Measure moisture levels in your home using this type of device and keep them between 30% and 50% in winter. If needed, you can use a humidifier when the air is too dry. However, be sure to monitor moisture using a hygrometer. If moisture levels reach or exceed 50%, stop using the humidifier.
When you stop using your furnace in spring, it's typically the right time to turn off the whole home humidifier. Continue to monitor indoor relative humidity levels throughout the year and only use the humidifier when indoor relative humidity levels fall below 30%.
If you plan to use your humidifier through the night, consider a humidifier with at least 8 hours of run time. If you plan to run your humidifier through the day, consider a humidifier with longer run times to reduce the frequency of tank refills.
Cold, dry air sucks out the moisture from your skin, causing all kinds of problems, such as dullness, dryness, flaking, and premature aging. Humidifiers can help treat those problems during the winter months. The indoor levels of humidity of furnace-heated air can decline to 10% or less.
Use it Year Round (in Most Environments)
"Incorporating a humidifier into your daily life ensures that you are creating a stable environment for your skin and health," Engelman says.
It is a small change, but using a humidifier at night can make a big difference. It can help you to sleep better and help your body stay healthy. During both the winter and summer, in particular, maintaining a relative humidity level between 40 and 60% indoors has a number of surprising benefits.
Placing your humidifier 2-4 feet above the ground is recommended for even moisture distribution. As humidifiers expel moisturized air at the top, it's necessary to keep a distance of 4 feet below the ceiling to avoid mold growth.
Warm-mist humidifiers produce a powerfully warm mist that is both soothing and visible, a moisture that is especially beneficial during those cold winter months. By gently boiling water, the humidifier sends clean, warm vapor through the air of your home or living space.
Countering the cold and dryness
A humidifier helps to increase moisture in the air which can ease symptoms and may also reduce nasal congestion related to a cold or the flu. Adding water vapor to the air seems to make breathing easier when you have a runny nose and a dry cough.
Although running your humidifier all night is perfectly safe, there are humidifier safety tips to bear in mind: Monitor your home humidity levels: The optimal home humidity levels range from 40% to 60%. Humidity levels exceeding 60% create a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, which can infiltrate your home.
By running your humidifier regularly, you can make a room feel warmer without having to run your heater. Many homeowners who get a humidifier find they can turn their thermostat down by a few degrees without getting any noticeable difference.
However, the air in the summer is moist, which makes using your humidifier unnecessary. The use of your humidifier during the summer months can actually reduce the effectiveness of your AC and lead to increased energy bills. For this reason, it's essential to shut down your humidifier once heating season is over.
Place your ultrasonic humidifier at least 1 foot away from all walls, furniture, curtains, and other electronic appliances and point the mist nozzle into the middle of the room.
Run the Humidifier Day and Night
During the season when air humidity levels are low, it's usually best to run the humidifier constantly, provided it has a built-in humidistat that senses air humidity levels and controls the output of the appliance.
So, can you use tap water in a humidifier? While you technically can; it's not recommended. Instead, look for demineralized, distilled, and purified water at the store. This kind of water is less likely to result in mold and bacteria growth inside your humidifier.
Both systems help reduce ailments like chest congestion, allergies, and asthma. For example, a dehumidifier can help treat asthma that is triggered by humid air. Or, if you are suffering from a cold that has caused nasal passage blockage or sinus congestion, using a humidifier will help break that up.
Given these factors, it's often recommended to run a humidifier for at least 12 hours per day, typically during sleeping hours when people spend the most time in the room.
Specifically, we recommend that you keep your humidifier at a distance of around 3 feet from your bed – although there's no inherent harm in placing it closer, if you're restricted on room.
Leaving your humidifier running at night time has numerous benefits for your overall health and well-being. You'll have much better sleep, less infection risk, and moisturized skin. A better sleep experience: When your humidifier is switched on while you sleep at night, it maintains the room humidity.
In Home Humidifiers
Notable New York City-based physician Dr. Keri Peterson says that one step people can take during cold & flu season is to “keep humidity levels in your home between 40 and 60 percent. This can help reduce the survival of flu viruses on surfaces and in the air.”
Left unchanged, 50% humidity is too much in the colder months and can lead to home damage. When the air gets really cold outside, between 0 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 and -12 degrees Celsius), lowering the indoor humidity to 20% will be a comfortable humidifier setting.
For example, it is actually possible that a room can have too much moisture. If your humidifier is set too high, it can result in the proliferation of dust mites which can trigger allergy symptoms. The ideal humidity setting for most homes is approximately 40-60% humidity.