The mild, pleasant weather of fall in Oswego, Yorkville, Naperville, Aurora and Plainfield (IL) certainly has its charm. We all can relate to the comfort and warmth of pulling on a sweater, pouring some hot cocoa and sitting by a crackling fire as heat and humidity give way to cooler air that often feels fresh as it drifts by.
At the same time, cooler air means drier air that absorbs moisture because of its lower relative humidity. On top of that, we run that dry air through a furnace to keep it warm, which can dry the air even more.
Drier air can result in drier skin and hair. People with lung or breathing conditions might also find it less relaxing to breathe. Other symptoms of low indoor humidity can be irritated eyes, frequent coughing, bloody noses, cracked lips and sinus headaches.
Dry air at home also can make us feel colder than we feel in air that has proper humidity. Dry air can even cause snoring! That’s because the air may reduce the lubrication in our throat and airways as we sleep.
Low humidity can damage items such as furniture, wood flooring and cabinets as well.
The good news is that you can alleviate the discomforts and problems of dry indoor air in fall and winter by installing a home humidifier.
What Does a Humidifier Do?
We’ve mentioned the term relative humidity, which is the ratio of how much moisture is in the air versus how much the air can hold under current conditions.
At a relative humidity over 60%, the body will start to feel very warm and not be able to cool itself well. If the relative humidity is below 40%, the air will get dry and lead to the types of problems we’ve identified.
A humidifier corrects low-humidity conditions in your Oswego, Yorkville, Naperville, Aurora or Plainfield home. In other words, it helps you keep the humidity in its most comfortable range of 40% of 60% (50% is ideal). The humidifier achieves this by turning water into a fine mist (vapor or steam) that raises the moisture in your air.
Types of Home Humidifiers
Humidifiers are typically classified in two types: portable and whole-home.
A portable humidifier is a smaller unit that is placed where needed to provide proper humidity in a particular area.
A whole-home humidifier attaches to your furnace. The fan blows across a humidifier pad that is connected to a water supply. This sends moisture throughout the home via the ducts, humidifying the whole house at once.
Because whole-home humidifiers have their own water supply, they never need to be filled. Depending on the system, they also often need only occasional maintenance.
Humidifiers operate by producing either warm or cool mist. Warm mist uses heat to generate steam. Cool mist applies other methods to create non-heated water vapor. Both types add moisture to the air.
Specific kinds of humidifiers can include:
evaporators that produce humidity by blowing air past evaporating water.
impeller humidifiers that apply rotating disks rather than heat to vaporize water.
steam vaporizers that use electricity to create steam, which cools before it leaves the unit.
ultrasonic humidifiers that use vibrations instead of electricity to vaporize water.
central humidifiers that connect to a central air-conditioning unit to add moisture to the entire space
Here at Air Dynamics, we promote including a whole-home humidifier for its more-comprehensive 24-hour benefits. Rather than treat separate rooms, you can ensure perfectly humidified air in all of them.
Where portable humidifiers can raise a room’s low humidity, they typically provide less control over humidity levels that whole-home units do. Portable humidifiers also need to be filled with water often, whereas whole-home units run on a constant supply.
The Benefits of Home Humidifiers
By now you have a growing idea of how having a humidifier at your home in Oswego, Yorkville, Naperville, Aurora or Plainfield can be advantageous in fall and winter.
A home humidifier can help:
reduce cold, flu and allergy symptoms
relieve skin discomfort and disorders
keep your skin and hair moist
contribute to easier breathing and sleep at night
The moisture from a humidifier can further help to protect furniture, wallpaper and other items that can dry and crack. It can even help houseplants stay more vibrant.
Then there’s the simple fact you can feel more comfortable just being at home in fall and winter when the air is cold and dry outside but pleasant and balanced inside.
Contact Us Today
Air Dynamics enjoys helping Oswego, Yorkville, Naperville, Aurora or Plainfield (IL) homeowners achieve enhanced comfort and health through greater indoor air quality. To find out more about our humidifying solutions for your home this fall, just give us a call at (630) 731-1550!
