It is really worth thinking about the quality of air at home, because clean, humidified air has a beneficial effect on the general condition of the body, fights ARVI and allergies, and it becomes easy and pleasant to breathe. Air itself will not get better, but smart gadgets will come to the rescue, which we will discuss below.
Air purifiers
It seems air and air, what is there to clean and why? In fact, you do not breathe freely enough if you agree with at least one of these points:
- you live in a city
- near the house there is parking, road, industrial enterprise,
- you have pets
- the apartment has carpets, curtains, soft toys.
It is clear that most of us fall into at least one group, which means they risk health. Household dust, polluted street air, animal hair and pollen impede lung function, can cause allergies and interfere with sleep. Fortunately, the air purifier will cope with these problems, it remains only to choose the right one.
The main thing in the purifier is the filters through which air passes. The more of them, the more effective the device will be. Depending on the filters and their organization, cleaners are divided into several types.
Mechanical cleaners
This filter system acts as a sieve:
- a pre-filter in the form of a mesh, the task of which is to stop large particles of dust, wool, fluff,
- carbon: activated carbon, which copes with unpleasant odors, cigarette smoke and some toxic impurities, but is effective only in combination with other filters,
- HEPA-filter, which is able to retain particles up to 0.3 microns and provide high-quality air purification, sufficient even for asthmatics.
Such cleaners can be noisier than their counterparts, and filters require regular replacement, but with a variety of models it is not difficult to choose the optimal one.
Electrostatic cleaners
They work with the interaction of negative and positive electric charges: dust particles pass through the ionization chamber, receive a charge and are attracted to the plates inside the cleaner. An electrostatic filter is capable of retaining particles as low as 0.01 microns, and the plates simply need to be washed with water as they become contaminated. These filters are quieter than mechanical ones, but they cannot cope with some toxins and saturate the air with ozone, the concentration of which is better to monitor.
Photocatalytic cleaners
These are perhaps the most effective and advanced filters. The technology is based on UV radiation, which breaks down particles of contaminants even up to 0.001 microns and turns them into carbon dioxide and water. With large dust, such filters cope worse, so they often complement mechanical ones. The only minus of cleaners with a photocatalytic filter is the high price relative to others, but such a filter does not require washing or replacement.
It is necessary to choose a cleaner depending on the area of the room and your willingness to take care of it: change and rinse the filters. Various trifles will make the use pleasant and interesting: remote control and night mode, pollution level detector and other indicators.
Humidifiers
The air became clean, but breathing is still a problem, and the skin and mucous membranes dry out. It's all about the level of humidity, which in the winter inside the apartment can be only 10-20% with a norm of 40-60%. Therefore, if you want to feel comfortable, especially during sleep, take a look at humidifiers.
All of them have a water tank inside and differ depending on how this water enters the room.
Traditional humidifiers
Here, water impregnates special cartridges through which air is driven by a fan. Such humidifiers themselves determine the level of humidity and regulate the evaporation rate, while they are absolutely safe, because the water does not heat up. However, they are distinguished by a rather slow work: it happens that the effect occurs only after 2-3 days.
Why you need to humidify the air in the apartment
Monitoring the humidity level is a must. But what is the harm of dry air in the apartment?
Why do I need a humidifier in the apartment - at least homemade?
- Dry air causes a sore throat, cough, dries the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes, eye problems are especially relevant for those who use lenses.
- Air with low humidity and high dust content is especially dangerous for children, asthmatics and allergy sufferers. In addition, the risk of allergies increases in healthy people.
- With a lack of moisture, fatigue often increases, drowsiness, sometimes even a headache.
- Hair and nails become more brittle and faded, and the skin is overdried.
- In dry, warm air, bacteria and viruses tend to multiply faster, which means an increased risk of disease.
- Dry air negatively affects not only humans. From a lack of moisture indoor plants stop growing or dry out, wooden furniture, windows, doors, musical instruments, etc., become unusable.
The list is impressive. However, the effects of excessively high humidity are also many, so it is better to observe the middle ground.
To make the apartment comfortable, it is necessary to maintain a humidity level of 40-60%. About the norm in other rooms, for example, in the nursery or office, you can also read in our blog.
How to determine the humidity in the apartment
There are several ways to determine the humidity level in a room. If you don’t have special equipment at hand, you can use folk methods. Of course, you cannot determine the exact number, but if the room needs to be moistened, you will know about it for sure.
- Pour water into the bottle.
- Put it in the refrigerator for several hours.
- Remove the container and leave it in the room for five minutes. The walls of the bottle will quickly become condensed.
- If in five minutes the drops on the bottle are almost dry, then the air in the room is very dry. With excessively high humidity, the drops will turn into a small puddle. If the drops slowly creep along it, then the humidity is normal.
Also measure the level of humidity will help the fir cone. A fully opened cone indicates low humidity, if the cone flakes are only slightly ajar or firmly pressed against each other, then there is no problem with humidity.
To find out the exact moisture content in the air, you will need hygrometer. The main thing is to put it away from batteries and other heating devices: this way you will receive the most reliable information.
If you want to know not only the level of air humidity, but also other microclimate indicators (for example, temperature and carbon dioxide content in the air), then you should pay attention to the MagicAir smart microclimate system. It allows you to not only monitor the characteristics of the air in the house, but also automatically control the climate technology.
Battery Humidifier
The most common advice for humidifying the air in your apartment is to put wet towels on the battery. Here are just towels will often have to be moistened, which is not very convenient. More elegant and creative solution will be special humidifiers for the heating battery.
These humidifiers are a container into which water is poured. The vessel is hung on the battery, and the water in it gradually evaporates, filling the room with moisture. Humidifiers of various shapes and sizes are made of ceramics, plastic, steel and other materials.
Judging by the reviews, the most popular option is a ceramic humidifier. True, the evaporation area is small, so it is better to hang two or three devices on radiators. Ceramic humidifiers are inexpensive, their mounts are usually reliable, and the variety of shapes, colors and decorative paintings will make it easy to pick up a copy that matches your interior.
Hard tap water can ruin the appearance of the walls of the tank. Therefore, before pouring water, it is worth filtering it.
DIY and improvised air humidifier
1. The humidifier on the battery can be done with your own hands:
- The main thing is to choose a product from a material that does not melt at high temperature. Ceramic vases or bottles, dishes made of heat-resistant plastic, etc. are suitable. You can make a home humidifier from a plastic bottle, but then you have to forget about the aesthetic side.
- It is necessary to make a hole in the container and to extend a reliable fastening into it. Durable wire is fine.
- The final look of a homemade humidifier is entirely up to you! You can paint it with paints, make an applique, and cover it with a beautiful fabric.
- To make the room filled not only with moisture, but also with a pleasant smell, you can add a couple of drops of essential oil with your favorite aroma to the water.
2. The easiest way to humidify air at home - take a spray bottle and spray water in the room or put a water tank in front of the fan. You can also put a pot or an open kettle with boiling water in the room. But this method should not be abused: hot steam has a bad effect on the durability of wallpaper and furniture.
3. The next method is similar to the previous one, only the stove turns into a humidifier. Place a pot or other container of water on the stove and simmer over low heat. Add cinnamon sticks, lavender, peel of oranges or apples so that the house has a pleasant smell. Do not forget to ensure that the water does not boil away.
4. The bathroom is known to be the source of the highest humidity in the house. Leave the bathroom door open after taking a shower, - This is an easy way to add some extra moisture to the air.
5. Do not know how to deal with low humidity? Wash your entire wardrobe! You can fill the air with moisture without extra effort if you dry your clothes on or near the battery. So you will kill two birds with one stone: both things will dry out faster and humidity will rise.
2. Dry things in the room
Another way that does not require any effort from you. Just put the dryer with the clothes washed next to the battery: the clothes will dry faster and the air will become saturated with moisture.
The main thing is that there are no cleaning products left on things. Otherwise, you will breathe chemistry.
A similar way to moisten the air is to put wet towels on the battery. You can increase the duration of such a humidifier with a water bottle.
freee.ru
How to build such a structure is described in detail here.
3. Boil
All you need is a stove and pot or kettle.
- Option 1. Bring the water in the pan to a boil and put it on the table or window sill so that the steam humidifies the apartment.
- Option 2. Boil the kettle and leave it over low heat for a longer evaporation. This technique can be used when you cook food (often the air is dried out at this time).
You can also add a few drops of tea tree oil or eucalyptus to the water. Their aroma calms, and couples kill germs and reduce the risk of colds and flu. In addition, you can throw cinnamon sticks, herbs or other spices into the water so that the air smells good.
4. Arrange the water tanks in the apartment
You can do without boiling. Just fill the vases, bottles, and other vessels with water and place them near sources of heat. If you add stones and flowers, you get a beautiful composition - the guests most likely will not even guess that these are not decorative elements, but home-made moisturizers. Just do not forget to periodically wash the tanks and change the water.
Steam humidifiers
Water is heated to a boil and evaporates, moistening the air, and the device turns off itself after it is completely boiled away - in operation it resembles an electric kettle. Care should be taken because of the steam temperature, which reaches 60 ° C, and the lack of self-regulation: a special sensor is required so as not to over-moisten the room. But the steam humidifier copes with its task faster than anyone: air changes almost instantly.
Ultrasonic Humidifiers
They work like this: water enters a membrane vibrating with an ultrasonic frequency, a cloud forms, through which the fan drives air. The humidity level will be regulated by the built-in sensor, or hygrometer. In an ultrasonic humidifier, cartridges do not need to be changed, just as there is a fear of hot steam, but there is one significant minus: you need to use distilled water, because ordinary water contains many salts and impurities that will settle on surfaces in the form of a white coating.
In any humidifier, an indicator of water replenishment, night mode, limitation of work in the absence of water or a loose cover, and additional functions like ionization or aromatization of air, remote control will be useful.
Air washers
They combine a cleaner and a humidifier: inside the case there is a rotating drum, half immersed in water, on which large impurities settle. Air is supplied and blown out using a fan, as in traditional humidifiers, but the tank needs to be cleaned once every few days, because dirt accumulates inside, reducing work to nothing. Unfortunately, an air washing cannot give a full purification due to the lack of special filters, therefore, if getting rid of dust is in the first place for you, it is better to look at quality cleaners.
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