Home humidifiers are extremely convenient and useful during the wintertime especially here in Ohio, where the air can get really dry. However, the smaller, standard-size humidifiers you would normally find in retail stores are not ideal for a home, unless you are only using them for smaller areas such as single rooms. To maintain healthy humidity levels throughout a whole home, a whole-home humidifier is far more beneficial as it would greatly improve your Indoor Air Quality throughout the winter. Experts say the proper range for indoor humidity is between 30 and 50 percent. During the winter, however, it is known to drop below 30 percent.
To explain some of the many benefits of this sort of air quality system, we at Springfield Heating & Cooling put together the following list of 6 Major Benefits of Whole-Home Humidifiers:
Protection From Flu Season
Respiratory systems are lined with membrane tissues that must maintain moisture to function properly. However, dry air caused by the cold weather can remove this moisture and cause health problems. In addition to removing moisture from this tissue, it can cause irritation, sore and scratchy throats, painful sinus problems and other problems related to the respiratory tract. Sometimes, cold and flu season arrives and adds to these problems, making a normal cold far more painful and troublesome. If that’s not bad enough, there are many common viruses that are known to spread faster in warm and dry conditions. To make matters worse, people with inflamed respiratory systems (like those common in dry homes) are more susceptible to catching these. The result is a deadly combination, a sort of double-edge sword. Knowing this, having a whole-home humidifier is a great way to protect yourself from cold and flu season.
Safeguarding Furniture & Wood
Our wood furniture, molding, trim and other woodwork does not do well when the air is dry during the winter; it actually looks a lot better and lasts a lot longer when the proper humidity levels are maintained in our homes. If the air is too dry, it pulls out moisture from our bodies and the expensive wood in our dwellings. This damages trim, tables, wooden furniture, hardwood flooring and cabinetry, making them crack, split and warp. Window frames and doors can shrink or distort making it harder for you to open and close them. Because this moisture is needed, installing a whole-home humidifier is good for not only you, but also for many of your belongings and the actual house itself.
Better Sleeping Conditions
Because our air dries up in the cold months of winter, it can create a breathing environment that is unhealthy, and one that often causes illness and discomfort. Sometimes, snoring becomes an issue in these conditions, either developing or becoming louder, along with other sleeping problems. Anyone who’s lived with a person who snores knows how snoring disrupts sleep cycles. It can create sleeping problems for the person snoring and interrupt the sleeping of others in the home. To make matters worse, coughing and breathing problems caused by dry air can interrupt restful sleep as well. Dry throats also aggravate this problem. Fortunately, whole-home humidifiers help with these problems and overall improve sleep quality.
Fight Allergy Symptoms
Allergy symptoms are usually a result of a person’s immune system overreacting to stuff in the air and dry air. Because their immune system is fighting against airborne pollutants and struggling against dry air, their mucous membranes swell and produce too much mucus. Normal symptoms include sneezing, runny noses, watery eyes and dry skin. When skin dries, hives and other irritations cause or result from excess itching. If you or your loved ones are experiencing allergy problems and your indoor humidity levels are low, getting a whole-home humidifier is something you should definitely consider, if you haven’t done so already.
Your Skin’s Health
When someone has dealt with eczema or dermatitis, dry and itchy skin can be painful. Skin problems are at their worst when the air is cold and dry. Low levels of humidity can even create skin problems. For people dealing with dry skin, whole-home humidifiers are great for keeping indoor moisture levels within the normal healthy range. Humidifiers keep moisture in the air which allows skin to keep its natural moisture, which is what gives it elasticity. If skin doesn’t have the moisture it needs, it develops wrinkles much sooner than normal. To make matters worse, oil-producing glands in the body become hyperactive when there’s not enough humidity. This often leads to a condition that triggers acne problems. Because the outdoor air is dryer during the wintertime, sustaining optimal indoor humidity levels helps keep skin healthy.
Convenience
Although the humidifiers you find at local retail stores can be useful for small spaces, whole-home humidifiers are needed to improve the overall air quality of an entire dwelling in a convenient lasting way. Whole-home humidifiers are by far more superior options for a variety of reasons, least of all being their convenience. If someone tried to use a smaller unit for their entire home, they would need numerous devices placed safely all throughout the house. They would have to bring them all water constantly and this would become time-consuming, tedious, wasteful and potentially hazardous. Because using a bunch of smaller humidifiers would not be practical, if you’re looking to maintain humidity levels in your home, a whole-home humidifier is hands down the best option. Having this single device installed in your air duct system is hassle free. You won’t ever need to refill it because they are directly linked to your water line. And the humidity would be added to your air supply as it’s distributed into your home from your HVAC system, so you would never need to see it, adjust it or plug it in. Once we put this device in your system, it is fully integrated and ready to go!
Give Us A Call Today!
Sustaining proper levels of humidity in a dwelling keeps everyone happier, healthier and far more comfortable. Because we care about the quality of the air in your home, we want you and your loved ones to live comfortably and enjoy the holiday season! If you’re interested in having a whole-home humidifier installed, please call Springfield Heating & Cooling today at 937-350-1881, or schedule an appointment now by clicking here!
