Whenever humidity falls below 30 percent, both you and your home suffer. The dry air causes a host of problems that are easy to solve with a humidifier, from chapped skin to cracks in the wood inside your home.
Comfort Issues
Dry indoor air speeds the evaporation of moisture from your skin, which has a cooling effect. Turning up the thermostat to combat dry air increases heating costs, and may not increase comfort as much as raising the humidity can. As air warms, it dries even more, increasing the discomfort. Besides feeling cooler, air that’s too dry will:
Spread viruses and bacteria faster. Winter is the cold and flu season because overly dry air speeds the transmission of the bacteria and viruses. When these microorganisms enter your body, parched throats and nasal tissues are particularly vulnerable to infection.
Dry skin quickly. Besides being uncomfortable, chapped skin can result in skin cracks that may become infected.
Heighten respiratory distress. Dry air increases symptoms associated with allergies, asthma, and sinus issues.
Home Health Issues
Besides the health concerns, a humidifier solves problems associated with your home, like:
Wood shrinkage. As the humidity falls, the air pulls moisture out of anything made from wood inside your home. Cabinets, flooring, furniture and even the wood from which your house is made will shrink, which may or not recover once humidity rises.
Electrical damage. Static electricity increases as the air dries, and appliances and devices are vulnerable to static electricity, especially the low voltage components inside them.
Increasing the Humidity
Whole-house humidifiers offer the most energy efficient and easiest way to combat dry indoor air. They tap into the plumbing system and deliver water automatically. Unlike portable devices that need manual filling and weekly cleaning, central units require little maintenance.Working in tandem with furnaces, they use little energy and control the level of humidity with a humidistat, which operates just like a thermostat.A humidifier is an indispensable way to manage humidity indoors during the winter. For more information, contact Air Assurance, providing trusted HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about humidifiers and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “freedigitalphotos”