What You Need To Know Before Buying a Humidifier | Heating and Air Conditioning Repair in Azle, TX
If the air in your home is dry as the tundra, you need an air humidifier to increase moisture levels. As the name implies, these devices are designed to increase humidity levels in dry areas by dispersing a steady stream of mist. This can prove useful during winter when air can get dry enough to cause:
- Asthma attacks
- Bloody noses
- Itchy and cracked skin
- Sensitive throats
- Cracked lips
- Painful skin flare-ups
With prolonged exposure, dry air can cause serious health issues such as sinus infections, colds that refuse to go away and congestion. While heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX can ensure you remain warm, humidifiers can ensure that air remains safe to breathe.
In fact, a humidifier can also go a long way in ensuring the structural integrity of your home and furniture. Dry wood can crack or warp very easily after all and wallpaper can peel off if the air is parched as well. The damage can be costly not to mention unsightly. Plus, the dry air can cause static which can lead to harmless but nasty shocks.
Humidifier Buying Guide
After heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX, you should seriously consider investing in a humidifier for your home. If you are unsure what you need, the first thing you should do is check the humidity levels in each room with a hygrometer. These can help you determine whether the air you are breathing is moist enough to prevent the aforementioned issues.
After you have done that, you need to decide which type you need. You have two choices – humidifiers that give off warm mist and units that emit cold mist. Cool mist humidifiers are designed to emit a cold stream of vapor that remains at room temperature.
Warm mist humidifiers on the other hand emit a warm stream of fine mist into the air using an internal heating system. The system boils water before releasing the vapors in the form of a soothing mist. These are considered healthier but they may not be suitable for large areas. When you call for heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX, you can ask them which one will suit your needs.
Types of Humidifiers
You can either go for the ultrasonic variety or the evaporative variety depending on your needs. Most people go for the former since it is more budget friendly than the latter. However, ultrasonic humidifiers are considered to be safer since it does not produce mist by boiling water. In other words, it does not present a hazard if it is knocked over.
Steam humidifiers use electricity to generate steam which cools before it is expelled in the air. However, if you have small children, this might not be the unit for you. Unlike ultrasonic humidifiers, this unit can cause serious burns if it is knocked over by errant hands.
If you still opt for it, it can be used safely if it is kept out of reach of children. A safer alternative would be an Impeller humidifier since those use rotating disks to heat and vaporize water.
Similarly, central humidifiers can be connected to an existing air conditioning service during heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX. Or you can go for simple evaporators which produce humidity by blowing air past evaporating water.
Determining Required Capacity and Moisture Levels
Before picking any of the mentioned humidifiers or opting for heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX, check out the size of the space you need one for. Most units are rated according to the area they can cover in square footage. To determine your needs, measure the room first. If you need one for a small room, a unit that covers 700 square feet should suffice.
If you purchase a humidifier that is too large for the room it is meant for, you will know it. Look for condensation buildup on the windows if you think this is so. If there is too much moisture in the air, it can create an environment that is ideal for mildew and mold growth. In other words, you may not need to call in heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX for those rising humidity levels. Your humidifier may just be too large for the space it is placed in.
Prevent this from happening and save money by looking at the packaging beforehand. The capacity will be mentioned there but don’t confuse it with moisture output which may be more than the capacity of the water tank.
While heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX, can ensure regular air circulation, it can’t increase or decrease moisture. You can do that yourself by opting for a humidifier that offers moisture control with variable fan speeds. Some also come with an in-built hygrometer that measures those levels along with a humidistat that can be set to turn the unit on and off when you need it. These features can come in quite handy when you want to leave the humidifier on unsupervised.
Risks You Should Be Aware of…
Just like irregular heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX, can lead to temperature issues, unmaintained humidifiers can also prove problematic. Units that are not cleaned on a regular basis can emit water vapor that is filled with pollutants. A tank that is not aired out once in a while can breed germs and mold which can lead to respiratory issues.
This can be prevented if the humidifier is cleaned regularly and water is not allowed to remain in it for long. Plus, during heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX, make sure that the filter is also replaced or cleaned thoroughly. That way you will always have clean, moist air to breathe when the unit is turned on.
No need to do this yourself. Whether you are in search of a suitable humidifier for your home or heating and air conditioning repair in Azle, TX, look no further than One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating. They can evaluate the equipment you have and work efficiently to ensure your comfort.