What are humidifiers for?

In an effort to preserve health and beauty, we visit gyms, follow a diet, try to use only fresh food and purified drinking water. But what do we know about the air we breathe? Every day the townspeople have to breathe in a “air mixture” that does not stand up to any criticism, which is rich in dust, car exhausts, industrial emissions and, in addition, contains a host of microorganisms. The harmfulness of dust is not in doubt not only among asthmatics, but also among absolutely healthy people. For many, pollen is no better – the strongest allergen that causes swelling of the respiratory tract, runny nose, sore nose and throat. And “harmful” viruses and bacteria can cause various diseases. Together with other environmental problems, “dirty” air undermines the immune system and causes a whole bunch of chronic diseases. Studies show that the presence of “unwanted” components in the atmosphere depends on humidity. The high moisture content promotes the precipitation of suspended microparticles. And, conversely, in a dry climate, dust is “a pillar”. No wonder after the rain the air becomes fresh, clean and literally washed.

For humans, the optimal relative humidity is in the range of 40-60%. Then he feels comfortable. When the moisture content in the atmosphere is less than 40%, even in absolutely healthy people, drowsiness, absent-mindedness, dry skin and mucous membranes of the mouth and nose appear, and general well-being worsens. The likelihood of catching a respiratory infection in a room with dry air is much higher than in a cold outside. By the way, the human skin is 70% water. As a result of metabolic processes, it loses about half a liter of moisture during the day, and in winter – up to a liter. In any women’s magazine, you will find a lot of tips on how to replenish fluid loss, get rid of dry skin, prevent wrinkles and prolong skin youth. But all these creams, lotions and masks are fighting only with the effect, not the cause. But it is enough to increase the air humidity in the apartment, and moisture loss will be significantly reduced. And today, special climatic devices are used for these purposes – air humidifiers..

Boiling is at the heart of steam appliances. The water is evaporated by two electrodes immersed in it. While they are in the liquid, current flows in the electrical circuit, and, therefore, heating and evaporation occurs. Operational safety is inherent in the design of the humidifier: the electric current flows only in the presence of liquid. When the water is completely evaporated (boiled away), the circuit is opened and the device automatically turns off. Connect the power cord only to the assembled device, when bare electrodes are out of reach. For obvious reasons, steam models are not recommended to be installed in a nursery: after all, the steam is quite hot – 50-60 degrees. But these devices are great for inhalation and aromatherapy and will save you from having to sit under a towel over a kettle. It is enough to put a few drops of fragrant oil in a special “nose” on the body of the humidifier, sit down in the immediate vicinity of the unit, and you will inhale the therapeutic vapors. It is recommended to install traditional and ultrasonic devices in the children’s bedroom, as well as climatic complexes.

Traditional appliances are based on the effect of natural “cold” evaporation. Water is poured into tanks, from which it flows into a sump, from where it enters special evaporative elements. A built-in fan blows air through the evaporator and thus humidifies the atmosphere. The simplest humidifiers operate on removable paper cassettes with antibacterial impregnation, which are designed for an average of 2-3 months of operation. Water permeates the paper, rising from the bottom up, like through capillaries. In more expensive installations, the evaporator has plastic discs with an absorbent surface, which, rotating like a mill, collect moisture droplets from the pan. The fight against microorganisms and bacteria in such devices is carried out by electrodes located in the pan.

“Cold” evaporation is a self-regulating process: the relative humidity can only reach a certain value for a given temperature. At high temperatures, the evaporation rate increases. Therefore, to improve the performance of a conventional humidifier, you can place it near a heat source. Together with humidification, such systems naturally purify the air. First, dust and dirt accumulates in the evaporator cassette. Secondly, high humidity contributes to the deposition of microparticles suspended in the air on the surfaces of walls and floors. Approximately the same effect is achieved after wet cleaning indoors. An interesting physical effect is used in ultrasonic humidification systems. Water from the tank is fed to a plate vibrating at a high frequency, where it is split into the smallest spray. Microscopic droplets gush over the plate and form a cloud through which the fan drives the outside air. Simply put, an ultrasonic humidifier allows you to generate fog at home.

The released vapors only look hot, in fact they are cold and humid, as well as absolutely safe for the health of large and small. The device is equipped with a built-in hygrostat that allows you to regulate the level of “generated” humidity. With natural and “hot” evaporation, only pure water gets into the air, and the ultrasonic device sprays a liquid with all the impurities it contains. The use of hard water leads to the fact that over time, in the room where the ultrasonic humidifier is operating, a white coating appears on the floor, furniture and leaves of indoor plants. Accordingly, we breathe the same. To avoid this, it is best to use distilled water..

But in ultrasonic devices this problem has already been solved: they have a built-in filter. Ion exchange resin softens hard water, so the humidifier can be refilled even from the tap. Such a cartridge lasts 3-4 months. Today, ultrasonic humidification is the most effective method. Devices operating on this principle are distinguished by high performance and minimum noise level. Climatic complexes combine the functions of purification, humidification and additional air aromatization. The air humidification system in the climatic complex is similar to the traditional devices described above. The fan blows air through the evaporator, a cellular paper cassette with antibacterial impregnation that absorbs water from the sump as it evaporates. If a conventional humidifier only partially flushes the air, creating the effect of wet cleaning, then the climatic complex carries out a three-stage cleaning of the atmosphere in the room.

First, air enters the unit through special anti-allergenic HEPA filters. Dust, microparticles and pollen of plants settle there. Then it is driven through a vaporizer with antibacterial impregnation, where microorganisms that have passed through the HEPA barrier die. Here the air is enriched with moisture vapor.

And finally, purified and moistened, it passes through a carbon filter, which absorbs unpleasant odors and effectively removes pungent tobacco smoke. In addition to air cleaning and maintaining optimal humidity, climatic complexes can be used for aromatherapy. The device has a special capsule for the bottle, from where the aromatic substance is fed into the water container and evaporates with it. When using fragrances, the carbon filter is not installed so that it does not remove “healthy” odors. Fragrant oils are used not only for inhalation, the presence of their delicate aroma in the air has a preventive and tonic effect on the human body.