The amount of water vapor in the air varies and depends on weather, season, or where you live. Ideally, the humidity level in your home should be between the range of 30% and 50%. Too low or too high humidity can be dangerous to your health. However, Using the Best Humidifiers for Asthma and Allergies can help you breathe easier especially when you are allergic to any type of trigger.
In the same way uncontrolled humidification will increase allergen and can actually worsen your asthma reaction and allergy. Humidifiers are the devices which release water vapor into the air to increase the moisture content of the air around us (humidity). Humidity is simply the amount of water vapor present in the air around us.
Asthma is a common chronic ailment and has many challenges like sensitivity to temperature of the air and humidity level. Knowing how to control the humidity level in your home should be a significant concern to you, especially if you very allergic to asthma triggers.
This article will provide you with the simple details you need to know about humidifiers, asthma, allergies, their relationship and most importantly how you can decide the best humidifier for asthmatics and lung problems
Also Read: Best Humidifier for dry eyes
What is better for Allergies: Humidifier or Air purifier
You should know that both air purifier and a humidifier do a great job in improving indoor air, both are good for people with sinuses and respiratory tract issues; however, the relief they offer differ.
An air purifier uses filter to trap and remove airborne contaminants. It is beneficial for asthmatics and allergies sufferers and for people who desire clean air, it removes dust, mold spores, allergens, bacteria, and smoke. An air purifier does not add moisture into the air. It only clean and filter the air.
A humidifier adds moisture to the air to soothe the irritation caused by dry conditions. It is also beneficial for asthmatics and people with irritated respiratory tract due to dry air.
An air purifier may be considered as the best if you have asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions that are caused by irritation from polluted air. An air purifier removes asthma triggers from the air so that you don’t get to inhale them. You can use an air purifier alongside a humidifier too.
Also Read: Best humidifier for nosebleeds
Top 6 Best Humidifier for Asthmatics and Lung problems
1) Aprilaire 800 whole steam humidifier
Special Features: Full coverage, 6 level output, Convenient digital control, Dual sensor 24/7 auto mode, Dimension 7.1 x 10.1 x 20.9 inches11.5-34.6 gallons of moisture per day, Health friendly, Easy to operate, Easy to maintain.
Aprilaire products for humidifiers are known to lead other products since 1954 when they first introduced evaporative humidifier for forces air furnace Aprilaire 800 whole steam humidifier is steam humidifiers that make use of electrode technology. Electrode technology requires raw water for the transfer of electricity. Because of this water filtration is not needed. This minimizes the complexity of the installation and cost.
Aprilaire 800 whole steam humidifier functions in this manner: when electric current flows between submerged electrodes found in a replaceable canister, the resistance to the flow of electricity heats the water. At the end of a humidifier season, the canister and wires are replaced. Without any form of cleaning, the canister can be replaced in readiness for the next season
This product is actually auto controlled. Hence there is no need for manual control; however; you can choose to install it manually if you want. Aprilaire 800 whole steam humidifier also helps maintain an optimum humidity of 35-45% which is known to reduce respiratory infections, lung problems, and other symptoms related to allergies and asthma. It does this by minimizing the formation of bacteria and viruses, fungi and dust mites
- No cleaning required
- Easy to operate
- Easy to maintain
- Simple to install
- Humidity for comfort
- No white film/dust
- Humidity for health
- Reduced cost of installation
- Full coverage
- Canister needs to be replaced
- Possible mold growth
2) Levoit Humidifier for Large Room
Special Features: Vaporizer with remote and humidity monitor, Germ free, Whisper-quiet, 6L warm and Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier for bedroom, advanced PTC heating system, Sensitive touch button, ABS material water tank, 1.5 gallon tank/36 hours working time, Built-in humidity sensor, Aromatherapy, Maximum 500ml/hr mist output, Touch control and Remote control.
Levoit Humidifiers for large rooms are designed to distribute both warm and cool mist into your homes and offices. It is designed with an advanced PTC heating system which heats water to a very high temperature for warm mist setting. At this temperature, most bacteria in the water are killed because bacterial has a low resistance to high temperature. Thus pure mist is delivered to your room.
Also, this humidifier has a large tank capacity that can run up to 36 hours, so you don’t have to worry about the water finishing while you sleep.
Another feature of Levoit Humidifier for Large Room is the built-in sensor that tells you the real-time humidity level on the LED screen so that you can adjust to your taste.
The maximum output of this humidifier is 500ml/hr and can humidify a large area. You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the aroma box. However, you should not add essential oil, perfumes, and bacteriostatic agents into the water
Levoit Humidifier for Large Room requires a lot of caution especially when setting the warm mist function because the mist is usually hot. You should be careful when you have kids around the home. You will also need to clean the humidifier at least once a week to prevent mineral build-ups and extend product life. It is actually easy to clean and refill.
- Easy to refill
- Easy to clean
- Less breakable
- No filter required
- Aromatherapy
- Large capacity
- Hybrid ultrasonic humidifier3
- Aroma Pads (1 pre-installed)
- Absorption pads (1 pre-installed)
- Remote control
- Cleaning brush
- Extra caution is needed
- Requires thorough cleaning
4) Aprilaire 700 Whole House Fan Powered Humidifier
Special Features: Automatic high output, Built-in Fan, 24 VAC transformer, Auto digital humidifier control, Outdoor temperature sensors, Saddle valve, Solenoid valve, Water panel installation instruction and template, 4200 square feet coverage, 18 gallon, Health friendly, Dimension10.3 x 15.9 x 18 inches, Weight 15.5 pounds
Aprilaire 700 Whole House Fan Powered Humidifier is one good humidifier that gives you complete comfort. This unique product has a built-in fan which pulls heated air directly from the furnace. It has large coverage, covering up to 4200 square feet in an enclosed home space. Its gallon capacity is 18 gallons per day.
This product is a manual humidifier with a single sensor which helps to monitor indoor humidity so you can manually set the humidity in your home.
For the sake of your health, Aprilaire 700 Whole House Fan Powered Humidifier helps you maintain an optimum humidity of 35-45% in your home. This percentage level of humidity has been known to reduce the frequency of occurrence of respiratory tract infections, asthma, allergies symptoms, and other lungs problems. It does this by reducing the formation of bacteria, virus, fungi, dust mites and other air contaminants.
This humidifier also has a built-in by pass damper which is labeled for both winter and summer setting, allowing you to set your humidifier to your taste throughout the entire season.
Aprilaire 700 Whole House Fan Powered Humidifier operates by piping water into the dispersing tray on top of the humidifier. The water so piped is evenly distributed across the width of the tray and through an outlet. The water flow over the panel evaporator by the action of gravity. Hot, dry air from your air conditioning system move via the moisture panel evaporator. The water turns to vapor by natural evaporation, and the humidified air is distributed through your home
- Dual sensor
- Convenient digital control
- Healthy friendly
- Built-in fan
- Full coverage
- 24 VAC transformer
- Two filter humidity.
- Consistent change of filter if used with a humidifier
- The bypass damper is not automatic
- Limit of 47% freezing
- Limit of 43% below freezing.
5) Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
Special Features: Large capacity vaporizer (White), High output, essential oil tray, Auto shut off, Night light, Ultra quiet, Weight 4.25 pounds, No battery required,
Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier is one beautiful humidifier that has the features you desire in a humidifier. It maintains the humidity level of your space above 43%, ensuring the optimum humidity level. This humidifier is designed to humidify a 400square feet room. It has a tank of 1.6 gallons with an output of 270ml/hr, lasting up to 6 days.
When you accidentally knock down your humidifier or when the water runs off, it can automatically shut itself off, preventing damage, so it is safe to use. You also get to enjoy the sweet fragrance of your taste alongside a soothing sleep as this unit is designed with an essential oil tray.
With the cool, moist air released into your space, this humidifier helps to soothe your dry skin. It also features a 360-degree rotating nozzle and an adjustable mist output knob that allows you control the humidity of your space and reduce the risk of illness, bacterial and germs by keeping the humidity level above 43%. Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier also helps with allergies, coughs and clearing sinuses.
- No expensive filter required
- Less expensive
- Safe to use
- No batteries required
- Extra care in refilling
- Essential oil needs replacement
- Requires cleaning
6) Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Humidifier
Special Features: Quiet-whisper operation, 1.5L water tank, Working time of 16 hours, Auto shut off, Night light function, weighs 1.75 pounds, Night light Function,
Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Humidifier is a tabletop humidifier designed with unique features. Pure Enrichment products are held in a high-quality standard with warranty. This humidifier has a tank of 1.5L that delivers moisture at the speed of 150ml/hr, moisturizing the dry air in your home. You can, however, adjust the speed to high and low to suit your comfort. It moisturizes your air for 16 hours.
Your humidifier can auto shut itself off when it is knocked over, when the level of water is low or when the tank is removed. This humidifier passed as our best humidifier for snoring because it aid breathing easily.
Do not get water in the Dry Air Exhaust unit as it could shorten the life of the humidifier
- AC power adapter
- Disk cleaning brush
- No batteries required
- No filters
- Plastic tank can cracked when tipped over
Also Read: Best humidifier for croup
What Does a Humidifier do for Asthma?
Individuals with asthma are sensitive to any slight change in the humidity of their environment. A slight change can spark up a big crisis. It is therefore vital to monitor the humidity level in your home. There are quite several benefits that an asthmatic patient and persons with allergies can get from the use of a humidifier.
A humidifier is one of the many natural ways to keep the airways free of air flow. Humidifiers provide moist air at your very desired temperature. It has been found by researchers that humidity levels above 40% deactivate virus particles making them less infectious. Also, when that air is dry, a person’s airways are less lubricated, which makes them snore or possibly have sleep apnea.
With the use of good humidifiers, the symptoms of asthma can be put in check. It can also limit the number of asthma attacks you may have. Humidifiers help ease the discomfort that comes with dry throat, mouth, and nose. It also allows people who frequently experience irritated eyes, allergies, sinus headache, bloody noses, etc.
As discussed earlier, humidifiers make breathing easier and much more comfortable. When you use one of the best humidifiers for lung problems that will be reviewed in this article, you have a rest of mind about your attack.
Are Humidifiers Good for Asthma
Using a humidifier is actually a good way to reduce allergy and asthma symptoms. However, purifiers are best for asthma. What Humidifiers do is that they help raise the humidity level in your room, adding moisture to the air, thereby rendering allergic triggers powerless. Triggers are not necessarily some organisms like dust mite, but your allergic trigger might be grass, mold, weed, pollen.
This Humidification we are emphasizing is essential because Individuals with dry airways or sinuses are prone to allergic triggers which thrive in dry airs. When the humidity level of space is raised, they are less likely to survive because moisture has a way of affecting their habitat.
For those with chronic breathing issues, humidifiers can help create a healthy level of breathing, easing air flow through the respiratory passage, but humidifiers won’t remove the triggers of asthma. They only make the air suitable for breath.
No matter the product you choose to use as an asthmatic patient, humidifiers should be used as directed by both doctors and manufacturers, because when a humidifier is not used correctly, humidifier can makes asthma worse. Most allergy sufferers won’t get relief from their condition if they are not using the right product.
Is Cool or Warm Mist Humidifier better for Asthma?
You should know that both cool mist and warm mist humidifiers are a great relief for allergy and asthma sufferers. However, they operate differently.
Cool Mist Humidifiers
This is designed to distribute cool mist air to your homes. When the cool mist is delivered into the air, it is at the room temperature. There are two types of cool mist humidifiers: the ultrasonic and evaporative humidifiers.
The evaporative use a filter and an electric fan that works together to distribute moist air to your room. The ultrasonic works more quietly, and they produce white dust. However, this can be prevented by using distilled water. The cool air produced by Cool mist humidifiers might be more soothing to people living with asthma that react to moist, hot air. However, they can likely accumulate mold and bacterial
Warm mist humidifiers
It operates by heating water to produce warm mist, hence with the heating, it has the potential of restricting the growth and spread of bacteria and mold. You should know, however, that warm mist humidifiers also accumulate minerals and they are not designed with filters. The warm air might also not be comfortable for most sensitive asthma patients
So, which of the two should you go for? The answer actually depends on you. Some believe there is no difference between the two as both soothe the effects of asthma. The moisture released by both alter the temperature as soon as it is delivered. As an asthmatic patient, we would advise you carry your doctor along before investing on either of the two, but you might want to consider the cool mist or most preferably dual mist.
Factors to consider when choosing the best Humidifier for Asthmatics Allergies
When selecting a good humidifier for any lung-related problems, there are some essential factors you may need to check out for:
- Type:
Type of humidifier talks about choosing between warm and cool mist humidifier when shopping for the best humidifier for asthma and allergies. Both can keep the air moist, however regardless of which you want to go for, ensure your humidifier has a humidistat for easy control
- Humidistat:
Humidistat is an essential aspect of your unit. This is because it controls the level of humidity in your home.
- Size or capacity:
The size of your unit is also essential as well, but the efficiency of your humidity should not be compromised. There are portable sized humidifiers/ tabletop humidifiers that are good for your small space. They can be carried about when traveling by asthmatic patients.
- Maintenance:
A good humidifier allows for easy assembling and disassembling for cleaning and maintenance. A humidifier with ultraviolet light prevents the growth and spread of fungi and mold
Also Read: Best humidifier for sleep apnea
Final Verdict: Best Humidifiers for Asthma and Allergies
Aprilaire 800 whole steam humidifier has proven to be the leading humidifier among the six when it comes to controlling asthma and allergies. This product is a steam humidifier that uses an electrode technology that requires impure water. Hence, filtration is not needed. Coupled with other features like low cost of installation due to the absence if filter, large room-sized capacity. It also does not produce a white layer of dust found in many humidifiers. This product also has the interest of your health at heart.
Levoit Humidifier for Large Room is the second leading humidifier. This humidifier has an advanced PTC heating system that heats water to a temperature that bacteria cannot survive in, dispersing pure mist to your room. It also features Hybrid ultrasonic humidifier3, aroma Pads (1 pre-installed), absorption pads (1 pre-installed) which are rarely seen in other humidifiers.
Levoit Cool Mist Humidifier follows suit. It is a humidifier with a large-sized capacity and can run up to 40 hours. Its mist nozzle is elevated such that mist spread into the air quickly. This humidifier can be used by asthmatics as one of the several natural ways of keeping the airways free.
Aprilaire 700 Whole House Fan Powered Humidifier stands as the fourth. For persons with asthma and allergies, this product is a good one to invest in. Aprilaire 700 Whole House Fan Powered Humidifier helps you maintain an optimum humidity of 35-45% in your home. This percentage reduces the occurrence of asthma and allergies by reducing bacterial, fungi and other air pollutants. Aprilaire 700 Whole House Fan Powered Humidifier also has a built-in fan which pulls heated air directly from the furnace.
Everlasting Comfort Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier takes the fifth position. With this, an optimum humidity level of 43% is certain. You will also enjoy the sweet fragrance with your essential oils when you use as described by the manufacturer in the instruction manual. One good quality is that it doesn’t require a filter or a battery.
This product is followed by Pure Enrichment MistAire Ultrasonic Humidifier. For this product, an AC power adapter is included. Investing in it will not be a bad idea after all
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