If the air is too dry, it irritates your mucous membrane, dries the skin and also has a negative effect on your immune system. So if you want to make your home better for breathing, you should get a humidifier.
The most important factors for creating a pleasant environment in a room, is the temperature and the air humidity. The human organism thrives best at the relative humidity from 40 to 60 percent.
The relative humidity is the percentage of the actual amount of water vapour in the air relative to the maximum amount of water vapour in the same volume at the same temperature. It is usually given in percentage. The air in the atmosphere always contains some water vapour, but its amount varies depending on the meteorological conditions.
The Relative Humidity And The Health
Many health problems are caused by the dry air in your rooms. The dry air is the air with the level of relative humidity below 40 percent. The researches have shown that the air humidity has an impact on the morbidity of schoolchildren. In the classrooms, where the humidifiers were placed during the heating season, the morbidity was reduced by up to half in comparison with the classrooms where the humidity remained untreated. Some microorganisms (e.g. adenovirus) survive worst just at the relative humidity of 60 percent.
The Results Of Staying In Too Dry Rooms
- the dry, irritating cough
- the feeling of stuffy nose, the chronic rhinitis
- the morning sore throat
- the dryness of mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract
- the loss of immunity
- the chronic sinusitis
- the frequent diseases of the upper and the lower respiratory tract
- the dry, irritated skin, the creation of wrinkles
- the chapped lips
- the burning eyes
- the feeling of increased fatigue, the loss of concentration
The Recommended Relative Humidity
In summer, the relative humidity from 40 to 55 percent is recommended. In winter, it is from 45 to 60 percent. When the relative humidity decreases below 40 percent, the airway mucosa start to get dry, the production of mucus, as well as the activity of the cilia of the nasal mucosa, decreases. It weakens the human immune mechanism against the ingress of the microorganisms, allergens and aerosols into the human body. It is not exceptional, that the relative humidity in a room drops below 20 percent during the heating season (which is a value comparable to the relative humidity in a desert). It threatens particularly in the overheated and unventilated areas.
Some Benefits Of The Optimal Air Humidity
- When the air is dry, the static electricity creates; the electrical charges are annoying and they can even damage some electronic devices.
- The dry air has negative effects on the wooden objects (the floors, furniture) causing their shrinkage.
- The regulated humidity is also beneficial to the antiques, musical instruments, pictures etc..
The Ultrasonic Humidifier
The ultrasonic humidifier creates small water droplets with a diameter of about 1-5 microns by means of a high-frequency ultrasonic oscillator. A ventilation system blows them out into the dry air and their evaporation increases the air humidity. A clearly visible, fine and uniform mist comes out of the device. The ultrasonic humidifiers are ideal in the apartments, children’s rooms as well as offices. The mist produced by the ultrasound is harmless to your health. Their biggest advantages are the high performance and low power consumption. The disadvantage of the ultrasonic humidifiers is the fact, they cannot destroy the microorganisms completely, they multiply in the water during the operation. That is why you should never let the water in the tank go wrong. Some devices require the use of demineralized, boiled or distilled water, or water with the addition of disinfectants.
The Steam Humidifier
The steam humidifier moistens the air by means of sterile water vapour. It is created by the evaporation in a thin layer on the heating element. High temperature reliably eliminates any germs. The water vapour is further mixed with air in a special chamber and then it is cooled to the optimum temperature. The advantage of the steam humidifier is the absolute sterility of the discharged steam. The disadvantage is the high consumption of electricity. While the ultrasonic humidifiers have power input of about 38 W, the steam humidifiers have 1000 W.
Some Tips And Advices
- The humidifiers do their work only in closed rooms.
- Do not locate a humidifier near a window or a door, so that the humidity did not get reduced due to the air flow.
- Put the humidifier only on the floor, not on the furniture.
- You should humidify the air constantly and check the humidity continuously.
- Aou should buy a hygrometer; some humidifiers already contain it, so they can regulate their performance themselves.
