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Monday, January 11, 2016

Is Your Humidifier Doing You More Harm Than Good?



Humidifiers make it comfortable inside the house especially during winter when the air is dry. They increase moisture in the house, most doctors’ advice patients to stay in a room with enough humidity for comfort. A humidifier conditions the air of your house making it comfortable and keeps your hardwood floor in a good state, but if most managed properly, it can cause harm. The harm caused by an improperly used humidifier outweighs its benefits by far.

How humidifiers work:
Humidifiers are a good investment for conditioning the air especially in the low humidity months, they have very good benefits if used and managed properly. But most people do not use it the right way thus making it do more harm than good. A humidifier is designed to condition the low moisture in our houses when the weather is unbearable especially during dry months or during winter. Low humidity can damage wooden materials in the house causing them to crack; using a right moisture amount from the humidifier can help maintain them in a good state.

During winter when the air is cold and dry there is high tendency of colds and skin problems. Your humidifier helps improve the weather during winter and make it more bearable. During winter, there is high tendency of dry skin which might be scaly or flaky due to the dry moisture a humidifier can help condition the air improving it by adding moisture.The humidifier also helps improve symptoms of nose irritation, nose bleeding, itchy eyes, dry throat and cracked lips which are very problematic when the air humidity is very low thus lessening their effects.

How your humidifier can create breeding site for airborne pathogens if not managed well:
If your humidifier is not cleaned regularly, moulds, bacteria and fungus find a thriving environment in the filter or reservoir where they grow. The humidifier then releases these pathogens in the air that are distributed throughout the house causing many air borne ailments. You should fill your humidifier with distilled water and change them each day if you use it regularly to avoid stagnant water which promotes pathogen growth. Normal tap water contains some minerals which get deposited at the bottom and they can make growing site for pathogens

Cleaning your humidifier can be very easy task but it requires your commitment and determination. Don’t wait to see the pathogens grow so that you can clean your humidifier. Microorganism pathogens are very tiny and not visible to a naked eye. Humidifiers come with manual which have instructions on how to clean them. Most of them recommend use of distilled water, vinegar, bleach for disinfection and hydrogen peroxide. The cleaning should be after every two days.

Health problems that can be caused by a humidifier:
A recent article by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) alerted humidifier users on how dirty humidifiers can cause health problems. Most people fail to clean the humidifier regularly and in the right way, this lead to growth of pathogens like bacteria, fungi and moulds. These microorganism pathogens cause problems like respiratory diseases and humidifier fever. When people with allergies and asthma stay in rooms with these pathogens, they are more affected and it can trigger sickness right away. Moulds carry with them airborne spores which can lead to asthma development, a disease which can affect throughout your life. Once developed asthma is not treated but can only be managed by use of some drugs and an inhaler if required. The airborne pathogens can also lead to lung problems like lung cancers.

How your humidifier can damage your wooden property if not managed properly:
 It is always good to adjust the humidifier settings correctly according to the humidity outside. For instance, if the temperature outside drops and you fail to adjust the settings the moisture gets too much and it condenses. To avoid excessive condensation, using hygrometer can help you give the humidity measurements so that you can adjust your humidifier correctly to avoid excessive moisture. Too much moisture condensation can cause dampness leading to mold development which destroys the wood by making it rot. Whole house humidifiers if not managed well can cause a lot of moisture to condense on the floor and other furniture if wooden mould grows and they rot. Moisture condensation on the window can make them to tarnish.

Conclusion
Humidifiers are good but when we use them in the wrong way bring us whole lot of problems. If you cannot clean and managed your humidifier well, it is better just to stop using it because it will cause more harm. Using a humidifier in the wrong way can make you incur many costs for repairing your floor, windows and furniture and also hospital bills.

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