We close our apartment’s windows and doors tightly, trying to get rid of heat or cold, dust, car exhausts, or street noise. But the provision of comfortable conditions in the room requires maintenance of a certain level of several indicators, which can be controlled and controlled only by using special systems of climatic equipment. In our article, we will talk about one of these devices – an air humidifier.
Why Do You Need a Humidifier?
In modern apartments, especially with the onset of cold weather, the indoor air is deprived of the necessary moisture.
- The dry air affects the skin, mucous membranes of the eyes, and respiratory tract.
- Low humidity causes rapid aging of the skin and may provoke a decrease in immunity, which increases the probability of viral diseases – primarily respiratory ones.
- Irritation of the nasal cavity, acute respiratory diseases, asthma, and allergies are all possible consequences of a prolonged stay in a room with low moisture content.
- Young children are the most susceptible to moisture levels. If the human body consists of 60% water on average, then the child has a higher rate. This means that young children are physiologically more sensitive to dehydration and especially suffer from dried air.
So, by optimizing the humidity in your home, you can noticeably improve the well-being of all inhabitants of the apartment, prevent several serious diseases in children. Thus, high-quality climate equipment for humidification will undoubtedly be suitable for every home. Let’s find out now what types of humidifiers offer us the manufacturers.
Humidifiers Types
Today, in electronics hypermarkets and online stores you can find several types of household humidifiers based on different principles: ultrasound, steam generation, natural humidification. Let us dwell on them in more detail.
| Ultrasonic humidifier | Let’s analyze the principle of its operation: water poured into a special container of the device is fed to the ultrasonic membrane. Due to the influence of high frequencies, it is broken down into micro drops. Natural or forced air flows invisible (and sometimes visible) to the eye fog from the device into the room. This principle of operation allows the devices to increase humidity, even in large apartments significantly. Another undeniable advantage of such humidifiers is their low noise level. Owners of ultrasonic humidifiers should consider that the device is susceptible to water quality – contamination (hardness salts contained in unfiltered water) will settle on the filter, which will quickly render it unusable. If the ultrasonic humidifier is not initially equipped with additional filters, it is necessary to pour distilled water into it. Otherwise, limescale will appear on the objects of the room interior. |
| Vapour humidifier | The steam humidifier works on a different principle. Water is poured inside the device, where it is heated to boiling point. Further intense evaporation is quite sharp and significantly increases the humidity level and sometimes the temperature in the room. The steam humidifier should be equipped with a hygrostat, a special humidity sensor that switches off the device when it reaches a certain level. Otherwise, you can overdo the humidification. By exceeding the optimal humidity level in an enclosed room, it is easy to provoke pathogenic bacteria’s intensive reproduction. This type of humidifier is suitable for a room with a temperature lower than comfortable because humidifying the air temperature will rise. A pleasant addition for owners of a steam humidifier will be the possibility of aromatizing the air – add aromatic oils to the water tank. |
| Traditional humidifier, or natural type humidifier | The other name of the devices is cold steam humidifiers. The most environmentally friendly, easy to use (you can fill it with ordinary tap water), and safe humidifiers. Air saturation with a traditional humidifier is due to the natural evaporation of water. Evaporation is facilitated by built-in fans that blow special wetting cartridges. The intensity of the humidification can be changed using an adjustable fan speed. The disadvantages of this type of device can only be considered a higher cost. |
At What Humidity Level Should the Humidifier Be Installed?
When studying the efficiency of household humidifiers, it is not superfluous to equip a separate humidity sensor. The fact that the humidity sensors built into the humidifiers themselves may be noticeably wrong in the readings. Also, they can measure only the humidity in the vicinity of the device. Simultaneously, the most indicative would be the data from a sensor located at some distance from the humidifier (e.g., at the other end of the room).
Only after receiving the measurement data from different room points can you be sure that the humidity in the apartment corresponds to the recommended 40%-60% (or even better – 50%-60%).