February 1, 2025
Indoor air quality solutions in Shawnee, KS

There’s no doubt that humidity can have a very large effect on how you feel as well as the structural integrity of your home and belongings. When humidity levels are very high in the summertime, it can feel much hotter than it actually is and leave you uncomfortably stuffy and overheated. However, it’s important not to overlook the importance of adequate humidity during the winter months.

What Happens to Humidity During Winter?

One of the most notable aspects of cold winter air is that it has a very dry feeling to it. Unlike hot air, which can absorb a large amount of moisture, cold air struggles to maintain a small bit of moisture. Without a lot of moisture in the air, the humidity level drops during the winter months.

How Does Low Humidity Affect Your Health?

Low humidity can have a big effect on your body and overall health. Many people experience dry and irritated skin that simply won’t go away. It’s pretty common for your sinus and mucous membrane to dry out. This leaves you more susceptible to contracting the flu, a cold, and other infectious conditions. It’s also important to know that many viruses are able to survive much longer when the air has a very low humidity level.

This furthermore increases your risk of contracting a virus, as it will be around for longer than if the air were hot and humid. Another negative effect of low humidity is experiencing dry eyes due to the increased evaporation of your tears. Without an adequate film of tears to help protect your eyes, they can experience a decrease in their nutrition and antimicrobial defense mechanisms.

How Does Low Humidity Affect Your Home?

Low indoor humidity levels not only affect you and your health, but they also affect your home and belongings. One of the more irritating things that you may experience is an increase in static electricity. This can be a real nuisance. Any items in your house made out of wood can experience damage like cracking when humidity levels get too low. These can include things like your cabinets, flooring, and furniture.

One of the more noticeable differences that homeowners experience is that their wood doors get stuck when they’re trying to open and close them. If your windows are made entirely of wood, you may even notice that your windows develop air gaps as the wood contracts.

How Does Low Humidity Affect Indoor Temperature?

One of the biggest concerns that most homeowners have during the wintertime is their heating bills and their indoor comfort level. Unfortunately, because the winter brings along with it very low humidity levels, it’s much harder for the air inside of your home to retain an adequate amount of heat. This can make it feel very cold and can have you turning up the temperature on your thermostat to help make your house feel comfortable for you and your family. This can drive up your utility bills throughout the winter months.

How Does Humidity Affect Indoor Air Quality?

There’s absolutely no doubt that humidity can have a very significant impact on the quality of air inside of your home. When humidity levels are low, viruses and infections can be suspended in the air for much longer. When humidity levels are too high, it can foster the growth of harmful mold and mildew. This can be very damaging to your home and your health.

What’s the Ideal Indoor Humidity Level?

Now that you understand the problem with having low humidity inside of your home, your next question is likely what the ideal indoor humidity level is. While there’s some wide speculation in determining the exact amount of relative humidity to have in your house, most experts can agree that it lies anywhere between 30% to 55%. This provides your home with enough humidity to prevent issues like static electricity and your sinuses from drying out while not overdoing it to the point where unhealthy mold and mildew can start to grow.

How Can a Whole-Home Humidifier Help?

Most people are familiar with portable humidifiers that you simply pour water into, and an internal fan and heating element will then disperse that water into the air. A whole-home humidifier takes it up a notch by being able to introduce adequate humidity throughout your entire house. This eliminates the need to have multiple portable humidifiers plugged into your wall outlets. Whole-home humidifiers typically get installed as part of your HVAC ductwork so that they can be conveniently used alongside your heating system.

To control the humidity in your home, you’ll need to purchase a special thermostat that not only allows you to alter the temperature but also monitor and change the relative humidity level. You’ll simply program in whatever humidity level you want your house to have, such as 40%. As your HVAC system runs, it will kick on your whole-home humidifier if the relative indoor humidity level is below your 40% setting. This is a great solution for helping to ensure that the relative humidity level inside of your home remains at a good level without you having to do a whole lot of work to get it there.

A Great Benefit for Keeping Warm

The beauty of a whole-home humidifier is that it can help to enhance the effectiveness of your house’s heating system. By increasing the amount of humidity in the air, the air will be able to retain more heat. This will make your home feel warmer without having to turn up the temperature on your thermostat. This can do wonders for helping to reduce your wintertime heating bills, as your heating system will have to run less often to keep you and your family comfortable and safe.

Apart from just making your home feel more comfortable during the wintertime, a whole-home humidifier can also provide you with a plethora of other benefits. One of the most notable is that it provides you with automatic humidity control. You won’t have to worry about putting too much moisture into the air with a bunch of portable humidifiers. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about adding water to the humidifier. Your HVAC system will naturally add water as needed.

When your indoor relative humidity level is optimal, you can say goodbye to that annoying static electricity and drying out of your sinuses. You can reduce your family’s risk of contracting viruses and infections. You can protect all your wood furniture, flooring, and other belongings as well. You can even enjoy the added value that a whole-home humidifier can bring to the resale value of your home.

Expert Whole-Home Humidifier Installation Service

Air Care Heating & Cooling offers expert whole-home humidifier installation services to the entire Shawnee, KS community. Our knowledgeable technicians can also assist with all of your heating, air conditioning, water heater, indoor air quality, ductless mini-split, geothermal, and commercial HVAC needs. Contact our friendly office staff today to book your next service appointment with one of our skillful HVAC technicians.

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