One of the best things about living in the Hoosier State is being able to experience the glory of all four seasons. And while there’s a lot to love about each one, there are some downsides, too—from hot, humid summers to frigid, dry winters, it’s a lot for your home’s comfort system to keep up with. One of the best things you can do for your family’s health and comfort this winter season is to install a whole-house humidifier. Here’s why.
The Problem with Cold, Dry Air
Winter air is hard on your body in a few different ways. It dries out your respiratory passages, which isn’t just uncomfortable—it can aggravate respiratory issues, like asthma and bronchitis and makes it easier for otherwise healthy people to get sinus infections and colds. Dry air also wicks moisture out of your skin, so you might end up with painful cracks on your hands, chapped lips, dry hair, and nose bleeds.
But the dry air isn’t just hard on you. It’s also hard on your home. It can suck the moisture out of your hardwood floors and wooden furniture, causing them to warp and crack. It can also affect the structure of your home, leading to doors that are difficult to close and windows that let in even more cold air. Leather furniture and clothing is also susceptible to damage from dry air.
The Benefits of a Whole-House Humidifier
Many of the issues brought on by dry winter air can be mitigated by installing a whole-house humidifier. The humidifier is connected to your home’s ducts and can either work independently or with your HVAC system. We won’t get into the nitty-gritty details of how it works, but basically, the humidifier adds moisture to indoor air by circulating water vapor through your duct system and into your home.
Adding this moisture back into your home’s air has many benefits:
- It’s good for your health. According to the National Library of Medicine, it’s harder for the flu to survive in a humid environment. A good humidifier might be able to kill the flu virus or, at the very least slow its spread, helping to keep you and your family from getting sick.
- It can improve your sleep quality. When the air in your bedroom is too dry, it tends to irritate your nasal passages, making it harder or more uncomfortable to breathe. Not only that, but dry air means you’re more likely to end up with a cough, congestion, and chapped lips—all of which can lead to a restless night of sleep. Adding the right levels of humidity to your home makes breathing—and sleeping—much easier and more comfy.
- It can do wonders for your appearance. No one wants to go out in public with staticky, flyaway hair, chapped lips, and rough, scaly skin. A whole-house humidifier helps keep your skin and hair hydrated and glowing!
- It helps keep your plants healthy. Plants, like humans, need to stay hydrated. If the air in your home is too dry, you might start to notice your plants drying out, turning brown, and cracking, no matter how often you water them. By adding moisture back into the air with a humidifier, you can keep everything looking lush and perky all winter long.
- It helps keep your home in tip-top shape. We mentioned that dry air is bad for the wood, leather, and paper in your home. Adding moisture to the air can prevent some of the wear-and-tear on your hardwood floors, books, art, and leather clothing.
- It saves you money. Humid air is great at trapping heat. So, if you run a humidifier when you turn on your furnace, you’ll get more bang for your buck. That efficiency means you can run your heater less often at a lower temperature, which leads to a decrease in your energy bill.
Whole-House Humidifiers vs. Portable Humidifiers
There are benefits and downsides to both whole-house and portable humidifiers. The main benefit for portable humidifiers is that they’re…well, portable. You can move them from room to room as needed, or if you’re renting you can pack them up and move them from home to home. They offer convenient, localized humidity when and where you need it. The downside is that they require a lot of maintenance (filling the water reservoir almost daily) and cleaning. And, contrary to popular belief, the higher-quality models can actually end up being more expensive than a whole-house option. Portable humidifiers also tend to be fairly noisy, which can really put a damper on movie night.
Whole-house humidifiers are, by far, our humidifier of choice for most homes. Because they integrate into your HVAC and duct systems, they provide much more consistent and easily managed humidity levels. They draw moisture from your water supply, which means you don’t have to worry about refilling them every day, and—while they will need to be cleaned and checked for mineral buildup about once a year—they’re pretty much maintenance- and hassle-free. They’re also virtually silent, less expensive to install than you might think, and quite cost-efficient to run.
So there you have it. A whole-house humidifier can help improve your health, sleep, skin, and hair, and can protect your home, furniture, and plants from the ravages of a dry Indiana winter. Give us a call to learn more about our whole-house humidifiers and to get one installed in your home.