Summer in Los Angeles does not just mean hot weather. In many parts of our county it also means dry air. This dryness affects your comfort and your home in several ways. Your A/C helps keep you cool, but provides little relief from this dryness. Humidifiers, on the other hand, can help.
Problems caused by dry air
- Dry skin, eyes and nasal passages: Dryness in the air robs the skin, eyes and mucous membranes of natural moisture. This can lead to itchy, flaky skin, irritated eyes, dry lips and dry nasal passages. In some cases, dried out nasal passages can leave you more susceptible to sinus infections.
- Damage to wood: Wood loses moisture and shrinks under dry conditions. This can cause cracks or other damaging changes in anything made of wood in your home, including wood floors, wood furniture and wood musical instruments.
- Houseplants suffer: Many houseplants prefer a semi-tropical environment and do not do well in arid situations. Watering these plants only helps to an extent. Many need ambient moisture for the health of their foliage.
How humidifiers help
A humidifier senses the humidity levels in the air and adds more when necessary according to its setting. This is controlled via a humidistat.
When you decide to add a humidifier to your home, you have two options. You can choose portable units for individual rooms or invest in a whole-house humidifier.
For large homes and homes with many valuable wood items throughout, the latter choice is the most practical. A whole-house humidifier is hooked up to your HVAC system, and it requires less maintenance than portable units do. A portable humidifier requires frequent filling and cleaning.
In addition, whole-house humidifiers more easily maintain a constant, optimal level of humidity throughout the entire home.
For more expert advice about humidifiers and other ways to make your Los Angeles home more comfortable, please feel free to contact us at Around the Clock Air Conditioning and Heating, Inc. We have been serving the L.A. area since 1967.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about humidifiers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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