As parents, we want our children healthy and happy, and we take a lot of precautions, especially in the winter, to assure their safety. Part of that is making sure they are warm and that their immune systems are sturdy to avoid colds and other nasty ailments. But when you turn on the heat, you could actually be compromising their health. You can avoid this danger with a whole house humidifier.
What Does a Humidifier Do?
While your central heat makes you comfortable in terms of temperature, it also dries out the air in your home significantly, which can lead to all manner of issues. Dry, itchy skin can plague you and your children, as well as things like congestion and nosebleeds. You’ll also find that you are all more susceptible to allergens, dust, and particles in the air that irritate your respiratory system.
A humidifier rectifies this by evaporating water and releasing it into the air in your home, restoring the natural humidity you need for your family to be truly comfortable. While you have options for one room humidifiers, it can be more beneficial to install a whole house humidifier.
Types of Whole House Humidifiers
You basically have two types of whole house humidifiers, with one being more cost effective and the other being more of a long-term, useful investment. We’ll cover the basics here, but you can read more about whole home machines when you get a chance.
Console Humidifiers – These humidifiers work much like a single room humidifier. However, they are much larger and don’t have to be refilled nearly as frequently. They do require a great deal of maintenance, though, similar to the smaller counterparts. You’ll have to clean and change a filter on a regular basis, which is used to take the allergens and particles out of the air, and you’ll need to clean the water tank on a regular basis. Using a console whole house humidifier means you can move it easily, and you won’t need a professional to come and install it. That can save you a pretty penny and be a complete solution, as long as you don’t mind the work that goes along with it.
Addition to your Heating System – These are more complex and essentially the ‘true’ whole house humidifiers. These units connect to parts of your home – namely, the furnace, the duct work, and your water line – to provide a solution to your need for moisture in the air. This type of installation requires a professional, but it works more effectively at quickly raising and maintaining the humidity level in your home in a thorough and even fashion. With this type of humidifier, you won’t have all the maintenance, and you will never have to worry about refilling a tank since the water comes directly from the house water line. The only worry you have is checking occasionally for drips or leaks.
Other Benefits of a Whole House Humidifier
Aside from your family’s health, which is essentially their happiness, there are other benefits that come along with the installation of a whole house humidifier. To recap what it can do for your family:
- Appropriately humid air (40 to 50 percent humidity) eases dry, irritated skin, meaning you spend less on lotion and other remedies, which only work temporarily anyway.
- Breathing in air that’s too dry can cause damage to your sinuses, which leads to congestion and nosebleeds. A whole house humidifier relieves these symptoms by allowing moisture to enter your respiratory system and keep you from drying out.
- Allergies are reduced because the filters in the humidifiers pull irritants out of the air, reducing their effect on you and your family.
Conclusion
Aside from these benefits, you’ll find that your wooden furniture (keep in mind that even most plush furniture has a base of wood) is healthier and less likely to crack due to drying out. Therefore, your couches, chairs, tables, and other wooden items will last longer, their integrity intact. Another benefit is that plants in your home will remain healthier. Sure, you water them on a regular basis, but in nature, rain perks them up because they like moisture on their greenery, not just their roots. Having appropriately moisturized air will keep them perked up and flourishing, which is also good for you because they’ll produce more clean oxygen.
Investing in a whole house humidifier might be a big decision. It’s a great way to assure that, while you’re in the business of keeping your family comfortable, you consider everything that could lead to discomfort or poor health and remedy the situation with a preventative effort. If you’re skeptical, start with a console whole house humidifier and see the difference, and then determine later if you need to invest in the larger, whole house system installation.
