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Top Tips for Home Humidity Control
Maintaining humidity in your home is important in the winter months, and it is not as simple as buying a humidifier and plugging it in. There are other steps that can be taken to help any humidifying equipment work to its optimum level. This is not an option for many people who suffer from asthma and other breathing disorders, as keeping the home humid can have an overall impact on all particles we breath as well as the total living environment. Here are a few tips for those who want to intensify the humidity level in their primary breathing space.
Reduce Appliance Usage
Appliance exhaust and the auxiliary warming ability they provide can impact the humidity of any home. This especially applies to clothes dryers. While a dryer often can help keep a home warm, it can also reduce humidity levels both close to the utility area and throughout the house. Ventilation systems also can transport the warm air from the point of exhaust and out into other areas of a dwelling. This can be accomplished by reduced use of fans or setting up a clothes hanging system inside when it is not practical or possible to hang them outdoors.
Boil Water on a Stove
Boiling water is a quick and easy method of increasing humidity in any living space. It is also a very natural method of increase, as a humidifier can only produce so much hydrogen into the air. As an added bonus, this can also be economical in some situations. For those who do not have a humidifier and cannot access one, boiling water is a good replacement method. This practice may be limited to the kitchen area under some circumstances, but the process can also be repeated as much as needed.
Run the Shower on Hot
Steam and humidity are effectively the same thing, and running the shower to steam up the bathroom and then releasing it can be a good short-term humidity increasing action. This is also a measure that can be taken every so often during the day. Overuse could be expensive to some degree, but it can help periodically. Additionally, running a bath tub full of water and letting it set can improve air quality as well.
Strategic Placement of House Plants
House plants are also much more than a decorative attraction in a home. Plants actually provide an alternate function by helping keep breathing spaces fresh and healthy. Plants actually extract CO2 from the atmosphere while providing more oxygen for those living in the dwelling. This is the same function plants supply in helping replenish oxygen levels in the out of doors, which is why it is very important for everyone to maintain some type of plant life in the home.
These are just a few suggestions for northern Illinois residents who are wanting to increase the humidity level in their home. Of course, for those who truly want to stabilize home humidity balance, installing a new HVAC unit with a built-in humidifier is the most effective method of humidity optimization. Not only can this be beneficial to your home livability, but it can be a good step in maintaining respiratory health at the same time.
If you have questions about home humidity, indoor air quality, any HVAC questions or concerns, or if you need maintenance, repair, or replacement of your HVAC system, contact Always Ready Repair. For over 80 years, we have been serving the residents of the Chicagoland area for all of their heating, cooling and indoor air quality needs.
