Signs You Might Need a Humidifier?

Is your skin feeling dry and scratchy? Or is your furniture starting to split? These are all signs that the humidity level in your home might be low and you may need a humidifier.

In the cooler weather, we tend to blast the heater which can trigger the humidity to go down. While heating systems increase the temperature and keep us warm, they don’t add any moisture to the air. As a result, humidity levels can fall as low as 10%, which can cause health and home problems.

Fortunately, there’s an easy method to repair this typical winter season issue. Using a humidifier in your house will add moisture to dry air and help you keep the humidity at a comfortable and healthy level– which specialists state is anywhere between 30% to 50%.

If you’re not sure if you need to use a humidifier right now, here are some common signs of dry indoor air which you might currently be experiencing.

Here are some reasons you might need a humidifier:

1. Itchy and Dry Skin

   Low humidity can cause dry skin. This can cause it to end up being itchy and irritating easily. It can appear flaky, flaky and cause concerns such as eczema or dandruff.

2. Chapped Lips

   The skin on your lips can also become dehydrated without adequate moisture. Chapped lips can be uncomfortable and unpleasant and make it uneasy to move them.

3. Itchy Throat

   If your throat feels scratchy, but you aren’t sick, this is a sign that you may be dehydrated. In some cases drinking water may not be enough if it is constantly itchy. This is where a humidifier can come in and help.

4. Sinus Problems and Nosebleeds

   Dehydrated skin on the inside of your nose can also split leading to nosebleeds. Lack of moisture can also lead to inflamed sinuses. If your nose is not producing enough mucus to trap bacteria and little particles of dust reach your sinuses, you will continue to feel inflamed, and it could also increase your threat of colds and infections.

5. Asthma or Allergy Flare-ups

   Dry air can include large quantities of germs, dust, pollen, and other allergens that will aggravate your air passages. If these are not captured by the mucus in the nose and throat, allergies might increase. This is especially concerning for those inclined to asthma as restricting the air passages might activate an asthma attack.

6. Damage to Wood in Your Home

   Wood is a natural product which means it needs moisture to avoid splitting or becoming breakable. If your floorboards or wood furniture are beginning to warp, change or establish faults, this could be because of a lack of moisture in the environment.

What Causes Low Humidity?

The humidity naturally begins to drop in the winter season as cooler air holds less moisture than warmer air. Our Heating and cooling systems increase the temperature without adding any moisture to the air, triggering the relative humidity to dive. The little moisture that exists in your house is rapidly drawn up into the air.

You might not see any problems early on, however, houses experiencing low humidity for a prolonged period will begin to reveal some of the symptoms we’ve listed above. If you seem like you need to use a humidifier, inspect the humidity level in your home with a hygrometer (keep in mind anywhere between 30% to 50% relative humidity is ideal). The basic models are really economical and will do the job just fine.

A powerful big space humidifier will rapidly add moisture to your home and instantly maintain a healthy level of humidity. You’ll need to alter the water in the tank prior to each use and tidy the humidifier itself to avoid the development of mold and bacteria.

Kinds of Humidifiers.

Each kind of humidifier has its own distinct benefits. If you wish to utilize a humidifier in a space where noise is a concern, pick a cool-mist ultrasonic humidifier. Ultrasonic humidifiers use a near-quiet vibrating mechanism to produce a great mist of water vapor, making them an outstanding alternative for your bedroom.

Nevertheless, ultrasonic humidifiers will not work also in bigger living locations. Here, you’ll want to choose an evaporative humidifier. These designs consist of a powerful fan that distributes humidified air throughout the room. As the fans can be quite loud on high settings, you probably won’t desire them running in your bedroom while you sleep.

Lastly, there are whole-house furnace humidifiers (also referred to as HVAC humidifiers). They are installed straight onto your existing HVAC system and provide damp air through the ducts in your house. While you’ll be able to humidify your entire home effectively, the greatest drawback here is the cost– they’re without a doubt the most expensive choice to install.

At South End Heating & Air we specialize in whole-home humidifiers, call us for a free consult. We’ll evaluate your system and help make recommendations for optimum value. After all, we want to keep you cool all summer long and warm in the winter. Just schedule a visit with one of our technicians to talk about how we can help with your thermostat settings. Would you like to learn more options our techs can help you with? give us a call at 704-684-5339