Battle Dry Winter Air with a Humidifier
This is the year you’re really ready for winter... furnace cleaned and checked... firewood re-stocked... snow tires on the cars... salt for the driveway... gas for the snow blower... and all of your cold weather gear – hats, gloves, coats, boots at the ready. Yep, when winter launches its assault on your senses, you’ve checked off all the boxes and are ready to do battle. And then, with the first sting of static electricity, you notice some cracks in your armor... dry, itchy skin... irritated eyes... sensitive sinuses... you are under attack, and the enemy is overly dry indoor air.
Dry Air
When you retreat to the comfort of your home, you are just playing into the hands of the enemy because during the heating season, your home can become overly dry with relative humidity between 5 – 15%. That’s drier than the Sahara Desert!*
Before you just throw up our hands and admit defeat, keep in mind that overly dry environments can also affect your well-being. According to the Cleveland Clinic, breathing dry air can result in respiratory ailments including asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis and nosebleeds. Breathing dry air can also lead to depleted body fluids and dehydration. Dry sinuses under these conditions make you more likely to catch a cold since the mucus loses some of its ability to trap infection.
Whole Home Humidifier
One way to combat the issues associated with dry, winter air is calling a qualified HVAC contractor and installing a whole-home humidifier. Available from Carrier®, a whole-home humidifier can help you achieve a much more comfortable 35 – 50% humidity level inside, making you feel more comfortable without having to crank up the heat.
A whole-home humidifier can enhance the comfort in your home by adding moisture to dry, indoor air during the heating season. It can provide relief from dry nasal passages as well as alleviate the discomfort of dry, itchy skin and annoying static shocks.
Carrier offers many types of humidifiers: steam humidifiers, fan-powered humidifiers, and bypass humidifiers. Consult your local Carrier HVAC contractor to learn which type is best for you.
Ideal Indoor Humidity
A properly humidified home can help save energy, too. As moisture in the air evaporates, you feel colder, are likely to turn up the heat, and your system will use extra energy. Because a humidifier can help you feel more comfortable at a lower heated temperature, you can save money on your heating costs as well.
Home Humidifier
Once you have your humidifier installed, Carrier recommends simple, routine humidifier maintenance with a qualified HVAC contractor to achieve maximum results. Many humidifier models allow maintenance operations to be completed without tools, quickly and conveniently, so you can keep your system operating at its best.
As a part of your home’s year-round comfort system, a whole-home humidifier can help you win the battle against dry, desert-like conditions in your home each winter. Then, you can throw a log on the fire... sit back... and enjoy your victory in comfort.
