Humidifiers and your kids: what you need to know

During a child’s early years , the right environment is crucial . Since he has not yet developed all the defenses of an adult, try to expose him to the fewest number of harmful agents. At home, unlike outside, it is in a more pleasant environment, so its protection is usually neglected there. However, our lifestyle has come to create an atmosphere within our homes that is not optimal for newborns. Above all, at times of the year when the cold abounds, we usually close and ventilate the house little , in addition to making greater use of the heating. All of the above causes the environment to lose moisture and become too dry.

With the use of humidifiers we will be taking care of the health of our baby , since we will recover the natural humidity of our homes, making the air that our children breathe is less aggressive.

WHAT IS A HUMIDIFIER?

Humidifiers are devices that, as their name suggests, humidify the environment of a room . Although it has been sophisticated since its invention to adapt to our needs, it is a fairly simple machine. It has a water tank and a mechanism that evaporates it , releasing this vapor that passes into the air, humidifying it.

MANY HUMIDIFIERS INCLUDE A HYGROMETER

TYPES OF HUMIDIFIERS AND THEIR CORRECT USE WITH BABIES

All humidifiers have a water tank and a steam release system . The different types of humidifier are determined by your system to convert liquid water to steam. Normally this will mean that the steam will come out more or less hot, so depending on the type of humidifier, there will be a series of considerations in the use of these for babies .

Hot steam humidifiers are the simplest type , the most similar to the first ones that were created. They heat the water in the tank to high temperatures, enough to release the steam little by little. This technology allows, unlike others, the use of tap water. They are also the cheapest on the market . However, they have a couple of basic problems. The fact that the water is heated is a danger for children, because the appliance will be at a high temperature and could burn themselves. Therefore, it is advisable to keep them out of the reach of the little ones .

In addition, the water vapor will be released hot, which will also increase the temperature of the room. The latter is not a major problem in winter, but it can increase room temperatures too much in summer , when the humidifier is used to combat the dryness of the environment in some regions. One of the main advantages of this type, in addition to its lower cost, is that by heating the water they eliminate a lot of the microorganisms harmful to health that it may contain, preventing them from being released into the air.

THERE ARE MORE ADVANCED COLD MIST HUMIDIFIERS

Within cold mist humidifiers there are two subtypes: those that boil the water before vaporizing it and those that do not . Boiling the water beforehand, before releasing it, removes the microbes from it. This prevents vapor release of these infectious microorganisms. After the appliance has boiled the water, we can wait for it to cool down before letting it start to release steam, as the water will remain in an airtight compartment, so that it will not become contaminated again. For the types of humidifiers that do not boil the water before, it is advisable to use distilled water, which is free of microorganisms . The latter is especially advisable when we use humidifiers for the baby, since they are more sensitive toinfectious agents that the water may contain.

BENEFITS OF USING HUMIDIFIERS FOR BABIES

The air in homes is often too dry , which causes mucus to dry out of the children’s airways. This mucus is a natural defense against infections, so if the air is continually drying it, this defense will be weakened or completely eliminated, causing diseases in babies. In addition, children and babies tend to breathe more through the mouth , which facilitates the appearance of coughs and bronchospasms , or the aggravation of these if they already exist.

CAN IT BE HARMFUL? WHEN NOT TO USE A HUMIDIFIER

The purpose of a humidifier and its use in the home, is to return the humidity of the air that has been lost , either externally, by not renewing the environment or by heating. This means that correct humidity percentages must be maintained, around 65-75%. A dry environment can be harmful, but a too humid environment can also be, or at least can be annoying .

SOME HUMIDIFIERS HAVE THE AUTO-OFF FUNCTION

MYTHS AND FALSE PREJUDICES ABOUT HUMIDIFACTS

We tend to unconsciously associate humidity with cold. When we talk about steam in the environment, the first image that appears in our minds is a landscape covered in thick fog and a chill runs through our body. It is because of this association of ideas that makes us think that a humid environment is equivalent to a cold environment.

On the outside of our homes, this statement is often correct. The warmth of the environment, except in some very peculiar ones such as the jungles, makes the humidity disappear. Moisture is nothing other than water vapor in the atmosphere . The gases, when heated, rise and the same happens to this vapor. In the same way, as the environment cools, the evaporated water decreases and becomes denser, to such an extent that it becomes visible to our eyes, forming mists.

In our home, the environment depends on many more factors apart from the outside temperature. The use of heating or air conditioning, keeping a closed room, without renewing the air and many other daily habits, make this humidity that exists in our homes vary. The use of humidifiers, therefore, is not dangerous nor will it cool our houses. Used correctly, they will return the ideal amount of humidity to our homes, eliminating the dryness of the air that is so harmful to our body, much more so for the delicate body of a baby.

Of course, it all depends on the correct use we make of humidifiers . If you follow the advice described here, along with the instructions for your appliance, you will keep the air sufficiently humid. If not, you may find that the air becomes too humid, resulting in a stuffy environment, suffocating heat in summer, and biting cold in winter .