Humidifiers

With central heating, people are confined indoors with un-naturally dry air for many months each year. Humidifiers help to keep comfortable levels of moisture in the air, which is essential for your respiratory health.

Whole-house humidifiers work like old-fashioned room humidifiers. They put moisture into the air, making harsh, dry air easier to breathe. Whole house humidifiers use water mists which keeps the entire house at the desired humidity level.

Depending on the model you choose and the size of your home, a humidifier uses from 1.5 to 12 gallons per day when the furnace is operating. This minimal amount of water is enough to raise the humidity to your desired level, but not enough for you to notice a significant difference on your water bill.

There is only one key factor to consider when selecting a humidifier, namely the capacity of the unit. A humidifier's capacity, the amount of moisture it can dispense, should match a household's need. The capacity is measured in gallons per day of operation. Your qualified heating and cooling contractor can make sure you choose the correctly sized unit.

When cool outdoor air enters a home it tends to dry out as it warms up, which increases the static electricity in the home and causes sinus problems. Adding a humidifier will help to add moisture back into the air and limit sinus problems. In the summer, even with outdoor relative humidity hovering around the single digits, the humidity in your home tends to be around 40%. The average comfort range for relative humidity in a home is from 35% to 45%.

Dry air in your home can make your throat feel dry and cause or aggravate respiratory ailments.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends that you maintain a household humidity level between 30 and 60 percent. During extremely cold weather, your home loses humidity to the outdoors and the level may drop to as low as 10 percent. A humidifier adds moisture to your indoor air and can help relieve ailments related to dry respiratory membranes.

One of the major causes of respiratory infections is inadequate humidity during cold weather. The start of the heating season each fall causes many people to begin having repeated attacks of winter colds. Winter weather is blamed for these problems, but the actual cause may be dryness, which develops in the membranes of the nose, throat and bronchial tubes. Relative humidity also has a significant effect on controlling the occurrence of airborne infections.

Lack of humidity in a home can be the cause of numerous respiratory ailments. Improper moisture levels can cause dryness in the membranes of the nose, throat and bronchial tubes. Respiratory infections, repeated attacks of winter colds and airborne infections can also stem from inadequate humidity. Healthier and more comfortable indoor air in the winter are the primary benefits of a whole home humidifier.

Dry air can cause more than health problems. Static electricity is a direct result of very dry air. Houseplants can also suffer from "winter drought" caused by low humidity levels. A humidifier can help keep the indoor air comfortably moist, despite conditions of low outdoor humidity.

Installing a humidifier is simple if you are replacing your furnace. But you can also have a humidifier fitted to your current system with minimal labor, since it is designed for installation in your ductwork.

Regular maintenance is necessary to keep your humidifier in top working condition. The maintenance required is typically limited to replacing your humidifier pad (sometimes called a water panel) once a year. This is a simple process, as simple as changing your furnace filter.