Dry Winter Air – Dust Off the Humidifier

As the temperature drops, people are firing up their furnaces across the country. Unfortunately, most forced air heating systems can severely dry out your home. If you notice that as winter settles in, your mornings include a sore throat or cough, low relative humidity could be the issue. The problem can be so severe that it can actually lead to nose bleeds and painfully dry, cracked sinuses.

When I was a child, we used to boil water on the electric stove but also kept a pot on the wood stove in the kitchen. I say wood stove, but it was essentially a large rectangular, steel and brick box that was used solely to burn wood for heat. A pot of water helped most of the time because we had a fan that actually pushed the warm air out of the kitchen and into the dining room, living room and beyond.

Most people do not heat like this anymore, and room humidifiers have become very commonplace. There are several types of humidifiers on the market that use a few different methods to put moisture back into the air. Boiler style and evaporative units used to be the standard, but as technology has advanced, ultrasonic humidifiers are the most common type today.

Use of this type of humidifier is pretty easy. You soak the cartridge for about a day. This gives the granules time to expand. Once that is complete, fill the tank, set your humidity level and you’re all set. From there you just refill the tank when it runs out.

Maintenance of this type of unit is fairly simple but will mainly depend on the type of water you use in the machine. Annually you will want to consider wiping out the tank and nebulizer chamber where water is “ultrasonified” (like my Bushism?). Other than this, if your model comes with some sort of stick or antimicrobial device, replace it as needed. Most importantly, replace your cartridge!

If your water is like that of my childhood home, full of calcium and lime, then you’ve already noticed the white residue from boiling pots of water or in your coffee pot. For water like this, you will want to replace that cartridge once every 6 weeks or so. Your other alternative is to use distilled water and simply remove the cartridge all together. If your water is more like water I have now (much lower mineral content), you should be able to get by with replacing the demineralization cartridge every 2-3 months.

If you’re forgetful, don’t worry. Your humidifier will remind you by showering the table it sits on with a fine white dust. This is mineral content that is passing through and being vaporized with the water. If you see anything like that, try replacing the cartridge. This usually fixes it.

Once in a while you may notice some slight mineral build up in the nebulizer chamber or even in the tank if you have water sitting in there for a long while. The easiest way to remove this is with a clean rag, dampened with a vinegar/water mix. You can use a humidifier descaler, but for me, white vinegar works just as well. Rinse it out a few times, and you’re all set!

In all, ultrasonic humidifiers are very simple devices. Most people use them for a few months out of the year, so aside from filling them regularly and doing a little maintenance at the beginning of each season, a humidifier is really a convenient way to relieve dry coughs, sore throats and other winter maladies brought about by dry air.