Pros and cons of using air washing
Many people think about the condition of the air in their apartment, and this is not without reason. The cleaner that we breathe, the healthier we will eventually be. Air is life, and much is connected with it, which directly concerns human health. The parameters of cleanliness, humidity and cleanliness in the room are the most important. For example, if the room is heated too much, or, on the contrary, cooled with the help of additional means, this can significantly dry the air. Probably, many people noticed that being in a room with stale air is uncomfortable. Of course, you can air out, but the air outside the window is not always clean, especially if it is the first floor, and the windows overlook the roadway.
An effective way to clean and humidify the atmosphere in a room is to use special devices. The most common device today is the so-called air wash.Below we find out what are the benefits and harms from the use of such devices.
Content
What is air washing necessary for?
Exist humidity standards (40-65%) in residential buildings, a kind of "comfort zone", going beyond which can lead to slight indisposition, and a long stay with serious consequences (dizziness, high blood pressure, allergic reactions, runny nose, colds, etc. ). This level is determined by conventional hygrometers. In the dry season (spring, summer, beginning of autumn), this level drops almost three times (to 20%). In sunny weather, solving the problem of arid air is very problematic, because outside the window, on the street, there is not much more moisture than in an apartment.
The arid climate in the room can lead to the following consequences.
- Lowering the level of moisture in the skin, and therefore may be a slowdown of metabolic processes in the upper layers of the epidermis. Manifested in dry skin, irritation, psoriatic reactions, itching and redness.Especially strong can occur in people with sensitive skin type.
- Blood circulation can deteriorate, and this leads to many undesirable consequences, in particular, problems of digestion.
- The skin loses its elasticity, may begin to peel off and exfoliate, crack and sag. The protective function of the epidermis is significantly reduced.
- Reducing the functionality of the upper respiratory tract, drying of the mucous membrane.
- Irritation of the eyes (redness, itching).
If we are talking about a long stay in such a room, in some cases there is a decrease in immunity, an increase in the irritability of the epidermal cover, and frequent local allergic reactions. Also reduced tone, performance, there are complaints about the deterioration of health.
In a room where moisture has been restored to an acceptable level, a dramatic improvement in rheology (blood flow), improvement in the condition of the mucous membrane, as well as the skin in general, can be observed in the human body. In addition to improving the overall condition, water vapor has the property of binding particles of debris, which makes it easier to clean them.
To increase the humidity in his apartment, people resort to various options. Someone buys an aquarium and starts a fish, others dry wet clothes right in the apartment, others, watering the flowers, spray water spray from a spray bottle throughout the house. Of course, all of the above is ineffective and rather temporary. The best solution to the problem is the purchase of a household humidifier - air washing. This device not only brings the atmosphere in the house to the required level of humidity, but also to some extent cleans the air. Let's talk in more detail about what are humidifiers.
How does it work
Air washing is a fairly simple device. Its main tasks are to clean and moisten the air inside the room. Today, these devices can be divided into two categories:
- with water filter;
- The device, which is based on a disk core.
How does such a unit work? Devices based on the rod pass air through the rotating plates, which are half immersed in the liquid. Such air washers consist of:
- bladed cooler located on top;
- drum (rod with plates);
- a tank with a liquid that is in the center — the disks are partially immersed in it.
The cooler feeds the air stream into the washing compartment. Passing through the wet plates, contaminated particles are bound. There is their natural swelling and weighting. Dirt accumulates in the fluid reservoir. The air is saturated with humidity to a predetermined limit. The flow, passing through the reservoir, is blown through several openings on both sides of the device.
Devices with hydrofilter instead of a drum, they have a cone, which works as a circulation blower. His work generates a fine medium, passing through which the air is cleaned and moistened. Under pressure with the air blown out small drops of water.
It should be noted that this type of device is rarely used in everyday life.
Benefit or Harm: Effects of Air Wash
Unfortunately, the question has to be put in this way. Fortunately, only on one point: air washing is not tight, and inside they have just perfect conditions for the existence of a colony of bacteria.The latter settle in the reservoir with liquid and on the disks (disks). The main danger lies in the fact that over time, these colonies are not just settled down inside, but can get into the apartment with blown humidified air. If the water from the reservoir contains mold and fungal spores, then this may pose a direct threat to the health of all who live in the apartment. The benefits of such moisturizing immediately become very subjective.
Of course, there is a solution to this problem, and a rather prosaic one. It is enough just to thoroughly flush the reservoir and the discs themselves, drain the dirty water and pour clean (ideally distilled) water. Of course, for each manufacturer, the frequency of maintenance of the devices may differ, but the feedback from experts states that the replacement of fluid should be done at least once in 2-4 days. If the humidifier is not used at all, it is best to drain the water and keep it empty.
In addition to the hygienic lack of air washing can be noted the need for constant maintenance (this includes all its subtleties and difficulties). For example, in expensive devices, often many parts have a complex structure,when servicing, they are difficult to remove, you can damage or hurt yourself.
The list of other shortcomings is given below.
- For moisturizing to be of high quality, it must be continuous. It is necessary to turn off the device, as the efficiency of moistening will immediately decrease, and after a while it will return to its original state.
- The design of air washers does not allow to catch allergens, as well as particles of dust and debris smaller than 10-12 microns in size. All this garbage is blown out again.
- Availability fine filters. On the one hand, this is a plus, but they need to be changed, and these are additional costs.
- The size of the device is not always optimal. Often, the sink is a bulky plastic case that you can easily trip over.
- The cost of such humidifiers often exceeds the threshold of the "golden mean" and can reach up to 14-45 tr. for a separate copy.
But are there any benefits? Of course, air washing is not devoid of positive aspects.
- Air washing perfectly copes with garbage that exceeds the size of 10 microns. Of course, we are not talking about microbes and micro-allergens. But devices of this type do an excellent job with coarse dust, dirt and sand,as well as wool and furniture pile.
- It is unlikely that a person can be harmed due to excessive air moistening. Such cases have not yet met in practice.
- A large amount of cultivated area due to forced suction of air by the blades of the cooler.
- The water in the tank is not heated and is not brought to a boiling state. The possibility of getting burned during operation and maintenance of the device is excluded.
- Air washing does not contribute to the appearance of plaque on household items (furniture, linoleum, etc.).
In general, the use of this type of device can be considered safe and useful, although not without flaws. As you can see, the use in some cases may overlap with existing design flaws (even if there are not many). However, each case is individual and in many respects depends on the ecological situation of the area in which the processed room is located. In addition, the appearance of the humidifier itself, the manufacturer, its capacity and the degree of filtration (the presence of additional fine air filters) are of great importance.
If you use the device for its intended purpose, regularly wash it, observing the hygienic recommendations of specialists, then the result of use will be clean and humidified air, which will have a positive effect on the user's health.
You can not talk about some kind of direct harm, without mentioning the many advantages that can be obtained using moisturizers. Damage caused by air washing may be associated with misuse: conditions are not met, instruction is not studied, there were contraindications.
Users who know a lot about cleaning the room have probably tried air cleaning in everyday life and can tell a lot about it. Below are reviews of owners who have used air humidifiers for a long time.
Owner reviews
Anna, Gornouralsk
Vladimir, Dimitrovgrad
Ivan Alexandrovich, Moscow
Yana, Naberezhnye Chelny
Denis, specialist in sales of cleaning and climate technology
Artem, public relations specialist of the manufacturer of humidifiers
Conclusion
As can be noted, humidifiers are in steady demand among users. Their effectiveness is not in doubt in most cases, and only in some is questioned. Direct damage from air washing can also be entered in the column "from time to time", because it depends on the observance (or non-compliance) of many factors. For example, were the safety requirements met, was the instruction studied, was humidification required.
Based on the reviews, it can be noted that to check the level of humidity in the room, you should get a portable hygrometer to know for sure whether you need a humidifier or not.