Excessive dryness of indoor air (humidity less than 40%) has a detrimental effect on people. For example, they may feel pain in the eyes and a dry throat. In addition, the skin of the hands and face dries up and coarsens. In such cases, an air humidifier will be useful, which can significantly improve the microclimate in residential and industrial premises.
The main types of humidifiers
On the domestic market, there are humidifiers with different operating principles. In addition to traditional devices that use cold water evaporation in their work, there are also steam (hot steam) and ultrasonic devices. The listed types of humidifiers are used only in everyday life. In production for this purpose, atomizers are used - spray-type devices.
Cold steam humidifiers
Cold steam humidifiers work by natural evaporation of water molecules, as a result of which the surrounding air is saturated with moisture. Water is poured into a special tank, from where it is fed to special evaporative elements. In this case, the air blown by the fan passes through them and is naturally saturated with moisture.
Structurally, the evaporating elements can be made in the form of replaceable paper cartridges (filters). More expensive devices use permanently wetted plastic discs. Cold steam evaporators additionally clean the air from dust and dirt that remains on the humidifying elements.
The performance of these devices ranges from 3.5 to 8 liters of water per day and depends on the humidity in the room - the higher it is, the lower the rate of water evaporation.
During operation, you must use distilled water. If you use normal water, the evaporating elements will quickly become clogged with salts in hard water, which in turn will lead to the need to replace them.
Steam Evaporators
Steam humidifiers operate by using the normal water boiling process, in which hot water is converted to steam and saturates the surrounding air with moisture. In some ways, such devices are reminiscent of electric kettles. The fully assembled appliance is connected to a household power supply, the voltage of which is transmitted to the electrodes immersed in water. At the same time, the water begins to boil and evaporate. When the water boils off completely, the humidifier is disconnected from the mains. The productivity of devices of this type is from 7 to 16 liters of water per day.
The steam humidifier must necessarily be equipped with a hygrostat that disconnects the device from the mains when the optimum humidity is reached. Otherwise, the humidity in the room may exceed the permissible limit and the humidifier will cause some kind of illness.
Ultrasonic devices
Ultrasonic humidifiers work as follows: from the tank, water is supplied to a special plate that vibrates at a frequency of 5 MHz. In this case, the water turns into a finely dispersed suspension, which is fed into the room with the help of a fan, where it turns into a vaporous state (fog).
Ultrasonic humidifiers provide a capacity of 7-12 liters of water per day.As a rule, they are equipped with electronic devices: display, remote control, etc. With their help, you can set and control the parameters necessary for effective operation.
It is recommended to use demineralized water during operation of ultrasonic humidifiers.
What are humidifiers for?
The comfort of a person's stay in a closed room depends on several parameters, one of which is air humidity. According to the current regulatory documents, its value should be in the range from 45 to 80%. This is especially important in winter, when, due to the operation of heating devices, the air humidity in the premises can drop to 14%. To provide normal conditions for human life, you need a humidifier.
Evaporators saturate the air with moisture, which is not the last in the process of heat exchange of the human body. It should be remembered that heat exchange is mainly carried out through the lungs. If the air is not humid enough, the correct functioning of the internal organs of a person is disturbed, the blood thickens, the mucous membranes dry out, the protective functions of the body decrease, etc. This is especially critical for children, in whose body heat exchange is much more intense than in adults. With bronchitis or angina in children, mucus collects in the bronchi and respiratory tract, which, in the absence of a sufficient amount of moisture, thickens, which complicates treatment.
When using a humidifier, normal humidity is generated in the room. When such air is inhaled, moisture penetrates the child's respiratory tract and bronchi, which softens mucus and makes it easier to cough up.
With an excess of moisture, mucus may accumulate in the respiratory tract and bronchi of the child, which will create comfortable conditions for the multiplication of pathogenic bacteria and can cause bronchitis in children.
Normal air humidity has a positive effect on the skin of both adults and children, protecting it from irritation and wrinkles and keeping it velvety. In addition, normal indoor humidity has a beneficial effect on the body of pregnant women - mom and baby feel well throughout the gestation period. This is equally important for newborn babies.
Damage to a humidifier
Air humidifiers are practically harmless during operation. However, in order to completely exclude the infliction of any damage to their owners, the latter must carefully study the attached operating manuals for specific models before using for the first time and use them correctly in the future. However, each type of humidifier must be considered separately.
- During operationThe steam evaporator can burn you with the hot steam. Therefore, they must be installed out of the reach of children.
- The harm from an ultrasonic humidifier is caused by the lack of a filter capable of retaining mineral salts dissolved in the water. As a result, they, together with the humidified air, are thrown out and, in the form of a white coating, settle on the interior items and household appliances available in the room. To avoid this, it is recommended to use demineralized or distilled water.
- Cold steam installations require regular cleaning or timely replacement of the evaporating elements. Violation of this rule will lead to the accumulation of not only salts dissolved in water, but also dust particles in the air inside the device. All this will subsequently be thrown out and clog the air.
The microclimate will be more comfortable if the rooms are regularly ventilated. This is recommended regardless of the operating time of the humidifier.
