Central Humidifier

A central humidifier unit is something that can be very important to a household. The right level of a balanced humidity within a house is something that is not only beneficial when it comes to comfort but is also something that is important for the house itself.

What happens is when the humidity levels drop and become too low, or on the reverse will rise too high, there are a lot of problems that can develop as a consequence of either the drop or rise. The humidity level refers to the amount of water vapor that is in the air.

Air that is dry will literally suck the moisture out of everything. Just some examples are as follows:

• Eyes
• Lips
• Skin
• Carpets
• Furniture

Our respiratory system is reliant on moisture in order to fight off bacteria and viruses. When the moisture is drawn out of the air and thus starts to dry you out you’re going to be more susceptible to things like colds, flu, coughs and perpetuate asthma and other breathing problems.

When humidity becomes to be too high it’s simply nothing less than uncomfortable. During the winter months the beginning signs of excessively humid air will usually appear when the vapor hits the cold inner surfaces of things like your windows inner surfaces and condenses there. This normally isn’t going to create a very serious problem though. There is an exception though.

The same type of condensation might collect on the surfaces of exterior walls though and this is something that can rot the structure and ruin insulation. Things like peeling, cracking or blistering paint will usually be the first indicator of this type of a problem. In addition to the problems of condensation too humid of air is going to encourage the growth of things like molds, bacteria and mildew.

When it comes to reducing humidity one of the most obvious ways is through the use of an air conditioner or for those that don’t have the option a central dehumidifier and when humidity needs to be raised a central humidifier. There will be times where the humidity can be reduced to a level that is more acceptable. This can be done through some things just by using exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathroom.

Some other methods would be venting your clothes dryer outside, keeping your showers shorter and only doing full loads when you’re doing laundry and dishes in the dishwasher. The one other thing that you should do is eliminate any sources of leaks or standing water in the basement or in any crawlspaces.

When it comes to central humidification units some of the most inexpensive are the table and console humidifiers. They are also very portable. Both of these types of units are filled manually and will have to be done on a daily basis. You’ll find that the tabletop units will have an output of about 2-4 gallons every 24 hours. The consoles will have a larger output of 8-14 gallons.

Some of the units will disperse a steam or a cool mist while there are others that will blow air through a damp evaporative filter. You can also look for a central evaporative humidifier which is installed on a forced air furnace.

A lot of people when preparing to purchase a cool air humidifier will start to look and find the options of both the cool air humidifiers they were originally looking for but they will also find warm air humidifiers. Looking at the two options they’ll begin to wonder what the difference is and how do they know if they need one and which one to purchase.

There aren’t that many differences between the cool and warm air humidifier units and the one that you will want to purchase is really going to be based upon three factors:

1. Personal preference
2. Physician recommendation
3. The one that helps you breathe better

A lot of people will find that the cool air humidifier is going to make breathing easier for them if they suffer from asthma and allergies. If you are someone that finds it hard to breathe in a sauna/sauna like environment then you’re not going to want to go with a warm air humidifier. On the flip side if the sauna/sauna like environment makes it easier for you to breathe than you’re going to want to look for the warm air humidifier.

If you’re still not sure what is going to be the best for you the following information is going to help you with the warm air humidifier and the cool air humidifier differences.

Warm Air humidifiers
Warm air humidifiers actually will boil the water that is put into them and what will happen is you then get an output of distilled steam. The steam is concentrated to the area that is right by the humidifier.

You’ll find that the warm air is much easier to breathe when you’re in a cool room and the units are most often used for a steaming medication, like a Vicks, and will be designed with a small medication compartment for such a purpose. The medication option is one of the features that people like most about the warm air humidifier units.

Finally you’ll find that they are going to be a little quieter than the cool air counterpart and they are sold in small portable units. They will require more frequent cleaning. The reason for this is that even though the water is boiled the leftover warmth in the unit is going to encourage bacteria growth.

Cool Air humidifiers
The cool air humidifiers are going to be a little noisier than the warm air humidifiers but they are definitely tolerable and a lot of people will find the rhythm soothing. The only problem with this is going to be if you have a very low level of noise tolerance. With that said though there are some models that will run almost virtually silent.

The way the cool air humidifiers work is by passing the water over a wick and then there is the fan to blow and expel the air making bringing the moisture level of the room back up and making it easier to breathe.

A cool air humidifier is going to vary widely in terms of size and design. There are units that can be attached to the ductwork, a whole home humidification unit and the larger portable floor units to the more portable units.

Just like with the warm air humidifier this humidifier type will need to be cleaned regularly in order to reduce the risks of bacteria. The cool air models will have filters which will require changing in order to makes sure that the machine is running clean and performing at the highest level.