How do Humidifiers Benefit Your Home?

Whether it’s connected to your HVAC system, humidifying your whole home, or you have a smaller model that treats a single room, a humidifier is a must-have for your home. It is possible to use a humidifier to raise the humidity in your home too high, but the pros of using one far outweigh the cons. If you don’t have a humidifier for your home, here are just a few of the humidifier benefits to consider.

Health Benefits

The air in your home can get incredibly dry in the winter, and that can lead to all kinds of problems. Dry skin can be almost unbearably itchy, while dryness in your throat can actually be painful. People can also experience nosebleeds, chapped or cracked lips, and irritated eyes when the air in their home gets too dry. A humidifier can help prevent all of these problems when it is installed and used correctly.

A humidifier may also protect you from the flu if one study is to be believed. According to the study, humidity levels above 40 percent actually deactivate particles in viruses that cause influenza and make them far less likely to be infectious. You still need to protect yourself from the flu, but simply having a humidifier in your home might help with this.

If you do have the flu or any other condition respiratory-related, you will likely recover quicker if you have a dehumidifier. The increased humidity can get more moisture into your airways and help you loosen and expel phlegm when you cough.

Other Benefits for Your Home

There are plenty of humidifier benefits that affect your health, but there are also benefits to your home itself. If you have houseplants that require water, a humidifier can help keep them alive when the air would otherwise be too dry to support them. Increased humidity can also help wallpaper and paint from cracking and peeling, and it can keep pianos and other wooden musical instruments from going out of tune and cracking.

Using Your Humidifier

A humidifier can only benefit your home when properly operated. When you humidify your home, try not to raise your humidity any higher than 50 percent. Anything higher than this can damage parts of your home and contribute to mold growth.

It can also affect your health. While humidity levels above 40% help against flu and other viruses, higher amounts could have opposite effects. The key is to not overdo things when you have a humidifier running in your home. Monitor your humidity level and know when to make the proper adjustments.

Even though it is possible to over-humidify your home, there are simply too many humidifier benefits to ignore. If you have your own house, the best humidification solution is to have a humidifier installed in your HVAC system. If you live in an apartment, a smaller steam vaporizer/evaporator will do. The same is true if you only need to heat a small space. No matter your needs, Whipple Service Champions is happy to help you find a solution that works best for you.