When you’re suffering from coughs, a runny nose, congestion, and other respiratory issues, any relief is a welcome sight. While over-the-counter medicines can offer temporary relief, you may not want to put medicine in your body every time you get a sniffle.
That’s why many people turn to humidifiers for relief when the weather in Austin causes people to feel less than their best. Even though humidifiers are a popular form of treatment, you may wonder if they actually work. To help you maintain your health, at Totally Cool AC, we offer this guide to humidifiers.
A Word on Humidifiers
Before we consider the potential health benefits of humidifiers, it’s important to understand how they work. Humidifiers add water vapor to the air, thus raising the relative humidity of the air.
Warm mist humidifiers release water vapor by essentially boiling the water in the reservoir, similar to how a pot of water on the stove releases steam. Cool mist humidifiers use ultrasonic waves to vibrate the water until it is separated into tiny droplets that are released into the air in your home.
You can choose between a whole-home humidifier from Totally Cool AC or a single-room humidifier. Whole-home humidifiers are better-suited to help maintain a constant relative humidity, especially during colder months when there’s less humidity in the outside air. On the other hand, a single-room humidifier is effective when someone in your family is under the weather and needs some extra relief placed right by their bedside.
Benefits of Humidifiers
Humidifiers are recommended by Totally Cool AC for many reasons, the most important of which are the health benefits of these devices. One important health benefit of a humidifier is that it can help loosen mucus that has become lodged in your throat and nasal passages.
In cool, dry air, the mucus can lose much of its moisture, which can cause it to essentially become frozen in place. This will make it difficult to breathe and to remove the mucus from your body. By breathing in steam from a humidifier, it can help to re-moisturize the mucus and make it easier to expel.
Another important health benefit of a humidifier is that it can help provide moisture to irritated nasal passages and to your throat, helping to ease some of the pain associated with colds and allergies. This is the same effect that you notice in the winter when your skin becomes dry and cracked. If you let your skin dry out long enough, it will eventually become painful. However, when you add moisture to your skin, it will become flexible and pain-free again. This is essentially how steam soothes your nasal passages, helping you to get back to normal more quickly.
Speaking of skin: yet another benefit of a humidifier is that it can help prevent your skin and lips from drying out. This can help your skin look and feel younger and prevent cracks that can bleed and become quite painful. All in all, a humidifier is worth its weight in gold if you’re suffering from a condition that’s exacerbated by low humidity.
Important Precautions
Although there are numerous benefits to using a humidifier, it’s important to keep some precautions from Totally Cool AC in mind.
Since humidifiers, in some cases, release hot steam, it’s important not to put any of your body parts too close to the steam outlet to help prevent burns. Also, since humidifiers can release a lot of moisture, it’s important to keep them away from walls or any other porous surfaces, as these surfaces can absorb water, resulting in mildew growth down the road.
It’s also important to keep your humidifier clean. The warm and damp environment of a humidifier is a perfect place for mold to grow, which can then be dispersed when the water vapor is released. Therefore, it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions to prevent causing more health problems than you solve.
Your Health and Safety First
When it comes to an HVAC service company, it’s important to choose one that puts your family’s health and safety first. That’s just what you’ll find when you choose Totally Cool AC. We take our jobs seriously so that you and your family can stay safe and comfortable in your home.
With over 30 years of experience, we can take on just about any job, including air conditioner and furnace repair, installation, and maintenance. We can also get your system ready to go at the beginning and end of the season to ensure it’s ready to go when the seasons change again.
Moreover, we’re proud to let you know that we are accredited by the Better Business Bureau and are proud supporters of Rebuilding Together Austin. We love the Austin, TX, community and we want to serve you in any way we can. If you need more advice about or assistance with your HVAC system, call us at Totally Cool AC today. We’re happy to provide comprehensive heating and cooling services.
