Jamey Wagner If you have a dehumidifier or bathroom fan then you will be used to removing the moisture from the air in your home. However while too much humidity and moisture in the air is undoubtedly a bad thing, you can also have too little in your home, and it’s just as important to make sure that your humidity doesn’t go below a certain threshold as it is to keep it above one. And this is particularly true of course if you live in a very dry climate or area.
Here then we will look at some of the benefits of humidification and why it’s so import to keep some moisture in your atmosphere.
Health
There are various negative health effects associated with existing in very dry air. These include for instance dry throat, irritated nose (possibly leading to sinusitis), dry skin and potentially eczema and breathing problems which can be worse for asthma sufferers and those with allergies. You can also become generally dehydrated and you might notice that this causes you to feel thirsty and for your eyes to dry out. Dehydration can further lead to sleeping difficulties at night and to headaches.
Property
Extreme dryness can be bad for your property much as too much moisture in the air can be. While you won’t need to worry about mold, it is possible for this to cause your wallpaper to flake away from the walls, for excess dust and dirt to settle around your home, and for things like furniture to be more likely to start to come apart.
Increasing Moisture
If you have these problem due to dryness in your property, then it is a good idea to do something to improve your situation. One way to achieve this is with humidifiers. Choosing a humidifier however though may prove challenging as there are various different kinds of humidifiers to pick from that work in different ways.
The idea of any humidifier is to add moisture to the air and then to circulate it back into the room, and this way they work as the opposite to a dehumidifier. The different types include:
Steam
A steam humidifier works simply by boiling water and then releasing the moisture into the room. These are the least expensive kinds of humidifiers, but there are also downsides: for instance they are more expensive to run than other kinds and at the same time have an oasis type effect – creating more warm moisture near to the device and higher in the room rather than having it equally spread throughout.
Ultrasonic Humidifiers
These use a vibrating disk that operates at ultrasonic frequency, thereby creating droplets of water from a reservoir that you fill manually which can be released into the air. This creates a kind of ‘fog’ effect that is very cooling meaning also that it stays at a lower level in the room, and the cost of running is lower than steam humidifiers. However there are some possible disadvantages – for instance there is a concern that they might encourage the breading of bacteria from stagnant water for instance and the possibility of mineral dust.
Impeller Humidifiers
These also create a cool mist like ultrasonic humidifiers, but do so by using a rotating disc that throws water into a diffuser – breaking the water into tiny droplets that then float into the air. These have similar concerns to ultrasonic humidifiers.
Wick/Evaporative Humidifiers
These use a kind of wick made from cloth, paper or foam, and draw water from a reservoir of water then blown by a fan into the air. This has the same possible threat again as ultrasonic and impeller humidifiers of the water becoming stagnant. They can also be quite loud to operate.
Other Ways to Combat Dryness
There are other ways to combat excessively dry air. For instance you can prevent skin problems by using a moisturizing cream, while you should also drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. For nasal problems you can use nasal irrigation. You should also use a mild soap when washing as this too can dry out your skin. Use chapstick to avoid chapped lips and avoid washing or licking dry areas as this can only serve to dry them out further.