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How Low Home Humidity Affects Your Health

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sick child having temperature taken
Sick boy with thermometer laying in bed and mother hand taking temperature. Mother checking temperature of her sick son who has thermometer in his mouth. Sick child with fever and illness while resting in bed.

When winter arrives and you need to run the heating system to stay warm and comfortable, the humidity in your indoor air can drop too low. This occurs because cold winter air doesn’t hold moisture very well, and heating it makes the problem even worse. Excessively low humidity in your home can cause various health-related problems, such as:

  • Dry eyes. The eyes produce tears to lubricate and flush out contaminants and irritants. In dry-air conditions, this vital liquid dries up too, which makes it easier for the eyes to become irritated or worse, infected.
  • Respiratory issues. When you breathe air containing too little moisture, mucus membranes lining the respiratory and nasal passages dry out. This can cause sore throats, nose bleeds, chest congestion and coughing, and worsen conditions like allergies, asthma, COPD and chronic bronchitis.
  • Dry skin. A lack of humidity also draws moisture out of the skin, leaving it uncomfortably itchy and scaly. Dry skin can also start to crack, which makes it more vulnerable to bacterial infections.
  • Increased risk of illness. Certain bacteria and viruses thrive when the air is dry, which increases the likelihood of contracting the flu, colds and respiratory infections.

Solutions to Improve Low Humidity

Indoor humidity in the 30 to 50 percent range is ideal to prevent health problems related to dry air. Here are two reliable methods for boosting your indoor humidity levels:

  • Room-size humidifiers. These plug-in units can hold one to several gallons of water. They’re best used in a child’s room or other bedroom to improve dry conditions and make sleeping more comfortable.
  • Whole-home humidifiers. These house-size units are installed on the HVAC air handler and plumbed into the water supply so they fill automatically. They also have a humidistat control that can be placed in a spot where it’s easy and convenient to adjust the setting. This ensures that an optimal amount of moisture gets added to the warm air coming from the furnace, so it’s humidified before being distributed through the ducts.

For expert help solving low humidity problems in your Broken Arrow home, schedule an in-home assessment online with at Air Assurance.