Air Humidifiers, Do They Really Work?

So you’re thinking of a humidifier and wondering does such a simple machine really live up to the hype. To understand what a humidifier can do for you it’s important to first understand what humidity does to us.

The proper humidity level is actually one of the main keys to maintaining proper health. When the level of humidity gets too high it allows for mold and bacteria to have the perfect growing conditions. On the contrary when the humidity levels start to become too low they will cause things like dry and cracked skin, nosebleeds among a whole host of other types of health related problems.

When the humidity levels in your home become too low it’s time to bring them back up to a safe level. In order to bring them back up to the proper level you’ll want to use a humidifier. Many different types of humidifiers are out on the market with a wide variance in terms of design and price point.

Before you go to the store to make your purchase we’ll go over some key points that talk about the effectiveness and reasoning behind the machine.

Wet Surface humidifiers
One specific type of design involves a surface that is wet. The way it works is that air is pushed across the surface and consequently the moisture that is on that surface is then dispersed into the air. This type of a humidifier is perfect for a climate that is very dry.

The one thing to keep in mind is this type of humidifier isn’t going to have as much effectiveness when the relative humidity is high. The reason for this is that less moisture is able to actually be dispersed into the air from the wet surface. The actual amount of distributed moisture is going to just come down to how much moisture the air is able to hold.

Water Reservoirs
The primary function of a humidifier is in order to relieve or avoid the health problems that are related to humidity. The one thing that humidifiers will rely on is the water reservoir. Water is taken from this reservoir, the method depending on the type, and then transferred to the air in your home.

There are additives that you can purchase that help to prevent things like bacteria, mold and types of viral growths from happening on the humidifier. The one thing to keep in mind though is that the additives aren’t going to be as effective in the water chamber due to the moisture level that is in there. Bacteria will grow in an environment that is warm and wet.

For this reason it is questioned as to the health benefits since the environment of the chamber can foster this growth. The opponents of the humidifier see it as simply trading one type of health condition for another.

The thing that you can do though is make sure that you clean it all of the time and make sure that you do so at a minimum by manufacturer specifications. Also there are bacterial filters that you can purchase for certain types of humidifiers as well. Take a close look and make sure that you do these things because the health benefits of a humidifier are undeniable.

Minerals
With water almost all of it will have some minerals in it. The only variable is how much. The harder the water is the more minerals that the water will have. This affects the humidifier through the minerals building on the coils as well as the other mechanisms of the humidifier. Over time this is going to severely hamper their effectiveness and even eventually stop the machine from being able to work altogether.

Room Size
A humidifier gains its effectiveness not just depending on the type it is and the minerals that are in the water that is used but also by the size of the room it is being used in. A small humidifier is simply something that is not effective enough to push an ample amount of moisture into a larger room and keep the humidity at the level that it is supposed to be. The fact that you’d be using a humidifier that is too small in this example would render the humidifier ineffective.

Climate
The climate is the last factor that is going to determine if a humidifier is going to be effective. Even if you purchase a humidifier that is the appropriate size for the room that it is serving it might have some problems keeping up with the demands for moisture if the climate is very barren overall. This type of climate will require that you run the humidifier for much longer periods of time or at a much higher level.