The average person breathes approximately 23,000 times a day. What is the quality of the air you’re breathing? As we move through winter and into the beginning of spring, it’s an ideal time to reevaluate your home’s indoor air quality. There are plenty of cool days on the horizon and the cooler air means less moisture. Along with the impact dry air has on your home comfort, it can impact your health and your home.
Low Humidity Increases Your Chances of Getting Sick
Ending up with a cold doesn’t typically happen colder out. Your chance of ending up with a cold could increase because cold air is less humid than warm air. Lower humidity causes the mucus membranes in your sinus and nasal cavities to dry out. Those membranes are doing the critical job of monitoring for bacteria and debris and when they dry out they open up and increase your chance of getting an illness, such as the cold or flu.
Dry Air Affects Your Skin
Your skin is your largest organ, take care of it. If you are feeling very itchy, the absence of humidity could be the culprit. Before you rush to the store to start purchasing lotion in large quantities, contemplate getting a whole-home humidifier as another solution.
Damages to Your Home
If your indoor air doesn’t have an adequate amount of moisture it will work to pull moisture from the things in your house. This may mean the wood in your home could experience damage and make cracks in the walls and floors.
Checking for Dry Air
Aside from itchy skin and an everlasting cold there are a handful of ways to check for dry air in your home, like:
- An increase in static electricity
- Cracks in the floors
- Slits in trim and molding
- Wallpaper that is coming down
Any of these problems could mean it’s time to think about a humidifier and improve your indoor air quality.
We want to help ensure those 23,000 breaths you take every day are as good as possible. Your health and home is a top priority. You can contact us at 239-241-5318 and talk with one of our indoor air pros to help you strike the best balance of humidity and comfort in your home.