While winter may be officially over soon, there are still quite a few cold spring days you’ll have to contend with before summer is in full effect. And with cold days come dry air, which can be inconvenient if too much of it is mixing with the environment inside your home.
At PureFilters, we know how hard it is to adapt to a climate that changes with the seasons. The way we see it, everyone has the right to warm, high-quality air, but many may not know how to go about it. This is why we’re happy to prepare our customers with the right tips so they can spread the word about the benefits of fresh indoor air.
We’ve compiled some of the risks dry air can pose to your household for just this purpose. Let’s have a look at them before discussing strategies to avoid them.
- A greater chance of illness: dry air enters your nose and strips mucus of its particle-catching powers, leaving you more vulnerable to ailments such as sinus infections, the flu, and the common cold. Your throat also has mucous membranes designed to keep pollutants from entering your body and making you sick. Without this protection, you’re putting your respiratory system at risk.
- Allergies and asthma attacks: because there is less moisture in cold air, it’s more inviting to dust, which can constrict the airways of asthma sufferers and induce an attack. If you have allergies, you’re no better off, because a greater concentration of particles in the air can inflame your sinuses and have you reaching for medication when preventative measures could have saved you the anguish. See our solutions at the end of this article!
- Dry skin: your skin produces a thin layer of oil to keep it moist and healthy. Cold dry air can strip this layer away and lead to itchiness and flakiness. Cranking your furnace may seem like the answer, because warm air contains more moisture than cold air. The problem here is that your furnace sources its air from the outdoors. If it’s cold outside, turning it up will raise the temperature in your home, but it will not add any moisture.
- Damage to your home: dry air can also extract moisture from your walls, causing your plaster and drywall to crack, and the wood in your foundation to lose integrity.
While dry air can turn into a major inconvenience if left unchecked, there are a number of simple steps you can take to control it.
Humidifiers
Humidifiers are a great way to protect your family's health by introducing moisture into your home environment. They come in many varieties depending on your tastes and needs, but the most effective include the following pair:
- Evaporative humidifiers function with the help of three simple components: a receptacle for water, a special filter that absorbs the water, and a fan to blow through the filter and fill the surrounding area with moisturized air.
- Steam humidifiers function by boiling water and releasing steam into the room. They are more affordable than evaporative humidifiers, but can pose a safety risk, especially for kids, because they can get quite hot if left running for an extended period of time.
One useful tip is to set your humidity level below 50%. This will prevent mold from forming and deter bacteria and small insects.
Humidifier Pads
Humidifier pads are ingenious products that attach to your furnace to add moisture to your household airflow. A pad connects directly to your house’s water supply, as well as to a humidity detector that triggers water to be released onto the pad when humidity levels are too low. Your furnace then forces air through the moistened pad, creating a comfortable atmosphere throughout your home.
PureFilters is proud to keep dry air at bay with our extensive line of humidifier pads compatible with major brands and fit for any need. Just make sure to replace yours at least every two months to avoid nasty build-up, lower your energy bill, and keep from catching a cold or cough down the line. Click the link to learn more about humidifier pads and how they can improve your overall health and help you sleep soundly throughout the night.
Cozy Energy Efficiency
You may not hear the two mentioned together that often, but a cozy home environment goes hand-in-hand with energy efficiency.
For example, regularly replacing your furnace filters and humidifier filters will not only improve your indoor airflow, it will prevent your furnace from working too hard and raising your monthly energy bill. Because these tasks are so easy to forget, we’ve streamlined the process by creating a filter subscription service that saves our customers valuable time. Simply get in touch with one of our friendly staff members to sign up at 1, 3, 6, or 12-month intervals.
Similar benefits can be had by thoroughly inspecting your home for air leaks and sealing them up without delay. That way, the cold won’t find its way inside and leech moisture from your indoor air, allowing you to breathe with greater ease as you cook dinner, watch a movie, or curl up on the couch with some tea and a good book.
DIY Tips
If you enjoy a good DIY life hack, there are a few proven examples that make it easier to breathe inside your home. One is to save your loonies and quarters and use a drying rack after washing your clothes. The dampness won’t compare to a humidifier pad but should provide some relief. Another method is to fill two or three glass containers with water and place them either in the sun or near your radiator. The water will slowly evaporate throughout the day and make a tangible difference to your air quality.
When there are a million things to do, and time is of the essence, worrying about the freshness of your indoor airflow shouldn’t be holding you back. Give us a ring, or send us an email, and we’ll be glad to match you with a first-class humidifier pad to adjust your home’s humidity to a more pleasant level.
