Is a Humidifier Worth It? Let's Find Out
A humidifier is a machine that adds moisture to the air. Like much in everyday life; humidifiers come with pros and cons.
Sometimes you might need it, sometimes you don't. How do you know when? It's time to learn about what humidity is, how it affects our bodies, and whether or not getting a humidifier is worth it.
What is humidity?
Humidity is the amount of water that's present in the air, or how moist the air is. Most people live in areas where humidity is pretty low - like 40-50% (just compare your skin after you leave a hot shower vs going outside on a cold morning).
When humidity gets up to 100%, things start to get a little more uncomfortable. For example, the air becomes thick and hard to breathe - kind of like it's raining on your face all the time. If you don't believe me, go sneeze in the snow!
Humidity is a very important factor for our bodies. It can affect many factors of your health from breathing to sleeping.
How does humidity affect our bodies?
Breathing in humid air is better for your body - it's easier on the throat and nasal passage.
Humid air also allows your mucous to stick together, which helps protect you from getting sick. For example, if you were living in areas of high humidity (like swamps, jungles), you would be less likely to get sick because the air is already sticky.
Humid air makes it easier to sleep - which you probably know if you live in a dry area (no humidity = it's like sleeping on sandpaper).
Not only does humid air make it easier for your body to sleep; it also helps with humidity loss. Yes, your body loses water when you breathe it out - humid air causes less of that.
As you can see, it's very important for your body to stay at a certain level of humidity. For most people, the ideal air level is 40-60% before things get way too uncomfortable!
Coming to humidifiers - do they help?
Having a humidifier in your home, office, or bedroom can be great. It helps keep the air at a comfortable level of humidity. Here are some tips if you were to get one:
- Make sure it's not too dry - this sounds weird, but sometimes people get them when the humidity is already low. In this case, it's better to have a humidifier without one - so you can manually add moisture to the air yourself by spraying water in the air.
- Make sure it's not too wet - if you have a humidifier that doesn't have a clip or humidistat, then you need to manually monitor the humidity level. Ideally, it needs to be between 30-40% all the time - so don't set it too high, or else you'll get sick!
- Don't let pets near them - humidifiers can be dangerous for your furry friends because they're attracted to the steam that comes out of them. If they fall into the water tank, they can get really sick (or even die).
- Clean them regularly - humidifiers need to be cleaned because there's a chance that mold and bacteria can grow inside. If you don't, it might make your family members sick!
Overall, humidifiers are great for people who live in dry areas or like extra moisture in the air. They can help with breathing, sleeping, and protection from getting sick - just make sure to use them the right way!
Is a humidifier worth it?
Humidifiers are good for people who live in dry areas or who want extra moisture in the air. If you have a medium-sized space, consider buying a humidifier for 1000 square feet area, don't buy a big humidifier since it works faster than a small one and will significantly increase humidity.
Wrapping Up
In general, humidifiers are good for people who live in dry areas or who want extra moisture in the air. They can help with breathing, sleeping, and protection from getting sick - just make sure to use them the right way!