A humidifier converts water into airborne moisture to add humidity in the surrounding air. There are many health benefits associated with it which include relieving irritating eyes, skin and respiratory systems caused by dry air. However, before buying a humidifier, you must keep in mind what are the advantages and disadvantages of air humidifiers. Being aware of the positive as well as negative impacts of a humidifier helps you to make a productive decision.
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Advantages of Humidifiers
The advantages of humidifiers are far more than just adding moisture in the room and keeping the house warm and comfortable.
Health Benefits
Humidifiers are quite useful in relieving symptoms of asthma. By keeping the air fresh and throat moist, humidifiers bring comfort to the asthma patients. A humid atmosphere also prevents dry skin, chapped lips and irritating throat. Bacteria survive less in hot and humid air, so humidifiers also help to avoid common cold among young children. When the room is humid, a person feels more relaxed and the sleep patterns improve eventually.
Furnishing Lasts Longer
Paintwork and wallpapers cost a lot of money but dry air can make the paintwork and wallpapers to peel off. Living in the dry atmosphere requires replacing the wallpapers and repainting the walls after short intervals. A little moisture in the air can make the furnishing last longer and keep them fresh in the long run and humidifier is the best solution for this.
Healthy Indoor Plants
Plants need moisture to survive and dry air can be dangerous for the health of indoor plants. To make your indoor plants live longer, you need to maintain a level of humidity in your house, which is possible by using a humidifier. In the winter season, when the temperature drops the air become dry, the conditions become unfavorable for the plants. It is the time where the humidifier plays its role and keeps the indoor plants healthy.
Safe Electrical Appliances
Dry air also leads to the build-up of static electricity. This static electricity is dangerous for electrical appliances along with causing frizzy hair. To save your electronics from this damage, you need to install a humidifier in your house to maintain humidity in the air. The moisture released by a humidifier in the air absorbs the electric charge and serves as a protector for the electrical appliances.
Cost Effective
Humid air keeps the house warm. When you feel warmer, you will not have to turn on the room heater. Room heaters are expensive and also power consuming. You can put a stop to all these expenditures by getting a humidifier for your house. A humidifier adds moisture in the air and keeps you warmer in the winter season.
Disadvantages of Humidifiers
No doubt humidifiers have enormous benefits but along that this device also has some inherent drawbacks. However, you can overcome many of the drawbacks by following some best practices.
Pathogens
With the regular use of humidifiers in your house the humidity levels increase which leads to the growth of fungi and bacteria. The moisture on the humidifier and inside the tank serves as a breeding ground for pathogens specially when the water in the tank is not changed daily. With the increased humidity in the house, you might also be breathing in diseases caused by fungi and bacteria. However, this problem can be prevented by regular cleaning of the unit.
Work Load
With humidifier along enjoying high humidity in your house, you will also have to do some extra work. A humidifier requires proper maintenance and cleaning. After every few days, you will have to cut your schedule for this cleanup of this device. Failure in maintaining a humidifier and it’s cleaning leads to adverse consequences. Fungi and bacteria might build up in the machine causing severe health issues.
Formation of White Dust
Using mineral water or tap water in the humidifier is quite dangerous. This water is composed of chemical components and these components are left behind in the tank during the humidification process. The residue left takes the form of the white dust that is passed into the air by the humidifier. Breathing such air leads to serious health concerns. To obstruct this danger, it is recommended to use distilled water. If you are planning to use a humidifier in your house, you must stock up distilled water.
Noisy Room
Along with adding humidity in the atmosphere, humidifiers also make constant humming. If you want to use a humidifier, you must be ready to bear that sound too. For blotting its sound, you can put a towel on it but it will only decrease the intensity to some extent. With a humidifier, you will never going to have a quiet room. Their mode of operation has been designed to make noise so they cannot work silently. The humming sound can be very disturbing specially in the night when everyone requires a quiet environment to sleep.
Irregular Moisture Levels
Humidifiers come with hygrometers in them which help them to regulate the moisture in the room and turn on or off the humidifier according to the requirement. But some humidifiers do not have this system, so they are not able to regulate the humidity levels in your house. The result will be too much humidity in the room when kept unchecked. Too much moisture in the air is not good for your own health and also for your belongings. It may lead to an asthma attack and other respiratory problems along with damaging other stuff like furniture and doors. However, to prevent this problem, you need to buy a humidifier that has the capability to regulate the moisture in the air or you can even buy your own hygrometer to keep a check on the moisture level.
Conclusion
Most of the disadvantages of the humidifier are linked with your own carelessness and neglect to keep the device clean. When considering the numerous advantages of the humidifier, it is a wise decision to get a humidifier for your house and office. A humidifier is an effective option to improve the quality of your surrounding air and to control the humidity of the room.
