Do I need a Humidfier?
November 26, 2010Whole house Humidifiers, Room Humidifiers,Vaporizers?
Heating and air conditioning service and repair should be more than just cleaning furnaces and adjusting Freon pressures.
It's important to get the get the heating or cooling equipment in order of course, but that's mostly about equipment life and keeping energy bills under control. Once the repairs are completed its time to take a look at home comfort. Let's take a look at humidifiers now, and later on air cleaners.
Heating and air conditioning service and repair should be more than just cleaning furnaces and adjusting Freon pressures.
It's important to get the get the heating or cooling equipment in order of course, but that's mostly about equipment life and keeping energy bills under control. Once the repairs are completed its time to take a look at home comfort. Let's take a look at humidifiers now, and later on air cleaners.
I hope you'll read on a little even after the question is answered, because the answer is simple. Do you need a humidifier? Yes, you do. Here's why. Heating your home removes all the available moisture every live source. That would be you, your human family, the animals, and the house plants. That's just the start. You have nosebleeds more in winter than in summer because the nasal membranes are dry and much easier to penetrate, it's one reason the flu season is the flu season, and colds happen more easily in heating weather. Noses are pretty good germ filters but they don't work when the humidity goes down too low. Some of the best commercial air filter systems are "wet" so the particulates can be caught and flushed away. You have one of those, you get a filter cleaning with a handkerchief every so often. Proper humidity control let's your natural filtration work at peak efficiency.Itching skin (if scratched) also puts out a viral welcome mat. So first it's a health issue.
Now about your homes health. If you own a piano, guitar, violin, antique or just very nice furniture it's put together with glue which cracks (good hide glue) when its completely dry. The wood shrinks and pulls the furniture apart. Pianos go out of tune, chairs squeak, static electricity damages electronics when you touch these things. Table legs loosen, gaps open in floor boards, the cat jumps when you touch it (I'm sorry thats just fun!) and even if you don't have any household goods that can be damaged there's the windows and doors. Window casings and the wood around them shrinks, causing drafts, and the insulation in your home is compromised. Up goes the thermostat again. It's like a snowball effect really. The house plants need water every day too, but thats a good thing. That moisture ends up in the air where it belongs. So you can see that it's a home energy efficiency issue.
Posted by Edward Mack Cline.
