To Humidify or Not To Humidify?

Winters are known to be the driest months and summer the wettest.  What does this mean for your health?

First, let’s go over humidity. Humidity is a measure of how much water or moisture is in the air.  Wetter environments are called ‘humid’. These tend to be great for skin and your respiratory tract. (Think about how much healthier your skin and how little you hear of respiratory infections in the summer!). Drier environments are considered low humidity environments. This environment can help to harbor less infections.  

Consider a humidity detector in each room

But at the same time, both environments can cause issues.  Wetter environments can cause particles like molds in the air to accumulate to unhealthy levels. Dry environments can dry out your eyes and skin which in turn can cause irritation and inflammatory conditions.

Dehumidifiers  are needed in wet or humid environments to remove water from the air. They pull water from the air and you can even see liters of the water build up in your dehumidifier container in a matter of hours!

In winter you likely will hear more coughs and see more dry skin issues.  This is partly because of cool and dry air. The use of heaters also cause dryness in the air. Using a humidifier can add moisture back into the air. This can reduce the spasms in the small respiratory tracts that we see in asthmatics and allow for more comfortable breathing. Other ways to add humidity into the air include running a shower, placing an open bowl of water into a room, and to a lesser degree using a diffuser.

How do we know which one we need to use? A humidity detector is an affordable and handy tool that can detect safe humidity levels and direct you accordingly.

A humidity level between 30 and 50% is optimal

A healthy humidity level is considered to be between 30 and 50%. Check the room humidity level seasonally and consider a humidity detector in each room.

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