Winter in the Kansas City area can be brutal on your skin. You are probably just used to always being a little itchy, a little uncomfortable, and constantly applying chapstick or lotion. Under normal conditions, skin’s outer layer has a water content of 10 to 30 percent. Water content in the skin comes from sweat, the underlying layers of skin and the atmosphere. Skin’s natural oils act as moisturizers, allowing it to seal in water. Dry skin occurs when its outer layer loses water faster than it can be replaced, and the outer layer’s water content falls below 10 percent.
Many things can cause dry skin: harsh soaps, frequent bathing, sun exposure and low humidity levels. The prolonged use of indoor heat accelerates water loss from skin cells and the outer layer of skin tends to reflect the level of humidity around it. Those nice healthy skin cells you have in the summertime can shrivel causing rough, scaly and itchy skin. In its most severe cases, skin’s lack of moisture can lead to cracks or bleeding. How can a humidifier solve more than just dry skin in winter?
It’s all about humidity
So here’s the secret: make the air in your home feel like summer. It is all about humidity. Ever notice when you travel to warm, humid climates you never need lotion? A room heated by a furnace can have as little as 10 percent moisture, but a humidifier keeps moisture circulating, which can help skin retain its natural moisture. Let’s make your home a little tropical haven in the winter.
The best way to improve the humidity in your entire house, so you have prolonged exposure to humid air, is to professionally install a whole home humidifier and set it to around 60%. Whole-home humidifiers connect permanently to your water supply, so they don’t have be filled with water every day or two as with tank-style humidifiers.
Isn’t that expensive? Not if you consider the alternative. A whole home humidifier can run between $450-$850 installed. For about $1-$2 per day you can feel more comfortable, run your furnace less and improve your overall health. (See below).
Why Not Just Use a Cheap Humidifier For Each Room?
There are many reasons why a whole home humidifier is superior to a small humidifier you can buy at any local store.
- Individual, small humidifiers can make you sick: If you don’t replace the water in your humidifier daily so bacteria and mold don’t grow, you can get very ill. Then, you’ll have a much bigger problem than just dry skin or a stuffy nose. Whole Home Humidifiers use a fresh stream of water from your home’s plumbing system so there is not old, moldy, standing water that is then sent into your air. Gross.
- While the portability of individual humidifiers is nice, it is much more effective to use a whole home humidifier that sends equal amounts of humidity to each room at the same time. This save you a ton of time from needing to move units, cleaning them regularly and also it provides the whole house with equal levels of comfort.
- Too much humidity can be as much of a problem as too little humidity. Mold growth in your home may contribute to health issues, as well as cause potential damage to your home. Unlike individual portable humidifiers, a whole home humidifier constantly monitors humidity levels and then sends the perfect amount of moisture into the air throughout your entire home.
(Quick tip: If you see moisture collecting on the inside of your windows, drops of water running down the kitchen tile, or mold growing anywhere in the house, you know you have too much moisture. We recommend every home use a humidistat to monitor the levels of humidity.)
- Maintenance of a whole home humidifier is easy and infrequent in comparison to a portable humidifier. Whole home humidifiers require cleaning and maintenance once or twice a year while portable room humidifiers require constant maintenance and are often messy and ineffective. If you have an individual, portable humidifier for a single room, it is recommended you change the water daily, clean it weekly, and use only distilled water. Who has time for all that?
Even More Reasons to Install a Whole Home Humidifier
1. Preventing influenza- Some researchers believe humidifiers might reduce the risk of catching the flu. After adding the influenza virus to the air with a simulated cough, researchers found that humidity levels above 40 percent rapidly deactivated virus particles, making them much less likely to be infectious. The reason we get more colds in the winter season is due more to the dry air indoors, where airborne viruses live and circulate, than the cold weather itself.
2. Helps plants and floors- Any houseplants (cactus not included) may become more healthy looking, and wood floors or furniture may last longer. The slats of a wood floor can separate and leave gaps that fill with dust, which keep them from closing back. Humidity can also help to prevent wallpaper from cracking and static electricity from building up.
3. Speaking of static- Static electricity is exponentially higher in dry winter months. This is annoying when dealing with your laundry or frizzy hair. More importantly, built up static can damage sensitive electronics; even create sparks which could potentially be dangerous. Properly humidified air has the ability to limit, and most often prevent problems that come from static.
4. Save your electricity- In the cold winter months, you probably spend more on heating than you would like. Humid air can also feel warmer than dry air, which could help you save money on utility bills when it is cold outside.
Don’t just take our word for it
The National Institutes of Health recommends the use of humidifiers to help relieve congestion from the common cold, flu, and sinus infections. And humidifiers can also help alleviate the symptoms of dry eyes, eczema, itchy skin, dry nasal passages, cracked lips, and nose bleeds due to dry air, allergies, or asthma.
Here’s an opinion from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Humidifiers are commonly used in homes to relieve the physical discomforts of dry nose, throat, lips, and skin. The moisture they add to dry air also helps alleviate common nuisances brought on by winter heating, such as static electricity, splitting woodwork and cracks in paint and furniture.
A quote from Miguel Wolbert, MD, a board-certified allergist in Midland, TX – Having a humidifier can do wonders for your nose, sinuses, and airways — if it’s used properly, humidifiers can help prevent nasal irritation and nosebleeds, and keep your airways from becoming inflamed. And that’s a good thing, because once the nasal passages are more lubricated, then it becomes easier to blow out the irritants, pathogens, and of course allergens that accumulate in them.
Need more information? We understand.
You want to spend your hard-earned money wisely. Give us a call and you can speak with one of our expert technicians who install these humidifiers every day. They have the experience to answer any questions you might have.
Also, if you make the excellent decision to install a home humidifier and for whatever reason you would like your money back, we have a no-hassle guarantee.
Call 913-829-1505 before 5pm to speak with our experts.
*Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/
https://www.gaiam.com/