How Your Humidifier Helps You Fight Flu In Your Northeastern Ohio Home

Flu season in the U.S. was relatively harsh this year, and it didn’t spare Northeast Ohio. And with spring not fully underway, the flu season’s not over yet. You know that washing your hands and avoiding crowded areas are good steps for preventing the flu, but did you realize that adding a humidifier to your home can also help your family fight the flu?

How a humidifier can help keep you well
Cold off-the-lake temperatures make the air dry during the winter, both inside and outside your home. Dry air isn’t just uncomfortable; it creates a fertile environment in which flu and other viruses can thrive. That’s because the dry air pulls the moisture out of coughs and sneezes allowing the virus to linger longer in the air, where it can be picked up by other people. Dry air also dries out your nasal passages, making flu and virus transmission easier. On the other hand, the flu virus becomes unstable in warmer, moist air, making it much harder to transmit in houses with a humidifying system.

Other benefits to a whole-house humidifying system
Fighting the flu isn’t the only benefit to adding a whole-house humidifier. A humidifier helps to reduce static electricity, those little zaps your get when you walk across the carpet during the winter. And, because moist air feels warmer than dry air, with a humidifying system you can be just as comfortable at a lower thermostat setting, saving energy and energy dollars. Finally, adding moisture to your indoor air will protect furniture and other wooden items in your home that are susceptible to cracking and other damage in too-dry air.

About humidifying systems
A whole-house humidifying system attaches to your furnace system, adding moisture to the air before it’s circulated throughout your living spaces. Unlike portable humidifiers, you don’t have to empty a pan every day or worry about the unit overflowing. A little periodic maintenance is all that’s required.

If you’d like to learn more about adding a whole-house humidifying system to your Lorain area home, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating and Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio 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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