To live a healthy life, it is important to maintain the right humidity levels at your home or living space. Excessive levels and low-level of humidity both can cause various health problems. The normal indoor humidity level is 20% to 60%. Usually, viruses and bacteria spread quickly if the humidity level is higher than 60%. The improper humidity level also develops personal discomfort and irritation. In this article, I will discuss the impact of an air purifier to the humidity of the air. After the read, you will know whether an air purifier dries out the indoor air and atmosphere or not.
WHAT IS EXCESSIVE HUMIDITY LEVEL AND ITS EFFECT?
Experts consider more than 60% of humidity as hazardous for human health. Too much humidity increases various kinds of unwanted airborne pollutants such as mold, mildew, dust mites, germs, viruses, and bacteria. It causes different kinds of respiratory difficulties as well as asthma and allergy. Usually, people feel tired, sweaty, and hot in the high humidity level. Mold and mildew grow toxic substances. When you inhale or touch mold and mildew, you can be affected instantly. When the humidity level is high you can feel hotter than the actual temperature. You can also feel suffocated.
WHAT IS LOWER HUMIDITY LEVEL AND ITS EFFECT?
Beside high humidity, lower humidity is also dangerous for you and your family. Less than 20% of humidity is considered as of lower humidity level. Usually, low humidity occurs in the winter season because of the cold air that can’t hold the moisture. In a lower humidity condition, you may feel dry eyes, cracked lips, rough skin, bloody nose, itchy throat, and morning coughing. When your home is extremely dry you can experience static electricity on dry clothes and hair.
DO AIR PURIFIERS DRY OUT THE AIR?
The simple answer is NO! Contrarily, some air purifiers come with an additional humidifier function that can maintain the humidity level. An air purifier is a device that is run by a fan. It can suck the air through the inlet and catch or trap contaminants then circulate the air through an outlet. As a result, you can get fresh and pure air after a while. Therefore, it is clear that the filters of air purifiers can only capture airborne pollutants such as mites, hair, pet dander, smokes, VOCs, mold, pollen spores, and so on. Reducing moisture is out of the question. However, an air purifier is unable to reduce the humidity but it is effective to reduce the bad impacts of humidity. A simple air purifier can’t dry out the air but air conditioner especially over-sized air conditioner usually dries out the air.
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE HUMIDITY LEVEL IN YOUR HOME?
EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency) recommends that 30% to 50% humidity level is good for any indoor space and the perfect level is 40% to 45%. You need to maintain the ideal humidity for your family. You can take some steps to maintain the indoor humidity level. For example, you can use humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and some household plants. An air purifier can also help you remove air contaminants which can grow for improper humidity.
Inappropriate air flow can affect your humidity level. Proper ventilation is the key to ideal humidity. To hold the ideal humidity level, you should tune up some home appliances such as air conditioner time to time and also can modify your HVAC system by experts.
FINAL WORDS
I think now you know the answer to whether an air purifier dries out the air or not. As I have suggested, use a humidifier or dehumidifier to keep a balanced humidity at your home. Although air purifiers do not have any negative impact on the humidity, it does not have any significant positive impact too. You will only get benefited with an air purifier. Therefore, you should not be concerned that the air purifier is acting as an air conditioner to dry out the air. Thant’s all from me about this topic. If you find this article helpful, you can share it so that everyone gets benefited from it. Have a good day!