The desire to influence the microclimate in our home sooner or later leads us to the question of how to choose an air humidifier that will solve the problem with a lack of moisture. Dry air in the room leads to negative consequences both from the health and well-being of the household, and from the state of the wooden furniture and indoor plants.
What kind of humidifiers are there?
Before puzzling with the question of how to choose a humidifier for an apartment, you need to know about their main varieties:
- A classic moisturizer. Works by cold evaporation. When you pour water into a special tank, it will fall on the evaporation elements. The room air trapped by the fan will pass through the evaporator and will be saturated with moisture.
- Steam humidifier . It works by the principle of evaporation of hot steam when the liquid boils. Easy to operate, but it requires your attention when installing it in the children's room or if there are animals in the house. Their curiosity can lead to injury, since the outgoing steam has a high temperature.
- Ultrasonic humidifier. A more perfect type of device with a high-efficiency filter cartridge, automatic shutdown system, almost complete noise and built-in hydrostat.
- Air wash. These devices combine humidification and air cleaning, providing an antibacterial effect and removing particles of dust and dirt, pollen of plants and other harmful particles from the air.
Humidifier - characteristics
The main characteristics of humidifiers are:
- device performance;
- noise level;
- power;
- volume of the water tank;
- presence of a hydrometer.
When deciding which humidifiers are best, start from the size of the room (for example, for a room of 20 sq. M, a humidifier with a capacity of about 5 liters is needed) and try to choose models with low noise level (30-40 dB), built-in timer, low power consumption. Not superfluous will be additional functions, such as:
- air cleaning;
- aromatization;
- ionization;
- water lighting.
Steam humidifier
A common and simplest device is a steam humidifier, which operates according to the principle of evaporation of water during boiling. The water in the tank is heated to the boiling point, and the resulting vapor is blown outward by the fan, humidifying the air. If you are not sure how to choose a steam humidifier, give preference to models with a built-in hydrostatic (air humidity sensor). He will turn off the humidifier when the required humidity level is reached in the room.
It is not superfluous to find out in advance what filter the device is equipped with. If it is removable, it will need to be changed at regular intervals. Specify how realistic it is to find and buy such a filter in order to save yourself from tedious search in the future. It should be said that it is more convenient to use a steam humidifier with a stationary filter, which requires only periodic washing and cleaning.
How to choose an ultrasonic humidifier?
The most popular among modern options is the ultrasonic humidifier, and deciding which device to choose for their home, many prefer this high-tech invention. The principle of its work is to convert water into the cloud by means of ultrasonic vibrations. The room is supplied with moisture in the form of a cool mist. Advantages of such a humidifier in good air purification, its high quality humidification in the given parameters, low noise level, automatic shutdown of the device with complete evaporation of water.
To know how to choose a humidifier for air, working with ultrasound, you need to study its characteristics. Available as the most conventional mechanical devices, and sensory with a large set of additional functions, such as heating the air at the output, ionization, automation and semi-automatic. Do not forget to specify before purchase what elements of the device require replacement and cleaning and at what intervals. Find out how common and available replacement filters are for a particular model.
Air humidifier with ionization function
It is believed that the ionization function in the humidifier contributes to better air humidification, since ions have the properties to attract and retain moisture. In addition, the ionizer, in addition saturating the air with negatively charged particles, will not only moisten the air, but also clean it from dust. It is convenient when it is possible to switch on and off the ionization function in the device. There are models with built-in Ionic Silver Stick ionic rod, which maintains the purity directly in the water tank.
Humidifier with aromatization and ionization
Aromatization and ionization of air as an additional function of the humidifier is good in that, in addition to moisture, you can fill the room with useful aromas of oils, using the device also as an inhaler. This is especially true for children who often suffer from respiratory diseases . When deciding how to choose an air humidifier for your home, make sure that there is a special capsule in the chosen device from which the aromatic oil will be taken. Since, if you add flavor simply in the input, you can disable the device.
How to choose a humidifier for a children's room?
When breathing in dry air, all of us dry out the mucous membranes, which leads to an increased risk of respiratory diseases. Children are most susceptible to these processes. Choosing an air humidifier for newborns and deciding which is better, we should pay attention to such aspects:
- the age of the child - up to 4 years is not permissible use of an ultrasonic humidifier;
- the device has the function of automatically maintaining a predetermined humidity level, which will make it possible not to worry about waterlogging the air in the nursery;
- noise level - the lower it is, the better (some brands have a "sleep" mode);
- the performance of the device is optimal, so that in an hour he can manage to "blow through" twice the air in the room.
Care of the air humidifier
Little to know how to choose a good air humidifier. To the humidifier with ionization or without it has served you for many years and has become a really useful thing in the house, you need to be able to properly take care of it:
- regularly disassemble the device and remove plaque and scale with the help of soda or special powders and warm water;
- Change the cartridge every 2-3 months;
- disinfect the tank with a solution of chlorine to prevent the development of harmful microorganisms.
What kind of water should be poured into the humidifier?
When using untreated water, you will soon notice on the furniture a light white coating, similar to dust. These are substances dissolved in water. It can be assumed that the same plaque will be present in our lungs. To prevent this phenomenon, you need to know what water to fill in the humidifier. It can be:
- distilled water from bottles;
- tap water, past 15 minutes boiling and then passed through a pitcher-type home filter ;
- water, purified due to built-in water filters.