5 Tips to Choosing the Right Humidifier for Your Home

When outdoor temperatures plunge, humidity and moisture inside your home swiftly dip from pleasant to scorched. Humidifiers replace moisture, relieving a heap of physical discomforts from allergies to chapped skin, scratchy sore throats and respiratory problems. But excessive moisture promotes the growth of bacteria, mold and dust mites. You want the right balance. A few pointers to picking the best humidifier that will suit your needs include:

Know the types of humidifiers at your disposal

There are several types of humidifiers:

• Whole-room– effective for your whole home.
• Single room– ideal for a single room.
• Cool mist– easy to clean and maintain with low electricity consumption. Suitable for warm climates. They’re either evaporative or ultrasonic and humidify large areas.
• Warm mist– Suitable for cold climates. Though they consume a lot of electricity, they have germicidal action.
• Ultrasonic– ultrasonic technology disperses high input of warm and cold superfine mist.

All of these different types of humidifiers can differ in the way it disperses vapor in the air.

Scrutinize their maintenance and handling options

Think you’ve found the perfect humidifier? Some humidifiers require high maintenance to function correctly. The ideal humidifier should be easy to clean, easy to use and have a humidistat.

Single-room humidifiers need weekly cleaning, while whole-room humidifiers are cleaned twice annually. Most people find it inconvenient to check and change the humidifier filters and opt for a humidifier with permanent filters. Frequent cleaning ensures the moisture put out is clean and safe to breathe, free from allergens and bacteria.

Check out the noise levels you can accommodate

Some humidifiers can be extremely noisy. If you are sensitive to noise, the howtohome guide helps you choose a suitable quiet humidifier. Ultrasonic humidifiers are silent because they trade the usual noisy fan for a vibrating nebulizer producing sound waves at a higher frequency. Evaporative humidifiers are the loudest because they have many moving parts. Warm mist humidifiers are less noisy compared to cool mist humidifiers; this is because the former doesn’t use a fan.

Consider sizing and spacing

Keep in mind room sizing and spacing when choosing a humidifier.  Properly insulated rooms need a small humidifier, while poorly insulated rooms require a larger humidifier for the same task.

The square footage of the room should coincide with that of the humidifier for efficient functioning. A larger humidifier ensures condensation takes place and the added moisture creates a favorable environment for bacteria and mildew to thrive.

The conventional humidifiers and room sizes include:

• Small humidifiers- rooms up to 300 sq feet.
• Medium humidifiers- 300-499 sq feet.
• Large humidifiers- 500-999 sq feet
• Extra large humidifiers- 1000 sq feet.

Settle for a capacity that suits your needs

Humidifier capacity refers to the maximum moisture output it produces per 24 hours. Most humidifiers range between 1-4 gallons. Large-capacity humidifiers require less frequent refilling as compared to their smaller counterparts.

Go for one with a sizeable evaporative capacity to disperse moisture quickly. The capacity should match your household needs. Estimate capacity using the square footage of the given space.

In summary, picking the most suitable humidifier for your needs can be mind-numbing, especially if it’s your first time. There are various designs to choose from. Consider the multiple aspects of a good humidifier so that you select the best option for your needs.

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