Does A Dehumidifier Help With Allergies

Types Of Allergy Relief Devices

Once you know which device is best for allergies and how it can affect your allergy symptoms, its time to find what type of purifier, dehumidifier, or humidifier to bring into your home.

While talking to a doctor to ultimately determine this is recommended, here are some guidelines to get you started.

The Benefits Of Using A Dehumidifier For Sinus Problems

When the air in your house is overly dry, issues can arise, especially if you have asthma or severe allergies. While some of the symptoms of dry air can be irritating such as chapped lips and dry skin for some people too dry of air can exacerbate respiratory conditions and can raise the risk of sinus troubles. If thats not bad enough, too dry of air can also increase your chances of coming down with the flu or the common cold. However, the opposite is also true. If you live in a humid climate and a humid living space, the high levels of humidity could also be contributing to your misery. Luckily, there are dehumidifier benefits you can take advantage of.

Mildew, mold, and dust mites are all common allergy and asthma triggers that thrive in a humid environment. Luckily, if you are suffering from seasonal allergies or asthma, using a dehumidifier may help. If you notice the signs of a high humidity environment, you may want to consider using a dehumidifier. Some of the obvious signs of high humidity include frequent condensation on your windows, mildew or musty smells, the presence of mold spores, and visible water stains on the ceilings or walls of your home.

If you suffer from allergies or asthma, and live in a humid environment, using a dehumidifier in your home can help you live a healthier life. Learn more about dehumidifier benefits so you can reduce the level of humidity in your home.

Best On Amazon: Frigidaire 70 Pt Dehumidifier With Built

Instead of having to dump out buckets of water yourself, Frigidaires dehumidifier includes a built-in pump that can discharge the water itself. It can be positioned upward into a sink or out of a window, either of which would allow for less leg work on your end. You also dont have to worry about turning the thing off, either. Theres a 24-hour timer that can be automatically shut on or off. Once the water tank is full, the machine will automatically shut off to avoid any overuse or flooding. This is great for using all around the house because you can set the humidity numbers yourself which will allow for a more accurate job. There are also top and side handles, along with wheels, to help with moving the machine from one spot to the next.

Nearly 10,000 shoppers have reviewed this dehumidifier. They say its great for using in large areas like basements or living rooms, and is easy to set up. It runs perfectly 24/7 and pulls out massive amounts of water from my basement, transforming the entire space, wrote one five-star reviewer.

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Best For Bathrooms: Frigidaire High Humidity 50 Pint Dehumidifier

The bathroom experiences a lot of humidity thanks to the shower and bath. Its also usually one of the least ventilated spaced in homes, too. These two factors combine and make it almost a necessity to have a dehumidifier in the space. Frigidaires High Humidity device is perfect for these areas that really need some heavy-lifting. It can hold up to 16 pints of liquid at once, has a custom humidity control, and automatically shuts off when at capacity. Also, it comes with a washable filter that captures up any bacteria and dust from the air and keeps it from inhabiting the space. Its another plus for germ-prone bathrooms.

This model also comes with wheels that make transportation easy, and the water bucket comes with a carrying handle and splash guard making it easy to move. Nearly 1,700 customers have given this device a perfect five-star rating, often noting its user-friendly features and smooth use. The first 12 hours after purchasing my Frigidaire Dehumidifier I removed over 2 gallons of water, wrote one shopper. There were some mold spots and they were cleaned up. Within one week I noticed the air was better and the musty smell was gone.

Medical Standards Of Care And Clinical Practice Guidelines

If you want to research the clinical practice guidelines for a disease, condition, treatment or intervention or for health services administration, you can browse them online here. Your prescription in determining the standards of care and clinical guidelines applicable to your cases. Medical standards of care and clinical practice guidelines are established by a consensus of health care professionals as diagnostic and therapeutic actions or behaviors that are considered the most favorable in affecting the patients health outcome. The Internet offers a wide variety of expert consensus and evidence-based standards and guidelines, which provide insight, on a national level, to a broad scope of medical practice. Additionally, standards of care are established through, state and federal regulations, institutional policy & procedures, expert witnesses and literature. These links will lead directly to the pertinent sections on standards, guidelines, or position statements.

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It Reduces Indoor Allergens

Most of the common and nastiest indoor allergens thrive in a high humidity environment. For instance, mold symptoms will flourish when you have high humidity indoors.

Mold is dangerous for your health. It also damages walls, ceilings, clothing, books and other items. That is why you should always check your basement for mold.

Also check the spaces under the bed, under the seats, inside closets and behind the big appliances.

If you have someone who has a respiratory condition, you will need to make your indoor living space mold-free. Mold spores can trigger asthmatic attacks, inflammation of the airways, running nose and so on.

Other indoor allergens that thrive in high humidity include dust mites. When you switch the dehumidifier on, it will make the indoor space inhospitable to mold, dust mites and other indoor allergens.

Different Types Of Humidifiers

Now that you understand how a humidifier can help you and your allergies, its time you learn more about the different types of humidifiers.

The most widely found type of humidifier is the evaporative humidifier, also known as the cool mist humidifier. The device uses a filter, wick, and reservoir to get rid of any moisture in the air thats at room temperature.

If you like, you can get an evaporative humidifier that can be programmed or one that includes a built-in hygrometer so that the humidity level in your home is always absolutely perfect. One word of caution with this specific type of humidifier is that you want to make sure you regularly change the filter, otherwise you might find yourself with a mold problem, which only becomes fuel for the allergy fire.

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Humidifier Or Dehumidifier For A Stuffy Nose

A stuffy nose can be a symptom that accompanies a common allergy and might take a couple of days to settle. One way of handling stuffy nose is to use a humidifier. Adding water vapour to the air will help to relieve blockage in the nose or any congestion. Hence the answer is âYes, a humidifier will help with the stuffy noseâ. However, this isnât the case with dehumidifiers. Although high humidity makes it difficult to breathe, but too much removal of moisture and dry air could worsen a stuffy nose.

Dehumidify The Least Common Places Ie Basement And Crawl Space

Placing a dehumidifier in crawl space will do wonders for your indoor air quality. We all know most allergens travel through airborne, but there are many hidden allergens that emerge from underneath. This is due to the high humidity level with no direct sunlight and poor ventilation. Adding the fact that most centralize or HVAC systems are linked from the basement. Lingering mold, bacteria, and other microbes will circulate through the vents and spread across the room. By reducing the humidity level starting from the lower ground, you will not have to worry about the allergens like mold and germs from moving up.

How do tell if an allergy is caused by dampness and poor air quality? The first thing to do is to check your home for mold patches or water stains on walls, ceilings, and floors. Next, check if household items like wood furniture, cabinet, door are suffering from rot, decay or rust on metal parts. Condensation on windows is also one of the signs although it is hard to spot. Lastly, rely on your nose sense. If you feel the surrounding air is stuffy with a stench, musty smell, it must be it.

When a person is exposed to the same types of allergens, they might experience different kinds of allergies. This is because our body immune system has different tolerance levels when dealing with allergies. If your home is going through the states that we mentioned, look out for the following allergy symptoms.

• Stuffy nose
• Muscle pain/ cramps

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Now What About Dehumidifiers

Dehumidifiers help remove excess moisture from the air. This is especially helpful if you live in a humid climate or if your home has recently had a leak or flooding.

Excessively moist air can cause mold and dust mites to thrive in your home, causing allergic reactions and triggering severe asthma symptoms. Hot humid air can cause airway constriction as the result of nerve responses.

Dehumidifiers can also help when:

Can A Dehumidifier Help My Mold Allergy Symptoms

Doctors recommend that people with mold allergy use a dehumidifier in their homes. A dehumidifier is an easy and effective way to reduce the amount of humidity and moisture in your home, especially in high-humidity areas like basements and bathrooms. Keeping your home as dry as possible will help reduce the amount of mold in your home. Make sure to properly clean your dehumidifier, since they can actually be a source of mold if not properly maintained.

Also, special air filters can be very effective in helping you avoid mold spores and preventing mold allergy symptoms. Certain air filters called high-efficiency particulate air filters can help trap any mold spores that come through them. Make sure you install these filters on air conditioning systems within your home, and make sure you change them frequently.

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Dehumidifiers Can Create A Healthier Environment

If you live in a naturally humid climate, a dehumidifier can also cool your home and reduce your air conditioning consumption.

A dehumidifier works by drawing streams of warm air into its coils via a fan. The warm air contracts as it passes through the machines cooling coils and the condensed water remains in the dehumidifier.

While this condensation water collects, one drop of water after the other falls into a storage tank that is attached to the dehumidifier. Cooler, drier air is then released back into your home through the other side of the machine.

Your dehumidifier should be able to lower the humidity to a relative humidity of 30 to 50 percent. Many dehumidifiers come with a meter that measures the relative humidity in your home and you can adjust the humidity to the percentage you want.

A dehumidifier may not work the same for everyone. There are some possible side effects of using one in your room.

Dehumidifiers make the air drier. If you live in an already dry climate or if you heat your home with gas or electricity, a dehumidifier may not be necessary.

Conditions like pneumonia can even worsen if the air is made too dry.

Your skin and hair can also be affected if your home becomes a dry place. People with eczema can be particularly prone to flare-ups in a dry environment.

When using a dehumidifier, you may need to take extra care to stay hydrated.

Even with a dry cough or a blocked nose, a dehumidifier can do more harm than good.

Buy a dehumidifier online.

A Dehumidifier Can Help With Dust Mite Allergens

Humid air also supports a healthy population of dust mites. Dust mites and their by-products are among the most common allergens in the household air. A study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that homes that maintained a relative humidity below 51 percent had significant reductions in the number of live dust mites and dust mite related allergens. After 17 months, the low-humidity homes saw live dust mite and dust mite allergen levels ten times lower than in the higher humidity homes

Dust mites are a common allergy and asthma trigger, though some clinical trials havent found much evidence that dehumidifiers reduce asthma symptoms . For asthma sufferers, high humidity combined with high temperatures can create a cycle of difficulty breathing, excessive sweat and dehydration, according to the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America.

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Does Dehumidifier Help With Mold

If you have a mold problem in your home, the most effective way of dealing with it is by installing a dehumidifier. Since high humidity promotes mold growth, reducing the humidity level in your home to about 50% using a dehumidifier will prevent further increase in mold. The existing mold will become inactive and your mold infestation will not get worse for as long as the humidity level stays low.

However, a dehumidifier does not remove the existing mold. It only stops them from growing and spreading. You might still have to remove the mold growth after installing your dehumidifier.

Signs Your House Is Too Humid

You may not know that you are living in a very humid house. It is a good thing that high humidity gives off signs telling you that you have a potential health problem on your hands. See the signs and take the appropriate action before it is too late.

Here are some of those signs that tell you that you need a dehumidifier in your home:

• Wet stains on walls and ceilings
• A stuffy feeling in the room or whole house
• Wood paneling, framework or studs are starting to rot
• A musty smell throughout the house or in your room
• Condensation is appearing on your windows

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How Does Humidity Affect Your Home

The way your home feels can also be used to determine what type of system you need for your home. If you experience dry itchy eyes, dry skin, and chapped lips then you need a humidifier. If there are damp stains on the ceilings or walls or if rooms feel stuffy then you need a dehumidifier.

Dry air can cause cracks on wood beams, plaster, and leather furniture. In this case, a humidifier would help.

Too much moisture in your home can lead to mold growing on walls and ceilings. This could lead to serious health problems. A dehumidifier prevents this from happening.

What About Using A Humidifier Or A Dehumidifier For Allergy

While these HVAC devices wont completely heal you from these illnesses, they can go a long way to help people find relief. Knowing how a dehumidifier and humidifier works helps in understanding how to relieve certain symptoms:

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Time Of Year To Use Your Dehumidifier

Humidity levels naturally tend to rise in the summer, which often makes your dehumidifier more of a necessity during this time of the year.

Keep in mind however that just because its summertime, does not necessarily mean that a dehumidifier is necessary for your area. If you happen to live in an area that is already naturally cool all year round like Alaska, there may not be that much more humidity in the summer compared to the winter. In areas like these, using a dehumidifier simply may not be necessary even in the summer.

A Dehumidifier Can Keep Bugs Away

Most people ask: do dehumidifiers keep bugs away? As a matter of fact, they do. If you have seen bugs peeking at you from cracks in the bathroom floor, it is because they thrive in humid areas.

Other insects and bugs thrive in high humidity conditions. These include mosquitoes, silverfish and earwigs.

When you use a dehumidifier, it lowers the humidity. Since most bugs quench their thirst by drawing moisture from the surroundings, they will have to find moisture elsewhere.

Of course, because bugs get into contact on all types of dirty surfaces, they can transfer germs to your food, utensils and so on. In return, consuming the food or using the items can give you an illness.

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How Does A Dehumidifier Work

Dehumidifiers work in much the same way as air conditioners. Both devices take advantage of the properties of a fluid that readily compresses and expands. The cycle of expanding and compressing the refrigerant cools down coils inside the device while generating heat in another part of the unit. When air from the room is drawn in by a fan, it passes over the coils and is cooled down.

But how does a dehumidifier gets the moisture out of the air then? For that, we will need to talk about humidity itself. A given quantity of air can only hold a certain amount of water molecules, and that amount can change depending on the temperature of the air. Air expands as it gets warmer, so it can hold more moisture. That is why 90% humidity on an 85-degree day feels far worse than 90% humidity on a 50-degree day. This is known as relative humidity.

When air is cooled down, it can not hold as much moisture. The air contracts, like squeezing a sponge. The moisture is forced out of the air and will eventually condense onto a surface as liquid water.

Either way, the water is removed from the air, and the less-humid air is returned to the room. Modern dehumidifiers have a humidistat that lets you set a specific humidity level . The humidistat will automatically shut off the dehumidifier when the humidity reaches the set point, then reactivate it when the humidity rises.