What Does A Humidifier Do for Your Health?
There are many humidifier benefits but often there is confusion between a humidifier vs. dehumidifier and the health benefits of each. When it comes to what does a humidifier do to help your health, it ultimately helps ease any problems caused by dry environments. If you live in a dry climate and are prone to getting bloody noses and cracked lips, adding a humidifier to your help can help ease symptoms such as these.
It’s important to point out that when it comes to a humidifier, if It’s not properly maintained, it can cause dirty air breeding things that you don’t want.
Under-maintained humidifiers can make you sick and put out mold or bacteria into your air. Although there are many humidifier benefits to help ease symptoms of dry air, speaking to a health care professional before purchasing one is a good idea to make sure it’s right for you.
Humidifier Benefits
A humidifier is a device that gives off a water vapor that allows for an increase in moisture in the air. There are various types of humidifiers that can help you reach the ideal humidity levels in your home which is between 30 and 50 percent.
- Central Humidifiers – can be built directly into HVAC’s and are there to give proper humidity to the entire house
- Ultrasonic Humidifiers – give off a mist that has cool water with ultrasonic vibration
- Impeller Humidifiers – give off a mist that has cool water with a rotating disk
- Evaporators – blows air through a filter using a fan
- Steam Vaporizers – gives off steam that cools off before leaving the machine but is not recommended for children because of the hot water content inside the vaporizer.
Some common humidifier benefits can include reducing allergy and asthma symptoms, reduce snoring and keep hair and skin moist. Not to mention it can help with general cold weather bothers such as chapped lips and the need for lotion.
Humidifier Vs. Dehumidifier
While both the humidifier and dehumidifier can help improve the quality of air in a home, there are many differences in what they should and can be used for. When it comes to the main difference between a humidifier vs. dehumidifier; one removes moisture and the other puts it back in the air.
- A dehumidifier is helpful when moisture in the air in a home is above 50%. It works by taking in the air into the machine, running it through an evaporator coil and filter and then through a condenser before putting the dry air back into the environment. The moisture that is removed is collected in the machine.
- A humidifier helps by adding moisture into the air when the percentage of moisture is too low. They are commonly used in children’s at night.
Cold Symptoms: A humidifier can be useful to place more moisture in the airways during a chest cold but on the other hand a dehumidifier can remove moister that triggers asthma.
Mold: a dehumidifier can reduce moisture levels in a room to reach a level in which mold cannot survive. If you live in a humid place, keeping a dehumidifier in rooms that are prone to moisture can help reduce the effects of that moisture.
When it comes to what you should purchase there are many factors to consider. Think about the environment in which you live, is there too much or too little moisture? Think about what your symptoms are and how either a humidifier or a dehumidifier could help your symptoms. Once you have figured out which you may need, speak to your doctor about your decision to make sure that there won’t be any adverse health effects once using one.
