A home humidifier is normally used in the winter time. When you turn on the heat in the winter, the heat not only sends cold air out of your house, it will also send humidity out.
Your home should have a relative humidity of about 40 to 45 percent. When the heat is turned on, the humidity can drop below 20 percent and even down to 5 percent. The low humidity can cause several problems inside your home as well as affect your health.
The dry air can suck the moisture out of your furniture. This can cause your furniture to break easily. Low humidity can also cause static electricity and can make the air feel colder inside. The wood in the floors can become dried out which causes the wood to shrink and create creaks. You’ll also notice cracks in the drywall and plaster of your walls.
As far as your health is concerned, the dry air from low humidity can dry out your skin and make you feel colder. Dried out mucous membranes can cause frequent nose bleeds and your throat drying out. This will make you even more vulnerable to colds and other respiratory problems.
A home humidifier will help you with these problems. It will raise the humidity to a proper level so that the air isn’t dry and you don’t sit around the house with a stuffed up nose and dry mouth. The water in the humidifier will either evaporate or release steam into the room causing the air to become moistened.
Of course, you only want to use it during the winter. In the warmer months, the humidity is higher and you don’t want your home to be too humid. That could lead to problems such as mold and bacteria buildup.
There are several types of home humidifiers you can buy. You don’t want to buy something that’s too complicated to figure out how to work. You also want to make sure that you will have the time necessary to clean and do proper maintenance on a regular basis.
Warm Mist HumidifierA warm mist humidifier is a great way to alleviate some of the symptoms of the common cold and other respiratory problems.
Cool Mist HumidifiersThere are three types of cool mist humidifiers. Either type of humidifier will do the same job of raising the humidity in your room.
Furnace Mount HumidifierA furnace mount humidifier is also called a whole house humidifier. The way furnace humidifiers work is that they are usually fitted into your heating system.
Filterless Humidifier Buying a filterless humidifier might cost a little more, but it will save you money in the long run. These types of humidifiers are used in large rooms.
How to Clean a Humidifier?
It is very important that you know how to clean a humidifier. The cleaning and regular maintenance of a humidifier is the worst part about owning one. No one likes doing it, but it has to be done if you want your humidifier to work properly.
If you have a single room humidifier that uses a filter or a mineral pad, make sure you replace the filter/pad on a regular basis. Dirty filters and mineral pads can cause a problem not only for your house but for your health as well.
The purpose of the humidifier filter or mineral pad is to trap all the bacteria and dust that comes from the water you use to fill the tanks. If the filter or pad isn’t changed regularly, the bacteria will end up being released into the air of your room. This can cause fungi and molds to grow in your house.
The bacteria and mold spores will float around in the air and could end up getting into your food, drinks, your throat and nose. You can end up having some serious respiratory problems.
The manufacturer will have instructions included on how to clean a humidifier. It’s very important that you follow those directions and not try to do it your own way. You might end up damaging the unit or not cleaning it well enough to get rid of all the bacteria and dust.
If you are using tap water to fill up the tank, then you will have to clean the humidifier and tank more often. This is especially true if you have hard water. Manufacturers sometimes suggest that you use distilled or purified water to lower the number of bacteria that are in the water.
Many humidifiers are made of plastic parts. You have to be very careful how you clean these parts because the plastic can break easily. Using a toothbrush to clean the dust inside the unit is a good way to ensure that you won’t damage any parts.
Putting a teaspoon of bleach in a gallon of water in the tank will help get rid of bacteria. Let it sit for about 20 minutes then rinse the tank out until any bleach smell is gone.
You can also pour a cup of vinegar in the unit’s reservoir ONLY and let it sit for 20 minutes. Dump out the vinegar and then pour a cup of water in the reservoir only in order to get rid of the vinegar. Pour the water out after that.
You can then use the toothbrush to get rid of any mineral buildup and dust. Make sure you don’t get any water on the bottom of the unit or on any internal parts.
If you clean your humidifier once a week according to the manufacturer’s instructions and change the filter or mineral pad every few weeks, the unit should work properly and you won’t have any bacteria or mold build up in your home.
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Author Bio: Katie is a woman who love writing about home appliances on Hubnames. She has just published Home Humidifier review.
Comments
Maria
Thanks a lot for putting this article together, I was searching for something like this. I think I'll go with the cool mist humidifier, hope […] Read MoreThanks a lot for putting this article together, I was searching for something like this. I think I'll go with the cool mist humidifier, hope it's the right decision. Read Less