Home Humidifiers: Why You Need One

As people, we thrive on being comfortable. Comfort makes us happier, reduces stress and anxiety, and raises our productivity. Now, consider where you spend the majority of your time. Most likely it’s split between your workplace and your home. At work you probably only have limited amount of control or input in your overall comfortability, as your personal needs have to be considered along with everyone else’s you work with. Your home then is the one true place where you have maximum control over your comfortability. That increase in control though comes with an increase in responsibility, as it is up to you to control and manipulate the air in your home as you see fit. This will take research and understanding on your part, as knowing how to work your HVAC units and appliances cohesively will allow the upmost comfortability in your home.

Many of our customers call us and complain of suffering from dry skin, bloody noses, and dried up sinuses in their home. All of these symptoms are unpleasant and uncomfortable, to say the least. Most often our recommendation to prevent those symptoms from occurring is to install a whole home humidifier if you don’t already have one

What does a whole home humidifier exactly do?

As days get colder, the air also gets drier, both in and outside the home. Whole home humidifiers add moisture to the air, reintroducing humidity in the air in the form of water vapor at the source – in your duct work. This level of humidity can be monitored and controlled on a thermostat, exactly like you do with the temperature of your home.

Benefits of a whole home humidifier system:

A home without a consistent humidity will have an increase amount of dry air, especially during the winter time. This dry air can cause respiratory problems and increased allergy symptoms for many people, as well as increase the severity of symptoms for such common ailments such as the common cold, sore throat, and coughing fits. A whole home humidifier maintains an even humidity level in your home year-round, making the air you breathe healthier, as well as easing the symptoms of the ailments listed above. A humidifier won’t prevent these diseases, but it will make the symptoms less of a burden on everyday life.

Secondly, in a home that suffers from a lack of humidity the air will feel colder, necessitating you to turn up your thermostat to feel warmer. Installing a whole home humidifier will help you feel warmer at a lower temperature, saving you money in the process. For the amount of money it costs to run a whole home humidifier (which is minimal, about the cost of a lightbulb running) it makes the home much more comfortable, and will save you a significant amount of money on your yearly heating/cooling bills.

Other than the adverse effects dry air has on the inhabitants of the home, it can also damage the structure and materials of the home itself. Wood floors, plaster, paint, furniture, artwork, and electronics can all be damaged from excess dry air in the home. A whole home humidifier will help protect the contents of your home, maintaining their performance and increasing their lifespan.

Tips for maintaining your whole home humidifier:

Just like any other appliance, a humidifier will require maintenance. You will need to clean your humidifier to prevent mold and bacteria buildup. A couple tips for cleaning the humidifier is to make sure it is unplugged, and there is no electricity going through it. Getting shocked by some electricity is not a pleasant experience (I may or may not be speaking from experience), but just being careful will help you avoid those unpleasant jolts. After unplugging the humidifier, take some of the parts off so the inner portions can be accessed for cleaning.

Chlorine bleach is a good way to clean the inside of the water tank, and then make sure any scale built up is taken out of the corners. Also, make sure the outside of the unit is cleaned up as well. This will give the humidifier more efficiency and will help lengthen its life span.

Which type of humidifier is right for your home?

A bypass humidifier pulls the warm air from the furnace, and the warm air is run through a water panel. This adds moisture to the air, and will put give the home more humidity. These humidifiers are put on the return side of the furnace, which is the air returning to the furnace. The water in these systems is warmed up, run through the water panel, and then put back through the heat exchanger so it can be sent out into the home. There are also drain-less versions of bypass humidifiers for people who don’t have a floor drain.

A fan-powered humidifier works much the same way as a bypass humidifier. The main difference is that the air is blown across the internal water panel, and that increases the water evaporation. Increased evaporation gives more of a humidity output. This type of humidifier can put out a gallon more of humidity every day on average. This model is more efficient because it does not have to be run back through the system to maintain the heat. It gets pushed back into the plenum and then circulates into the home, giving a more efficient output.

Steam humidifiers work a little differently than those other two. This type of humidifier electrically heats the water until it boils, and the steam is sent throughout the home through the ventilation system. This type of humidifier is separate from the HVAC system and it can run even when the HVAC system is off. One thing to be aware of when using a steam humidifier is to make sure the water going through it is not hard. Hard water is the accumulation of minerals in a water supply, and this can be countered with a Scale-blaster or a water softening system in your home. The harder the water is, the more it will put extra strain on the humidifier.

If you are interested in a whole home air quality parts and equipment view our selection here, and if you have any questions about them feel free to give us a call at (866) 215-3831. We have people standing by who can answer all of your questions. Thank you!