There’s no question that dry skin is expected in the winter, but is your furnace to blame? During the summer, warm air carries with it more humidity. Adversely, during the winter, the air is much less humid. This air from outside is what gets indoors and causes lower humidity levels in your home, leading to chapped lips, bleeding nose, allergies, and illnesses such as cold and flu.
Combustion Process in the furnace
There are two main types of furnaces: standard and high-efficiency. With standard furnaces, you can see the light from the heaters, whereas with HE furnaces, the combustion chamber is completely sealed. Furnaces will cycle air from both inside and outside of your home. The air is pulled from outside with a high-efficiency furnace but keeps it sealed within. This allows for much better humidity control inside your home. Manufacturers claim savings of up to 40% on energy costs.
How to keep a balance of humidity in your home
Less humidity in the room means that the air will pull moisture from anything, wet towels, showers, and even your skin. Humidifiers can help control the levels by adding moisture to the air. They come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from portable, which regulate the air in only one room, to whole-home humidifiers that require little to no upkeep since they don’t need to be refilled.
Illnesses are more prevalent in the winter because your nose and throat can be dry. Excema may seem even worse. With a humidifier, you can enjoy a more comfortable sleep and even snore less.
Let Blanton & Sons know what your thoughts are. Contact us if you are unsure of the type of furnace you have, and we’ll guide you with the best next steps.
Photo by Corinne Kutz
