HUMIDIFIERS Quench a dry house's thirst

Humidifiers can add comfort to the atmosphere, but be sure to keep them clean.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Even though it can't talk, your home has ways of telling you it's thirsty.
If its walls are cracking, if its wood trim is splitting or if its piano is out of tune, it definitely needs a tall drink of water. And your home can take it out on you personally, sending electric shocks your way as you walk its floors and turn its knobs.
Donna Aldridge is a big believer in boosting the water content of the air in her Kansas house. By running humidifiers during the cold months, she combats the dryness her heater and low temperatures create.
"I can really tell when I don't have a humidifier going," said Aldridge, an artist. Her skin gets itchy, her hair stands on end, her two cats get jolted by static electricity as she pets them, and her wood furniture starts to come apart at the joints.
Testing the air
To know whether you need a humidifier, use a hygrometer (starting at $20 at hardware and home stores). The moisture level should be between 30 percent and 50 percent. If it's within that range, usual household tasks such as cooking and washing are adding enough water into the air.
If the level is higher (probably not a concern until spring), you need a dehumidifier. If the level is lower, a humidifier is a good idea.
Humidifiers are available in several forms:
UCool-mist humidifiers (also known as impeller and ultrasonic humidifiers) shoot a plume of tiny water droplets into the air. They are portable and humidify a single room. Most portable humidifiers start at about $50.
UEvaporative models blow air through a moistened wick, filter or belt. Console humidifiers come enclosed in cabinets that may cover multiple rooms or a whole house and start at $120. Central humidifiers, built into a home's heating and cooling system, are designed to humidify the entire house and can cost more than $1,000.
UPortable vaporizers release steam. They aren't recommended for asthma sufferers because excessive humidity can irritate breathing passages, or for households with young children because they can burn.
UPortable warm-mist humidifiers are like vaporizers that cool the steam a little before releasing it.
A new generation
Most humidifiers have built-in hygrometers you can set to stay within recommended moisture levels. The portable ones are typically compact, sleek and come with remote controls.
Jennifer Cook, executive editor of Prevention magazine, remembers the clunky, monstrous metal-on-wheels contraptions she grew up with in the 1960s. "They were eyesores you'd stumble into, and they'd spill water everywhere," she said.
Still, parents deemed humidifiers a necessary household fixture because they purportedly helped prevent colds and respiratory infections. But there's no data that support those beliefs, according to the February issue of the Pennsylvania-based health and wellness magazine.
"They're really more for the comfort level in one's home," Cook said.
Humidifiers can ease cold symptoms, however, keeping mucus moist so it can be easily expelled. They also can keep your nose, throat and lips from feeling dry, and dermatologists say their moisture is soothing to skin, easing scaly patches.
Humidifiers won't prevent wrinkles, although they can make skin look younger if used with a moisturizer.
Keeping things fresh
To prevent humidifiers from introducing problems into a house, users need to dump out old water daily and refill tanks with fresh water. They should be cleaned at least weekly, according to manufacturers' instructions. Any scale -- crusty mineral buildup -- needs to be scrubbed off because it is a breeding ground for bacteria.
If humidifiers don't have fresh water, mist will disperse mold spores into the air. People who breathe it in can develop problems, according to Prevention magazine, ranging from flulike symptoms to a chronic pneumonia-like condition dubbed "humidifier lung." Smokers and people with respiratory disorders are among the highest at risk.
Despite the maintenance humidifiers require, Aldridge uses a central model and several portables because it helps her as she's creating art with pastels. If it's too dry in her home, she unintentionally breathes in the chalky flakes as they float in the air instead of falling to the ground.
"There's not a downside to [humidifiers] except cleaning and filling the reservoir," Aldridge said. "But you have to do that with the coffee pot, too."