Types of Home Humidifiers
Humidifiers are appliances that produce cool or warm mist that increases the humidity of the room or the entire house. There are several types of humidifiers that you can choose from. These devices are required inn places where the air is very dry in homes where indoor heating leads to very dry air circulating in the house. Some of the side effects of air are cracked lips, dry throat and nasal passages, can impair ones immunity against viruses and may aggravate asthma. Not only people are affected by dry air. Wooded furniture, flooring and beams can crack due to excessive dryness. Paints and wall paper will peel off. One benefit of increased humidity, particularly warm mist, is that it can make the air feel warmer and thus reduce heating costs. However, proper care and maintenance of humidifiers should be observed because they can spread bacteria if they are not properly maintained.
Humidifiers spurt vapor into the air and raise the moisture in the room or house. There are two types of humidifiers, the cool-mist humidifier and the warm-mist humidifier. Before you buy a humidifiers, you have to decide what you want, whether you want to humidify a room or two or your entire house. In this case, the size of the humidifier will matter. If you want to humidify a room or two, you can get a small desk top model but if you want your entire house to be humidified, then you can get one of those console humidifiers which are about the size of laundry hampers, and depending on their capacity can humidify an entire house or apartment. They often come fitted with casters to make moving them easy. One aspect to consider is the size of the tank, which should not be too small to require frequent refills, and not too big to make it too heavy to move once filled. Few features to look out for include a rotating spout, which you can use to change the direction of the mist. Another useful
feature is a built-in humidistat that regulates the amount of humidity in the air. A good humidifier will come with a safety shut-off feature that will stop it from operating once the water gets over.
The following are some types of humidifiers:
1. Evaporative humidifiers
This type is the most popular and commonly used. This humidifier emits cool mist. The technique used in evaporative humidifiers to produce mist involves water being blown through a wet pad or wick filter by a fan. The mineral dust and bacteria get trapped here before the water evaporates into the air. The advantages of the evaporative humidifier are that it is energy-efficient, and its filter helps keep microorganisms and minerals in the water from being dispersed into the air. Proper care and maintenance should be observed when using this type of humidifier because bacteria can breed in the filters.
2. Impeller humidifiers
This type also emits cool mist to humidify your room or home. The technique used in evaporative humidifiers to produce mist involves water being blown through a wet pad or wick filter by a fan. The mineral dust and bacteria get trapped here before the water evaporates into the air. The advantages of the evaporative humidifier are that it is energy-efficient, and its filter helps keep microorganisms and minerals in the water from being dispersed into the air.
3. Ultrasonic humidifiers
This type of humidifier is the most advanced of all the types. This humidifier features both the cool and warm mist and is the reason why this is favored by many. Ultrasonic humidifiers use high-frequency vibrations to dissipate water into the air. This technology makes them the most silent type of humidifier.
4. Warm mist humidifiers
These humidifiers, also called vaporizers, heat the water and expel steam into the room. Certain medications can also be added to steam humidifiers for inhalation, and can consequently relieve congestion. As is obvious, these humidifiers are better suited for cold climates. While they do consume more electricity, they are a little quieter than the cool mist humidifiers. Bacteria growth is a concern in warm humidifiers too and thus require frequent cleaning. The warm water it contains increases the risk of a person getting accidentally scalded.
