How to choose a humidifier?

How to understand that the air is not humidified and why dry air is dangerous?

If the air in your house is excessively dry, then the skin will react first, declaring itself tight, flaky and dry, followed by brittle nails and overdried hair. After sleep, nasal congestion will regularly begin to appear, turning into chronic rhinitis, and throughout the day in the throat, tickling and coughing will increasingly remind of themselves.

Dry air causes irritation of the mucosa, which eventually leads to chronic rhinitis

Following the thinned mucous membrane of a person, indoor plants and interior items can react to dry air. But the biggest threat of dry air is for young children, especially during sleep.

You can measure the state of humidity using special devices — hygrometers, moreover, modern gadgets of this direction are able not only to show the state of humidity, but also to determine the perfect ratio with room temperature.

What humidity is considered normal?

Room humidity should not be below 30%

According to the State Standards, the humidity in residential premises should be 30 – 45% during the heating season and 30 – 60% in the warm season. Physiologists insist that no matter what month is on the calendar, the humidity of the room should be 40 – 60%, and in children's bedrooms — 50 – 70%, provided that the air temperature does not exceed 24 °C. High humidity, by the way, is also not good, since this is dampness, which contributes to the development of mold and harmful bacteria.

To raise the humidity, there are a variety of methods: installing basins and pots of water near the battery, which is ineffective and not very aesthetically pleasing, or hanging wet laundry, which does not have a lasting effect and even contributes to the reproduction of pathogenic flora in the air. The simplest and most correct option is to choose a special air humidifier, especially since there are a great many of them on the market and there are options for every taste, need and low-cost.

Varieties of humidifiers

There are three main types of humidifiers: ultrasonic, water and steam.

Before choosing a humidifier, you need to know that all the presented models are divided into three main types:

Water or traditional humidifiers

This is the simplest type of air humidifier, the operation of which is based on running the air through a special water filter with a built-in fan. Most often, these humidifiers are found with built-in ionizers and antibacterial filters.

Benefits of water humidifiers:

you can use unfiltered water;
do not provoke the formation of white plaque on surfaces;
with a large coverage of the premises, low power consumption (18 – 20 W);
not capable of provoking the formation of excess moisture.

Disadvantages of water humidifiers:

low performance compared to other types of devices (the humidification process is not felt immediately, but gradually, soaking not only the air, but also walls, furniture and other interior items);
high noise level. When choosing a humidifier, you should always “listen” to the operation of the device.

Steam humidifiers

Before you choose a humidifier for your apartment, you need to decide what is more important for you, gradual or rapid humidification. If you want to get intense air humidification quickly, then a steam humidifier can meet your need. The principle of operation is to heat the electrodes or the built-in heating element, which quickly heats up and evaporates water from the tank.

Advantages of steam humidifiers:

fast hydration;
does not provoke the formation of white plaque on furniture and walls;
high hygiene. Due to the fact that the work process is based on heating, most of the harmful organisms die from high temperatures, and the absence of filters and a constantly sterilized water tank exclude the reproduction of bacteria.

Disadvantages of steam humidifiers:

despite the absence of white plaque, there is a high probability of condensation in the room, especially when the air temperature in the room is not high;
scale formation on the heating element;
high consumption of water and electricity;
noisy operation during boiling water.

Ultrasonic Humidifiers

Ultrasonic — the most common type of modern household humidifiers. Under the influence of alternating current, an active vibration of the emitter (piezoceramic membrane) occurs, and the water poured into the tank is split into particles under the influence of ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic humidifiers can be very primitive and inexpensive, or equipped with additional features and details, such as a steam separator — a splitter that allows you to disperse the air flow in different directions for more efficient humidification.

Advantages of ultrasonic humidifiers:

When choosing a humidifier, pay attention to additional chips and options

Modern humidifiers have many additional features.

Regardless of the type of humidifier, appliance manufacturers often “stuff” them with additional features that do not really affect performance, but are often very useful with regular use:

advanced models often have a built-in humidistat, thanks to which the device will turn off on its own when the required humidity level is reached or start up again when it “feels” the air drying out.
the presence of a light indicator that controls the water level;
auto-off function. Very useful in cases where you have small children or pets, as the device turns off automatically when it tip over. Auto-off is also provided in the absence of water in the tank;
cleaning indication;
the function of rotation of the evaporator cap around its axis for uniform distribution of steam throughout the room;
night mode function;
air aromatization ;
air ionization.

The range and diversity of products will allow you to choose a humidifier for your needs and features of your home, and most importantly, that the humidity of the room always corresponds to the norm.