Tips For Choosing A Humidifier
There are many factors to consider when buying a humidifier. Although price is an important consideration, here are some other factors to keep in mind when trying to choose the right humidifier for your sinusitis.
- Buy the right size. Make sure you buy a humidifier thats the right size for the space where itll be used. A humidifier thats too large for the space can create too much moisture which, in turn, could encourage the growth of mold and bacteria. A humidifier thats too small wont give you the level of humidity you need to help relieve your symptoms.
- Easy to clean. Choose a model thats easy to take apart and put back together, so cleaning is quick and simple.
- Humidity feature. Look for a humidistat feature that shuts off the device when the air reaches an optimal humidity.
- Listen before you buy. Turn the humidifier on and listen to it before you buy it. Some models may be loud enough to disturb your sleep.
- Read reviews. Be sure to read the ratings and reviews on different humidifiers before you buy one. Make sure it has the features you need and that it will be easy to clean and maintain.
- Check out the warranty. Look for a product warranty that lasts at least a year.
The right kind of humidifier may help reduce sinusitis and allergy symptoms when used correctly.
Here are a few tips on how to use a humidifier:
Buy Ultrasonic Humidifiers From Air Innovations
Ultrasonic humidifiers are a type of cool mist humidifiers that use high-frequency sound vibrations to produce a fine water mist that will add moisture to any room or space. Its highly favored over other humidifier devices because its a lot quieter, allowing you to reap all the benefits without much noise. Air Innovations offers a wide selection of ultrasonic humidifiers to choose from. Whether youre looking for a small unit or an extra large option, we have all the ultrasonic humidifiers youll ever need. Our ultrasonic humidifiers include permanent ceramic filters that never need to be replaced. Theyre available in a number of colors and sizes, making them work for just about any room or space. Weve also included innovative humidifier features to our units like antimicrobial plastic to prevent bacteria, mold and mildew growth.
How Does Humidity Affect Health
Both systems help reduce ailments like chest congestion, allergies, and asthma. For example, a dehumidifier can help treat asthma that is triggered by humid air. Or, if you are suffering from a cold that has caused nasal passage blockage or sinus congestion, using a humidifier will help break that up.
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A Who Is Going To Use The Humidifier
First and foremost, who will be using the humidifier?
This is important because the best humidifiers for adults may not be beneficial to small babies or toddlers and vice versa.
When you are buying for children and animals, warm-mist is a strict no as it can be hazardous to them.
Instead, go for the ones that make them feel comfortable.
Do Humidifiers Help With Allergies And Why
Humidifiers release steam or water vapor into the air. This increases humidity. Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in the air. It can play a role in both the development and treatment of allergies. The right humidity level can help keep nasal passages clear of mucus. Why it is important? If your nasal passages are clear, your body has an easier time purging any allergens. Humidifiers are also useful for those who are trying to get rid of sinusitis. If you add moisture in the air your symptoms will be easier to manage.
It is a good idea to get a humidifier for cold and flu season. Especially, if you have children. You can resolve a runny nose, sore throat, and coughing with a good humidifier. Skip the scratchy nasal passages and throat by using a humidifier for allergies and sinus symptoms in your home.
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Sleeping With A Humidifier Will Help
If youre suffering from congestion from a cold, infection, allergies or another illness, sleeping with a humidifier will help you breathe better and get better sleep. When youre suffering from congestion, it can be hard to sleep when you cant breathe. Running a humidifier while youre asleep will open up your nasal passages and make you comfortable, allowing you to get some shut-eye. As the humidifier adds moisture to your rooms air, you breathe it in and itll loosen up the mucus secretions of your nasal passages. Cool mist humidifiers are the best devices to reduce symptoms of congestion.
Will A Humidifier Help My Allergies
Humidifiers increase the relative humidity in the air. This increase in moisture may help with your allergies. It may make them seem less severe if dry air has irritated your nasal passageways. However, excess humidity above 50% could make conditions worse. Indoor allergens like dust mites and mold thrive in moist conditions.
At an acceptable level, humidity may help in a number of ways:
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How To Understand If Your Air Is Dry
The best way to find out it is to get a humidistat. This tool measures the humidity level in your home. However, there are other signs you can look for that do not require the use of any special tools.
- Does your hair stand up after brushing? Do your clothes stick together due to static cling? It is because of extra static electricity in your home.
- Is your nose running and has been for a while? When the nasal passages are dry, the body will try to moisturize them through other means.
- If you are feeling fluish but never seem to quite get the full-blown flu, it is another The dry air is aggravating your allergy symptoms. It is enough to make you feel under the weather.
- Does your mouth and/or throat always feel dry? Yes, your air is dry.
Sure, dry air is not the only thing that can cause these symptoms. But it is one possible cause. These signs can actually be due to too much humidity. So, the best idea is to measure the humidity level before taking action.
Precautions To Take When Using Humidifiers For Allergy Relief
While incorporating a humidification regimen into your environmental control regimen during the cold, dry winter months goes a long way in easing many of the seasons discomforts, it is very important to keep two things in mind: humidification levels should remain within the 30%-50% range and your unit should be cleaned and maintained according to manufacturer specifications. Not taking these precautions can lead to more problems than you started out with.
Extremely high levels of humidity can create additional allergen problems in your home, specifically with dust mites, who thrive in humid environments, and mold and mildew, which grow easily in an unventilated home that has high humidity levels. Anymore, most humidifying units, such as the Air-O-Swiss 7135 Ultrasonic, U650 Ultrasonic, and the AOS 7142, come with built-in humidity gauges, which cause the unit to shut off when desired humidity levels are reached. Alternately, you can purchase the Acu-Rite Digital Humidity Gauge to monitor humidity levels in your home.
This winter, dont let dry indoor air contribute to allergy problems. From using home humidifiers for allergy relief and keeping your home comfortable by restoring proper moisture levels to preventing those bouts of colds or the flu and protecting wood flooring and furniture, humidifiers an extremely beneficial tool for just about everyone during the cooler fall and winter months.
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Humidifiers For Allergy Relief
Those who suffer from chronic sinusitis or frequent sinus infections know that even a small amount of time spent in dry air can create symptoms such as irritated nasal membranes and sinus headaches. Yet even if you do not suffer from regular sinus problems, allergy sufferers are more likely than those without allergies to develop sinus problems.
Environmental control is an excellent way both to stave off recurring sinus problems and to prevent sinus problems from occurring in the first place. The Mayo Clinic states that the goal of treating chronic sinusitis is to reduce sinus inflammation, keep your nasal passages draining, eliminate the underlying cause, and reduce the number of sinus flare-ups you have. Humidifiers are helpful in each of these areas. In fact, the Mayo Clinic goes on to suggest humidification as a method of prevention for both chronic and acute sinusitis: Use a humidifier. If the air in your home is dry, such as it is if you have forced hot air heat, adding moisture to the air may help prevent sinusitis.
Direct humidification of the nasal passages through sinus irrigation products is another treatment option. Humidifiers for allergies and asthma, however, keep your entire homes moisture levels sinus-friendly.
What Does A Humidifier Do
When you cool or heat your home, it can reduce the amount of moisture in the air. Air conditioners and heaters can make the air a lot drier than usual. This means that for a large portion of the year, depending on where you live, the air will be uncomfortably dry.
Humidifiers create water vapor or steam and put it out into the air to raise the level of humidity. The ideal amount of humidity in the air is between 30-50%. When there is too much humidity, it can cause just as many problems as not enough humidity.
There are many types of humidifiers, but the main purpose of each one is to emit water vapor into a space. This humidifying has a variety of benefits for your body and breathing, which well get into later on.
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How To Prevent Allergies From Developing
Reducing exposure to the dusty atmosphere is the best solution that can be offered to a person suffering from indoor allergy and sinusitis infections.
But since getting rid of a dusty atmosphere completely is almost impossible for us today, this may not be a viable solution for all.
Here are additionally useful and controllable tips that can help you prevent allergies in a more effective way:
- Keep your bedroom dry and clean. Encase your pillow and beds with mite-proof material.
- Keep the allergic patient away from the place that is being cleaned.
- If you are the person affected by allergy and has to do the cleaning yourself, use a face mask to safeguard your breath.
- Pets at home are also the main cause of spreading allergies keep them away from your bedroom if you are allergic.
- Maintain a proper humidity level in your house or office. Do not let mites grow in too much humidity and control the growth of bacteria and viruses in dry air.
- Using home appliances like a vacuum cleaner, purifier and humidifier might help in removing the certain quantity of mites and should be considered.
- Install a high-quality filter in your air conditioning, air purifiers, humidifier sets, and heating apparatus.
Above all, Anti Allergen Spray or Allergen Blocker can also be used for getting rid of all types of dust particles that are known to trigger allergy symptoms.
Consumer FAQs
Can a humidifier cause allergy?Is a dehumidifier good for sinus problems?
Basic Quiet Affordable: Levoit Classic 200 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
*At the time of publishing, the price was $32.
If you want an affordable, basic, quiet, attractive humidifier, go for the ultrasonic Levoit Classic 200 Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. One of this models main limitations is almost no discernible difference between its settings, as well as the common ultrasonic tendency to over-humidify. All of that may be fine if you feel you can live without a versatile, detailed humidistat.
Despite its simple features, the Levoit Classic 200 provided some consistently powerful humidificationabout a 13% humidity increase in the first hour, and an average increase of 24% over the course of four hours. Levoit claims the water in the tank can last up to 40 hours on low or 10 hours on high. But like most ultrasonic models, this model can over-humidify the room if it runs for too long in our tests, it ultimately turned the bathroom into a clammy sauna, with an 84% relative humidity level that made the porcelain glisten.
However, the Levoit Classic 200s 4-liter tank actually has a slightly larger capacity than that of the HCM-350, and the surprisingly large fill hole makes it easy to clean. Most of the other models we tested have a screw cap to close the tank, but the Levoit Classic 200 has a one-twist cap lined with a rubber gasket . The tank is rectangular, which makes it easy to fill and to stand on its own this Levoit model also includes a tray for essential oils.
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Taotronics Cool Mist Humidifier Ultrasonic
The TaoTronics humidifier is very similar to our last option and comes at a good price point as well. It uses an ultrasonic vibration to quietly disperse water in the air and is great for babies with allergies and adults too.
TaoTronics has an adjustable vapor setting to keep humidity and mist flow at a level you prefer. Its also smaller than the first 2 humidifiers and holds 4 liters of water.
Sure it will need refilling more often, but it will also take up less space in a room. The humidifier is perfect for rooms around 500 square feet and works well in a child or adult room or in an office at work.
Converse to the previous humidifiers, TaoTronics doesnt have the ability to diffuse essential oils into the air and the company advises against putting essential oils into the water.
Over 500 customers like how this humidifier works with the only negative comments coming from people who dont like using distilled water .
I like the design and the colors. Its mostly white but has one side that is blue/clear to show the water level. Overall this is a good humidifier for smaller rooms and it comes at a fair price.
Are There Precautions To Be Aware Of
Some health experts are hesitant to recommend humidifiers in places where someones health is vulnerable. One of the main reasons is because humidifiers that arent properly cleaned can disperse bacteria or fungi through the air.
Steam humidifiers are less likely to breed and spread germs, but there is some concern over the possibility of burns from hot water with steam units.
Its also important to use caution if you decide to use essential oils with your humidifier. Some people and pets are sensitive to oils.
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Is Cool Mist Or Warm Mist Better For Allergies
The easiest way to figure out which humidifier works best for an individual is by simply knowing which type of air is easier for them to breathe. If you inhale well in a sauna, then a warm mist humidifier might be the best. If you have allergies or asthma, you might benefit more from a cool-mist humidifier.
Is cool mist or warm mist better for sinuses?
The bottom line: The benefits of using a humidifier or vaporizer outweigh the risks if you use them correctly, says Luong. Cool mist humidifiers may be better if you have small children because of the risk from accidental steam burns. Both will help wash away allergens, irritants, viruses, and bacteria.
Is a cool mist humidifier good for allergies? Humidifiers can help reduce allergy symptoms and improve the health of the mucous membranes of the airway. However, if humidifiers are not maintained properly, they can actually worsen allergy symptoms or cause other illnesses. Bacteria and fungi can grow, and these can be dangerous when breathed into the lungs.
Which type of humidifier is best for allergies?
- #1. Honeywell GermFree HCM-350.
- #2. Vicks 1-Gallon Warm Mist Humidifier.
- #3. Aprilaire 700 Automatic Humidifier.
- #4. TTLIFE Ultrasonic Humidifier.
- How To Maintain your Humidifier.
What Are Humidifiers Good For
Humidifiers help maintain a certain range of humidity in specific rooms or throughout your entire home. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends maintaining indoor relative humidity between 30 percent and 60 percent to avoid the potential of mold growing. When it comes to human comfort, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers notes the humidity level should remain below 65 percent.
According to the Mayo Clinic, low humidity can cause dry skin, irritate your nasal passages and throat and make your eyes itchy, while high humidity can make your home feel stuffy and cause condensation on surfaces that can prompt the growth of harmful and irritating bacteria and molds.
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Top 10 Best Humidifier For Allergies
In this post, I give you some of the best humidifiers for allergies reviews. Reading this post is helpful and will give you an in-depth touch. It will also leave you with a smart buying guide that you can learn from.
Warm Mist Vs Cool Mist Humidifiers
Youll first want to choose between warm mist and cool mist humidifiers. Warm mist humidifiers release warm mist or steam vapors into the air. You can see and feel the mist. They tend to be a little quieter than other types of humidifiers and may be best at soothing sinuses and thinning out mucus secretions. They are better for smaller areas, like a bedroom. Because they release very hot mist, they should be kept away from children.
Cool mist humidifiers are quiet and usually easy to clean, but they do need more frequent cleaning. They work better in larger environments, and some people believe cool mist is more comfortable to breathe. These are often used in warmer climates.
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