Have you ever thought of your humidifier being related to dust in your home? Only a few homeowners do because their main thought for getting a humidifier is to increase the humidity levels in their indoor air.
You will be surprised that even though dust is just made up of fine particles, it can cause huge health problems if ignored.
Do humidifiers help with dust? How dangerous is a dusty home to your family? Can a humidifier get rid of dust particles? How about an air purifier, is it better than a humidifier in dealing with indoor dust? Do humidifiers also alleviate dust allergy symptoms?
Let’s dust off our knowledge about humidifiers and how they can help with dust problems in your home.
Can A Humidifier Help With Dust?
Dust is a prevalent allergen that can prompt respiratory and cardiovascular issues such as allergies and asthma. Depending on the size and type of the dust inhaled, it can also worsen lung conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Airway Disease (COAD), and emphysema.
A humidifier can help reduce the problems caused by dust by adding more moisture to the air indoors. With increased humidity levels, the air is denser making dust particles also heavier. It does not stay suspended in the air for too long to be inhaled by people but instead falls to the ground because of its weight.
On the off chance that some small particles still trigger an allergic reaction, a humidifier can still help alleviate symptoms of allergies by reducing inflammation of the sinuses and easing throat irritation.
Does Dust Affect Your Health?
Don’t be fooled by its small size as dust is made up of several foreign objects that may harm our body such as smoke, pollen, bacteria, small bits of dirt or rock, sand, ash, salt crystals from the ocean, hair, pollution–and sometimes–tiny fragments of human and animal skin cells!
Many don’t regard dust as a significant health hazard because of its teeny tiny size. Truthfully, however, the microscopic size of dust enables it to enter our lungs and cause respiratory problems.
A sizable piece of dust on the other hand can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat and trigger allergies or asthma attacks. While ultrafine particles have the potential to even enter your bloodstream.
Besides triggering asthma and allergic reactions, if the small particles enter the lungs, they can worsen pre-existing conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Airway Disease (COAD) and emphysema.
A person who is exposed to dust for an extended time or to an excessive amount of dust can have weaker lung functions. It will also endanger the person with illnesses like heart problems and chronic bronchitis.
Dust mites, on the other hand, are living organisms that feed off dust in your home. The existence of a dust mite is already an indication that there’s already a high volume of dust in your home.
Like its food dust, dust mites are major allergy-causing irritants. Dust mite allergy symptoms include the classic runny or stuffy nose, watery eyes, itchy throat, sneezing, and coughing. An asthmatic person exposed to dust mites can also present with chest pain, difficulty in breathing, and wheezing.
Does A Humidifier Get Rid of Dust Particles?
No. The humidifier does not and cannot get rid of dust in your home. Similarly, humidifiers do not help with dust mites’ extermination.
Dust is everywhere and cannot be totally avoided. In fact, an average person inhales nearly 50 billion dust particles an hour!
The problem starts when it comes in contact with vulnerable openings in your body such as the eyes, nose, and mouth. You see, dust is so small and lightweight, it can stay suspended in the air for as long as 5 days. So your body is exposed to almost 50 billion particles for at least 5 days a week.
Dry air in an indoor environment, unfortunately, invites more dust in. Humidifiers help solve that dilemma by raising the humidity level and minimizing the health issues brought on by indoor dryness.
Humidifiers might not combat your dust buildup directly but what they do is take away the health risks dust can bring to you and your family. Its ability to dampen the dust particles relies on its releasing additional moisture into the air. As the air gets heavier, the dust increases in weight too, forcing it to drop to the ground.
Of course, the humidifier will not remove the collected dust on the ground or surfaces. You still need to vacuum it and wipe down surfaces with some damp rag or mopping. The moisture in the mop will be able to capture the stubborn dust in a hard-to-reach site in the house.
Do Humidifiers Help With Dust Allergy Symptoms?
What if, even with the use of humidifiers, you still experience allergic reactions at home?
First of all, humidifiers cannot fully eradicate all presence of dust and dust mites in the air. But as they humidify the air, an evaporative humidifier or other similar system reduces dust turbulence. By getting it out of the way from your breathing air, dust loses some of its power to cause irritation and physical symptoms.
Besides dealing with dust directly, humidifiers can also help in another way in case you get exposed to other allergens such as animal dander, cockroaches, or mold. (Read our article on this site about how humidifiers also affect mold growth in your home).
Humidifiers can help alleviate allergy symptoms by:
- Moisturizing the air thus lessening the inflammation of the sinuses.
- Alleviating difficulty in breathing triggered by allergies.
- Preventing allergies from progressing to sneezing, coughing, and sneezing.
- Elevating humidity levels to keep mucous membranes constantly moist.
- Preventing inflammation of nasal passages.
- Thinning phlegm and mucus for easier discharge.
- Lowering the chance of post-nasal drip during and after allergy attacks.
- Easing sore throat, which is a common side effect of allergies.
Which Helps Better With Dust: A Humidifier Or Air Purifier?
Some argue that if you want to get rid of dust in your home, it is better to use an air purifier than a humidifier. What is the best option for your family’s health?
Before you decide, it is essential to understand each device’s functions and method of operation as they are distinctively different.
The main purpose of humidifiers is to increase the levels of water vapor in the air. The increased humidity will help alleviate problems resulting in parched air such as dry sinuses, sore throat, dry skin and lips, and difficulty in breathing. As mentioned, humidifiers also help dust fall to the ground quickly so it will not be inhaled.
Air purifiers, on the other hand, are designed to help purify indoor breathing air. They filter and remove dust, smoke, odors, and other air impurities.
Can you use a humidifier and an air purifier together? ABSOLUTELY! These two devices do not counteract each other but instead improve the air quality in your home and let you have consistently clean air indoors.
So you don’t have to purchase two devices, you may select air purifiers that have built-in humidifiers. We recommend you choose a high-quality unit instead of a cheaper one for optimum efficiency and safety.