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What Does a Humidifier Do?

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Basically, humidifiers moisturize dry air. If the air in your nursery is not humid enough, it can cause a number of risks for baby. Air that is too dry can cause colds, sinus infections, nose bleeds or scratchy and sore throats. By running a humidifier in your baby’s nursery, you can help reduce bacteria and dust particles from the air, allow baby to enjoy cleaner air, decrease static electricity and even protect the interior of your home. Germs also spread more easily in drier air, which is definitely what you want to protect your baby from – especially during flu season.

Humidifiers are stand-alone units that work in a very simple process. Water is placed in a holding tank within the unit that feeds to a filter. When the water passes through the filter, it is separated into a mist and a fan blows the mist into the air and it circulates throughout the room, increasing the overall humidity.

So how humid should your nursery be? The optimal level of humidity is between 30% and 50% for overall healthy air. You can monitor the level of humidity that your humidifier is producing by purchasing an inexpensive humidity gauge called a hygrometer. If the hygrometer is reading humidity levels below 30%, you want to increase the moisture. However, humidity levels above 50% can be just as unhealthy, promoting the growth of mold, bacteria, fungi and dust mites. If you don’t have a hygrometer, you can tell if you have too much humidity if your windows develop condensation. If you cannot control the output of moisture from your humidifier, increase the ventilation in the room to lower the humidity level. It is helpful to purchase a humidifier with a humidistat that allows you to adjust the level of humidity that is being added to the room from your humidifier. Set the humidistat on your humidifier to a level between 30% and 40% for the most comfortable air.

Humidifiers also protect your home’s interior and structure, particularly if you own a newer home. Expensive hardwood is often used for floors, staircases, hand railings, cabinets, trims and moldings inside your house or nursery. Most hardwood is manufactured in a controlled environment that has about 50% humidity. When any of this wood is suddenly exposed to much drier air, the wood can unavoidably shrink or crack.

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