If the air inside your home doesn’t contain enough moisture, you can experience a number of avoidable problems, including flooring damage and increased risks for illness. You have especially high chances of encountering these issues in colder parts of the year, when the outside air’s moisture content naturally drops. Luckily, you can keep dry air at bay by equipping your residence with a whole-home humidifier that allows you to precisely control the moisture levels in each room inside your dwelling.
The Damaging Impact of Overly Dry Air
The two most widespread forms of winter illness are the common cold and the flu. If the air inside your home doesn’t contain enough moisture, you increase your general susceptibility to the dozens of viruses capable of triggering a cold. Recent studies also show that a dry indoor environment makes it easier to spread the seasonal virus that causes the flu. In addition, flu symptoms can develop more quickly in a low-moisture environment. If you have a child with asthma, it’s important to note that repeated exposure to overly dry air makes symptoms of this condition more likely to appear. Dry air also intensifies the effects of asthma symptoms.
If you have hardwood floors in your home, lack of adequate moisture can lead to the development of expensive and unsightly cracking. The same type of cracking can appear in your walls, as well as in any woodwork inside your household. Dry air also increases the chances of generating static shocks, which are well-known for their ability to cause extensive damage in electronic equipment.
Dry air can also lead to unnecessary increases in your utility costs. That’s because the human body feels colder in a low-moisture environment than in a high-moisture environment, even when the actual temperature remains the same. When you feel colder, you naturally want to crank up the thermostat and make your home warmer. In turn, every degree of temperature increase in your thermostat setting translates into a significant increase in your monthly heating bill.
A Whole-Home Humidifier Provides Relief
Whole-home humidifiers work on the same principle as single-room humidifiers by adding needed moisture to the air. However, as their name implies, whole-home units simultaneously supply extra moisture to your entire house. They provide this broad effect because they tie straight into your HVAC system and spread moistened air through the connected ducting network. A monitor attached to a whole-home humidifier lets you keep tabs on current moisture levels and make any required year-round adjustments.
Installation of a whole-home humidifier is a simple project for a trained HVAC specialist. This means that, for a relatively low cost, you can avoid excessively dry indoor air and the accompanying threats to your health and valuable property. Contact the expert staff at Bartlett Heating & Air Conditioning for more information on installing a whole-home humidifier in your household. You can also follow us on these pages for regular advice on how to maintain the comfort of your indoor environment.
