Humidifier? Don't mind if I do!!

Do you ever feel as though you are putting up with living life a certain way because you don't know that there are actually solutions that can make the quality of your life better?  When I was growing up in rural southeastern Ohio, my family heated our house with firewood. (I'm from a family of seven so guess who my dad roped into cutting and stacking firewood every summer?)  During the cold winter months, we burned that firewood along with coal to keep our house warm.  My mom would always have a large pot of water on top of our wood stove to add moisture to the house.  At the time, I had no idea the importance of humidity to a person's quality of life.  But my mom was doing the best that she was able to do to improve the chances that we would not get sick because of having dry noses.  How do dry noses make you sick, you may ask?
I found some information on Ohio State University's medical center website explaining why there are more colds during colder months. And "spoiler alert" it's not because of being cold.  http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/lung_diseases/cold/pages/index.aspx
"People are most likely to have colds during fall and winter, starting in late August or early September until March or April. The increased incidence of colds during the cold season may be attributed to the fact that more people are indoors and close to each other. In addition, many cold viruses thrive in low humidity, making the nasal passages drier and more vulnerable to infection."

If we can't change the fact that we have to be inside more often, we should be able to change our indoor environment to one that is more humid.

Today there are much better options for whole house humidification than just putting a pot of water on the wood stove or little bowls of water around the house.  It is common to see advertisements for one room humidifiers.  You might see a person lounging in her easy chair with a machine next to her pumping out hot, steamy water.  She is relaxed, comfortable and breathing easily.  What happens though when she gets up to go to bed?  Does she carry the machine with her?  Does she spill water when she is trying to fill the humidifier?

The other humidifier options are a By-Pass or Steam. Both connect to your existing ducted heating and cooling system.
Here are some pros and cons to these humidifiers.


TYPE                         PROS                             CONS                

Room style                 Portable                                  Must refill 

                                  Least expensive                      Small tanks 

                                  No installation                        Messy 

                                                                                 Only humidify a small area 

                                                                                  Noisy

By Pass                       No tank to fill                         Uses cold water

                                  Does entire house                    It must heat water to humidify

                                  Cheaper than multiple              Uses humidifier media that must
                                         room units                             be changed

                                  Cheapest way to do                  Not good with hard water.
                                               entire house

                                                                                      

Steam                       Best humidification available     More initial expense up front
                                 Uses less energy
                                 Uses pre heated water
                                 Runs more efficiently
                                Does not need heat system to be on to work
                                Most flexible to install
                                No tank to fill.

***Natalie and Shelly