The air inside your home is drier than you think. Heating your home dries out the air. The resulting dry air absorbs moisture from you and everything inside your home. Even newer, tighter built homes will succumb to the negative effects of air that is too dry.
Humidification, the process of adding moisture to the air, is one of the most important aspects of total indoor comfort, yet it’s one of the least understood. One reason is that humidity is an intangible. It can’t be seen, touched, or smelled. It has no color, no sound. However, its presence, when controlled properly, offers many proven benefits. Below are some of those benefits:
HELPS PROTECT YOUR FAMILY’S HEALTH
Air that is too dry can make you more susceptible to catching cold or flu viruses. How? Dry air dries out your nasal membranes and makes the lining of your nose more susceptible to bleeding and infections. Also, low levels of humidity have been linked to the speedier progression and transmission of viruses in the air.
Proper humidity is a key factor to staying healthy in winter. By keeping your sinuses and airways moist, you reduce the potential for bacteria and viruses to enter your body. Humidifiers are proven most effective at providing optimum levels of humidity.
PRESERVES YOUR HOME AND FURNISHINGS
The addition or reduction of moisture drastically affects the qualities, dimensions, and weights of many materials. For example, wood, leather, paper, and cloth all contain water. Paper, plastic, cloth, fibers, glue, skin and practically everything else in the home shrink as they lose water, and swell as they take on water. If the water loss is rapid, warping and cracking can take place. As the RH changes, the condition and dimensions of the materials change, as constantly as the weather. This is why humidity must be added and controlled. Your home and its furnishings make up what is likely your largest investment. By providing constant humidity control, humidifiers help to keep them in good condition, maintaining their value and extending their life.
