During summer (when everything gets to be extremely dry) or during winter (when heating gets to make the air in your home dry), health problems tend to come up. Allergies, dry skin and disturbed sleep are just some of the many problems that result from extremely dry air. The usual solution for this is to purchase a dehumidifier which you can place in your home. Buying a dehumidifier isn’t as simple as putting it in one corner of a room though. There are things to consider in order for you to fully reap the benefits of using a humidifier.
Why do you need a humidifier?
There are several reasons why you would want to get a humidifier for you home. Increasing levels of humidity help plants to achieve optimum growth during dry seasons. For infants, humidifiers make them feel more comfortable, especially during their sleep. Humidifiers lessen skin dryness, especially when humidity is at an all-time low. Ultimately, your living conditions wil determine the reasons that will convince you to get a humidifier for everyday use.
What are the things that you should think of when thinking about where to place your humidifier?
In order for you to gain the best results from your humidifier, you will have to consider certain factors in order to know where to put it. Some of these are:
- The size of the humidifier
- The type of humidifier
- Room size
- Presence of infants and children in your household
- Main purpose
The size of the humidifier
Humidifiers come in different sizes. There are some humidifiers which are too big that it would be quite difficult to move them around. If you do plan to buy this kind of humidifier, think about where you should be placing this since this large humidifier will actually be a kind of permanent fixture in your home.
Portable and compact humidifiers, on the other hand, are easier to carry and transport. You can move these around depending on your daily needs.
Type of Humidifier
There are generally two types of humidifiers: warm mist humidifiers and cool mist humidifiers. As their names imply, cool mist humidifiers emit cool vapors, while warm mist humidifiers emit hot steam.
Cool mist humidifiers can make you feel more refreshed due to the cool vapors that it emits. Because of this, cool-mist humidifiers are best placed near you. In your bedroom, for example, cool mist humidifiers are best placed bear the bed so that you can fully benefit from its cooling effect and get a good night’s sleep. The cooling effect can help breathe easier while you sleep and lessen snoring as well. A good night’s rest results in improved brain function and it can even help you gain better immunity.
One thing to remember though with cool mist humidifiers is that they should be regularly cleaned and maintained in order to prevent the spread of unwanted allergens and microbes in the air.
Warm mist humidifiers make use of heated water to create steam, which then increases humidity in a given area. Because of the heat that this generates, warm mist humidifiers are best kept far from you. If you must insist on keeping this near you, make sure that you do so only when you are awak in order to avoid unnecessary incidents from happening.
Room size
The room size matters a lot when it comes to how efficient your humidifier can get. It will be more difficult to maximize the functionality of a small humidifier in a large room since the mist that it emits may not be enough to cover the area.
A large humidifier placed in a small room is not beneficial either since too much humidity in a room may encourage the growth of mold and fungi, which may cause allergies and other health problems.
The easiest room to work with is probably a medium-sized room since in this setup, you can actually place a humidifier in any part of the room. If you do have a small humidifier and a large room to work with, you can always try putting the humidifier near you.
A humidifier in a large area, like the living room, is best placed in an area where the mist can reach the area where most of the people gather.
Keep in mind that regardless of room size, humidifiers are best kept far from walls or wall decors since moisture coming from these humidifiers may ruin these.
Never place humidifiers near electrical outlets since these may cause short circuits that may result in huge accidents such as fires.
Presence of infants and children in your home
Warm mist humidifiers are generally not recommended for use in children. The hot steam that comes from these types of humidifiers may cause accidents, such as scalds and burns to your child. If necessary, do keep these humidifiers as far as possible from your child in order to avoid accidents from happening.
Humidifiers are recommended for use in nurseries since they can help in preventing dryness in a baby’s skin. It can also help improve sleep quality and prevent other health problems such as allergies and respiratory ailments. Make sure though that you use a cool mist humidifier and that the humidifier and its cords be kept away from the crib in order to prevent accidents from happening.
Main purpose
There are many reasons why you would want to have a humidifier in your room. Your reason for wanting a humidifier should be a thing to consider when trying to figure out a place for your humidifier. Your reason for wanting a humidifier should be a thing to consider when trying to figure out a place for our humidifier.
If you are suffering from asthma or any respiratory disease, it would be best to put the humidifier near you.
If your objective is to simply increase the level of humidity in your room, then you can simply move the humidifier around depending on what conditions are at a given time.
Whole House Humidifiers
There are whole house humidifiers that are available for purchase. These may come as stand-alone humidifiers or these may be attached to your home’s furnace. Regardless of the type of whole house humidifier, it is important hat these be kept far from electrical lines and outlets in order to prevent short circuits from happening.
Humidifiers In The Office
Working in a very dry environment can cause a lot of discomfort. In fact, this is probably the last thing you’d want in your workplace. In this case, it would be best to have a portable humidifier which you can move around. These are quieter to operate and would thus be less of a nuisance to others in your office who may not really appreciate the presence of a humidifier.
In winter or summer months, when air can tend to be extremely dry, humidifiers are a must have in any home. Besides promoting added comfort, humidifiers can actually alleviate symptoms associated with health issues that may arise from these dry months. You have to underscore though the importance of where to place these humidifiers since this may increase the machine’s efficiency and get you the maximum effect that you expect from this appliance.