Create a Healthy Home Environment humidifers help fight covid 19 By David Elphee Indoor Humidity Studies have found that low relative humidity increases the risk of transmitting the viruses responsible for COVID-19 and influenza With the winter months well upon us indoor humidity levels have plummeted. Humidifiers are an important step towards creating a healthy environment for your family, but are all humidifiers the same? Which is best for your home and budget? Relative humidity (RH) is the measure of moisture in the air at a given temperature. Warm air can hold more moisture than cool air, which is why humidity is "relative" to temperature. Cool air from outdoors sneaks into your home through doors, around windows, cracks, and vents. The air may be moderately humid. Your home heater warms the air up to what you have your thermostat set on. Because of the change in temperature, relative humidity drops which can be drier than the Sahara Desert. Air this dry sucks up moisture from wherever it can. Skin, houseplants, woodwork, even the glue holding your furniture together. When a person inhales, the air soaks up moisture from inside the lungs. This has an adverse effect on lung function. Portable Humidifiers Portable humidifiers are the cheapest option for adding humidity to a single room or small area of the home. These need to be refilled with water frequently.. Some portable humidifiers have such a low capacity for evaporating water that they barely affect that humidity in the home. If your portable humidifier holds a gallon of water, and you refill it three times a day, that's three gallons per day of moisture evaporated into the home, which isn't much.. Central Humidifiers Central or "whole house" humidifiers installed on your ducted heating system have a number of benefits over the portable type. They humidify the
entire home, and they have a much higher capacity. They don't need refilling, as they are piped into your home's water supply. If they are maintained properly, they can last longer than your furnace or heat pump. Humidifiers can be classified as either evaporative or steam. Evaporative humidifiers use the air and heat from your central heating system to evaporate water as it flows through the humidifier. In decades past, some humidifiers had a tank that held water continuously, but it is rare to see these anymore as holding water induce mold growth, which can spread to your ducts distributing mold spores throughout the home. Evaporative Humidifiers Evaporative humidifiers will require a new pad at least once a year, depending on how many minerals you have in your water. As water evaporates, minerals left behind build up on the pad, and eventually inhibit evaporation. A neglected pad can even cause your humidifier to leak. Changing the pad is fairly simple and does not require tools, so many homeowners do this themselves. Some evaporative humidifiers have a built-in fan to help with evaporation, while others use ducted air and rely on your heating system's fan. Both have similar humidification capacities of 12 to 18 gallons per day, but this can be misleading. The final capacity of any humidifier depends on how it is controlled. A basic setup is a humidifier that runs when the heat is running. A better control system involves running the humidifier any time the humidity drops below the setpoint on the humidistat, regardless of whether the heat is running. For this to work, the central blower needs to come on when the humidifier is running, which requires extra control wiring. It is also helpful if your humidifier is piped to your home's hot water instead of cold. This type of setup is "independent of the heat" and will result in much more
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humidity production. Evaporative humidifiers are often not enough to raise the relative humidity to desired levels, especially in larger homes. Any humidifier is better than no humidifier, but if you want to maintain a target indoor RH, a steam humidifier is recommended. Steam Humidifiers Steam humidifiers use David Elphee(R) reviewing a job with electricity to evaporate water. Installer Jason Knight While these models feature a tank water out of the air. At an indoor that holds water, the water is sterilized temperature of 70 degrees and 50% RH, every time the humidifier operates, so the dew point will be about 53 degrees. they are not subject to the mold problem Cold windows will fog up, poorly insulated described previously. As a further ceilings or walls can become damp, and precaution, the units are drained when concrete floors can become slippery. Highnot in use. Most steam humidifier end humidistats have an automatic manufacturers now utilize a canister-type feature which can take care of this for you. system, which has simplified maintenance Just like running your humidifier significantly. Older style steam humidifiers independent of the heat, it requires a little required cleaning by a professional, but extra wiring when installed. the new models feature a simple Conclusion disposable container that gets replaced A humidifier is a great periodically. Steam humidifiers must be investment for your home. It can help controlled independent of the heat. protect you family's health as well as your The main benefit of a steam home's woodwork and furniture. If you do humidifier is its high capacity, but this decide to invest, be sure to choose a comes at a price. All humidifiers require reputable, qualified contractor willing to energy to evaporate water. Evaporative discuss your specific needs and budget. humidifiers use the heat from your central heater, so if you heat with gas or oil you Resources probably won't notice the extra energy Ward, Michael. "Low Humidity expenditure. Steam humidifiers, however, Increases COVID-19 Risk." ScienceDaily, use electricity. And not just a little. It is www.sciencedaily.com not uncommon for a steam humidifier to Kudo, Eriko, et al. "Low Ambient raise the electric bill by $80 a month or Humidity Impairs Barrier Function and more. Given the current pandemic, Innate Resistance against Influenza Infection." PNAS, National Academy of however, this may be money well spent. Sciences,www.pnas.org How Much is Too Much? Joseph G. Allen, Akiko Iwasaki. The ideal humidity for "Opinion | This Winter, Fight Covid-19 preventing virus transmission appears to with Humidity." The Washington Post be between 40 and 60% RH, but many Sandoiu, Ana. "How Humidity homes will not support a RH much higher May Affect COVID-19 Outcome." Medical than 45%. The exact number varies by News Today www.medicalnewstoday.com home, but raising humidity also raises the dewpoint temperature, and any surface colder than the dewpoint will condense
David Elphee is a Service & Install Manager at Appleton Campbell
