replace proper health care.
Get Yourself a Humidifier Now
Now that you know how one works and what the main humidifier benefits are, it might be high time that you got some for your household. Considering they can fight against allergies and sickness, as well as keep your electronics safe, a home humidifier is definitely worth having.
The greatest thing about humidifiers is that they don't cost very much to get in terms of pricing. It'll only cost a couple of hundred dollars to outfit the key rooms in your house with one.
So what are you waiting for? The next step you should take is to research some good humidifiers that'll serve your household well.
Are you ready to pick up a good humidifier for your home? Then purchase one from us now.
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