A humidifier or vaporiser puts moisture back into dry air. Vaporisers work by heating water to create hot steam or vapour and can have medical products added such as menthol or eucalyptus. Humidifiers work by creating a cool mist. Both create moist air which can assist with reducing congestion for individuals with a cold, or alleviating respiratory symptoms for individuals that react to dry air caused by winter heating. Note of concern that units need to be cleaned well and regularly due to some concern that the wet environment can allow growth of bacteria which can then be propelled into the environment potentially affecting health.
Humidifiers and vaporisers are available in:
- portable room sized models
- console humidifiers which are placed in a unit and used on the floor
- portable humidifiers that cover a range of square footage depending on area and may or may not include an air filter
- central humidifiers which are built into the heating or air conditioning system and increase moisture to the whole house or workplace.
Humidifiers and vaporisers are available which operate in varying ways including:
- ultrasonic models which create mist through ultrasonic sound vibrations
- models which produce a cool mist through rotation of a high speed spinning disk
- evaporative models which operate through a fan forcing air through moistened material, creating moisture in the air
- steam vaporisers which operate to create steam by heating water with an electrical heating element or electrodes
- humidifiers which create warm rather than cool mist which is then cooled before being emitted from the machine.
Workplace solutions and adjustments
Within a lot of workplaces centralised heating and air conditioning units can sometimes dry out the air especially during winter months. For people with respiratory sensitivity such as asthma or colds, increasing moisture to the air may help with symptom management. Depending on the environment and number of people requiring assistance, investigation into the benefits of a whole building system versus a portable model will need to be considered, along with the benefits of a humidifier versus a vaporiser.
When considering the use of a humidifier or vaporiser, the following links may be useful:
References
FiltersAmerica.com 2002-2011, Room Humidifiers, FiltersAmerica.com, online, viewed 22 February 2011,http://www.filtersamerica.com/humidifier/room-humidifier/vaporizer-humidifiers/.
FiltersAmerica.com 2002-2011, Furnace Humidifiers, FiltersAmerica.com, online, viewed 22 February 2011,http://www.filtersamerica.com/humidifier/whole-house-humidifier/.
Indoor Air Quality 2010, Indoor Air Facts No. 8: Use and care of Home Humidifiers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, viewed 22 February 2010, http://www.epa.gov/iedweb00/pubs/humidif.html.