There Are 7 Things You Need to Know About Humidifier

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There Are 7 Things You Need to Know About Humidifiers

There is a recommended humidity of above 30% that should be in the living environment. During dry seasons when it is hotter outside or during the winter, the humidity may drop lower than 20%, which may cause adverse health effects to you, your family, or even your pets. Apart from the adverse health effects, low humidity can affect wooden furniture causing shrinkage, your books and papers may also shrink. In addition, the dry conditions may cause static charges that may destroy semiconductor devices in your home.
Due to these effects of low humidity, you need a device that will assist in raising the humidity and maintain it at the right amount, and this is a humidifier.

What Does a Humidifier Do?
A humidifier helps in raising the humidity levels in your room, which in turn;

Protects your furniture; dry air causes shrinkage of furniture, which may result in cracks. Raising the humidity levels evades this vice maintain the structure and texture of your furniture.
Makes your home feel warmer. Moist hair feels warmer as compared to dry air. Since a humidifier adds humidity to your environment, it will feel warmer, and you will not incur home heating costs.
Serves to prevent snoring. When our sinuses and throats become dry, we tend to snore. A humidifier helps to add moisture into the air, thus moistens your throat, which prevents snoring, giving you a comfortable sleep.
Curbs Electric shocks. Dry air contributes to the accumulation of static charges that may cause electric shocks. Moisture in the air will help curb this.
Keeps your skin moist and softer. Dry air may cause your skin to be drier, dull, and flake, thus may accelerate aging.

Before making use of a humidifier, there are some factors that you need to have in mind that will make sure you receive the best service from your humidifier. Let us have a glance at the 7 things to have in mind before purchasing or using the already purchased humidifier;

When a member of your household has asthma, allergies, or other type of lung disease, talk to their doctor before using a humidifier.

We employ the use of humidifiers basically because of our health concerns. There are health conditions like asthmatic conditions, allergic reactions, or any other lung disorders that require a professional medical expert to advise on.
If your family member has asthmatic or allergic conditions, note the following before using a humidifier;

If you overuse the humidifier and the air around you become more humid, it may worsen the asthmatic conditions.
Avoid the use of tap water that may contain airborne minerals, which may irritate your lungs.
If you don’t clean your humidifiers regularly, the asthmatic conditions may worsen because of the accumulation of bacteria and fungi.
If you clean your humidifier with chemical and bleach products, it may irritate your respiratory system.

Because of the above effects, you need to be cautious enough before using a humidifier. The asthmatic and allergic conditions require special breathing care to avoid worsening the situations. If a family member or even you have asthmatic conditions, make sure you consult your doctor to advise on the best humidifier and the recommended humidity levels for such conditions.

Too Much Moisture is a Bad Thing

Although you need humidity in your home, over humidifying your home can cause adverse effects on your health and your home in general. The effects of too much moisture in your environment include;
Uncomfortable indoor conditions- when humidity is high, it feels hotter. The hotter conditions make your home feel sticky and stuffy. These conditions may not be favorable for you to dwell in, like watching a movie and even sleeping.
Raise in Allergic Symptoms- if the level of humidity rises above the recommended levels like more than 55%, your home may be at risk to be a breeding zone of allergens like dust mites, bacteria, fungi, or mold. If these allergens accumulate to high levels, then you are at risk to be affected by the asthmatic and allergic conditions.
Home damage- apart from the health effects, high humidity can adversely affect the state of your home. Too much moisture can peel paints on your home walls, warp wood floors, stain your walls, and may, as a result, cause bad odors. This may lead to costly repairs like repainting.
High Cooling Costs- it will be highly uncomfortable to live in a high humidity environment that may sometimes be hotter. It will require you that you make use of other home conditioners that may need a high budget and even consume a lot of power, thus high-power bills. This is not economical.
It is always advisable to maintain the humidity at recommended levels, between 30-55%. To assist you in monitoring the humidity levels, you need to have a hydrometer or get a humidifier with an in-built hydrometer called a humidistat. This will save you from the effects of dealing with the effects of over humidifying your home.

A Dirty Humidifier Can Spread Bacteria

Dirty humidifiers may promote bacterial growth that is dangerous to you or your family member with asthmatic or allergic conditions. Even without asthmatic and allergic conditions, dirty humidifiers can cause flu symptoms and even lung infections.
How to Clean your Humidifier
Here are simple steps to follow to have your humidifier cleaned;
Make sure your humidifier in unplugged from the power source sockets. Disassemble it completely and make sure the water tank is empty. Make sure you have removed all the removable parts. Make sure you gently remove the filter.
Using the white vinegar, pour it into the humidifier base, and make sure it gets in contact with all parts that water comes in contact with. You also need to soak all other smaller washable parts in a pool of white vinegar and allow them to settle for a while before using a soft brush to clean them.
Next, use tap water to rinse all the components after withdrawing them from the white vinegar solution.
Leave the parts to dry completely before replacing them back to your humidifier.
However, cleaning techniques may vary from one humidifier to the other. Make sure you consult the humidifier user guide for proper guidance.

Use Distilled Water to Prevent the Fine Dust Coming from the Humidifier

A few humidifiers can also act as water purifying machines while some do not. Sometimes, if you use tap water, your humidifier may emit a mist that contains dust particles due to the minerals that may be in tap water. This can be so disturbing to asthmatic individuals. To avoid this, make sure you always fill your humidifier with distilled water that is free from any minerals. Likewise, you may opt to make use of demineralization cartridges or filters to filter such dust.

Steam Humidifiers Can Burn

This is another thing that you must know about steam or warm mist humidifiers. If you have kids in your home or your own pets, they may at risk of getting burns from the warm steam emitted by your warm mist humidifiers.
Whereas the warm humidifiers come with a great advantage, avoid using them in your kids’ bedrooms or if you have pets around.
Some other things you need to know about humidifiers include;

Pros
Cons; of different humidifiers as discussed below

The Pros and Cons of Different Types of Humidifiers.
Humidifiers come in different types that fit you depending on your home needs. Here are some of the types;

Evaporative Humidifiers
Pros

Evaporative humidifiers are the best choice for you if you are asthmatic
They are easy to clean and cheap to maintain
They are safe for your kids and pets since they do not boil water to humidify your home

Cons

They make use of a fan thus tend to be noisier
They may pose a risk of bacterial contamination

Warm Mist Humidifiers
Pros

They reduce the risk of bacterial contamination since they boil water before releasing the mist
Allows you to add inhalants that serve to treat colds and flu
They operate quietly

Cons

They pose a risk of burns
They are a bit difficult to clean

Ultrasonic Humidifiers
Pros

They are multi-purpose; they can produce both cool and warm mist
Low operating noise
They are easy to maintain and clean
They are the best choice for you in case you are asthmatic

Cons

They easily accumulate mineral deposits
They are relatively expensive

Cool Mist Humidifiers
Pros

They only emit a cool vapor that is safer for your kids and pets
They filter out waterborne impurities hence safer
Relatively cheap

Cons

They produce a lot of noise while in operation.

Conclusion
A humidifier serves a basic purpose in our living environment. It is a proper and valuable tool in dealing with cold, cold during the drier weather conditions and also makes your home a comfortable place to live in. You need to have your humidifier well maintained to make sure you receive the best out of it.

There Are 7 Things You Need to Know About Humidifier

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