Creation of the Mists

A household air humidifier is required mainly during the heating season, when the air in residential premises becomes especially dry. ATthis time people experience discomfort, often get colds; indoor plants and solid wood furniture also suffer from dryness. This article focuses on the most popular humidifier-purifiers and ultrasonic humidifiers.

The problem of dry air always occurs in residential premises during the heating season. AndThere is nothing surprising. Even when the relative humidity of cold atmospheric air is high, its absolute moisture content is generally low. The supply air enters the rooms instead of the polluted air removed through the hood. When in contact with heating appliances, the outdoor air heats up, and its absolute moisture content remains unchanged, and the relative humidity drops sharply, sometimes up to 15-20%. ATUnder natural conditions, such low relative humidity is rare, except in sun-dried deserts.

Don’t boil!

To maintain relative humidity in a modern apartment at a comfortable level (doctors recommend 40-60% at room temperature 20C) during the heating season, it is required to artificially humidify the air, and often quite intensively. To do this, use household humidifiers. The most widely used devices that provide humidification of the air in the room without boiling water. Tothese include evaporative-type household humidifiers and ultrasonic devices. Such devices do not pose a risk of burns.— the temperature of the humidified air coming out of them does not exceed 40C. In addition, they are much more economical than steam humidifiers (their energy consumption does not exceed several tens of watts, while to generate 1kg/h of steam with a steam humidifier, it is necessary to spend about 750Tueh of electricity, which during long-term operation of the device usually leads to a noticeable increase in utility bills).

Like the wind from the river

The operation of the humidifier-air purifier is based on the principle of natural cold evaporation. This is a self-regulating process, therefore devices of this type create in the room a relative humidity of a certain level «recommended by nature» (approximately 50-60% at 22C), after which the air humidification stops and the unit functions only as an air purifier. Humidifier-purifier allocates for 1h up to 500-600g couple. The units quite effectively clean the room air from dust that accumulates inside the device and is then easily disposed of, as well as microparticles suspended in the air that settle on the surfaces of walls and floors. The result obtained is similar to wet cleaning. Some models scent rooms with essential oils.

It is very pleasant to be near a working humidifier-purifier. It seems that you fully inhale the wind from the river. Devices of this type are quite safe, they are often placed in children’s rooms.

ATcase of a humidifier-purifier of a traditional design, for example D-103 (AirComfort, Italy), AOS2041 and AOS2051 (Plaston, Switzerland) andetc., one or two containers are usually provided (their volume is enough for 10-15hours of continuous operation), from which water flows by gravity into the pan, and from there— for a replaceable filter-evaporator. The latter is made of special paper, which, due to the capillary effect, intensively absorbs moisture from the pallet and therefore is constantly moistened. The fan sucks in dry air from the room and drives it through the evaporator filter. ATAs a result, the room air is saturated with water vapor, and dust and other particles settle on the inner surface of the appliance. By absorbing water, the filter traps unwanted impurities such as calcium, magnesium andt.e. Thanks to this, almost any water can be poured into a traditional humidifier-purifier. The filter is usually impregnated with an antibacterial composition, so pathogens on it quickly die. You need to replace it 1-2times a season due to contamination of the evaporation surface and calcium deposition on it.

The humidifier-purifier is an independent device or can be part of climatic complexes, for example AOS2071 (Plaston). Such universal devices humidify the air according to the principle of cold evaporation and effectively purify it thanks to HEPA and carbon filters, and in addition, they even aromatize the air.

Another «advanced» type of humidifier-purifier— air washer. Devices of this type were supplied to Russia by Venta (Germany), but soon the products offered by it were supplemented by Plaston devices. ATbased on device data— a drum assembled from several dozen plastic discs, between which small gaps are left. The drum is partially immersed in a pan with water (its role is played by the lower part of the «sink» body) and is rotated by an electric motor. Thanks to a special processing technology, the surface of the discs always remains wet. Dry air from the room is sucked by the fan into the device case, passes between the humidified disks, is saturated with moisture and returns back to the room. It also cleans up. Dirt, dust, harmful substances, allergens settle on wet discs and are immediately washed off into the water filling the tank. In much the same way, during a summer rain, a city is cleared: dust settles on wet pavements, after which the rain carries it into the drains.

To cope with the regulation of the humidifier-purifier according to the forces and a young child. ATModels with mechanical control have a mode switch on the body that allows you to select one of two modes that differ in the intensity of humidification and the degree of air purification. At night, the reduced power mode is turned on, while the humidifier fan rotates at a minimum frequency and does not disturb the sleepers. During the day, the device can be run «to its fullest»— for maximum hydration. There are humidifiers-purifiers with «advanced» electronic control, such as AOS2055D, where an LCD is used to communicate with the user. The built-in hygrostat in such devices makes it possible to display the current and maintain the set air humidity (due to which the device turns on when the relative humidity level in the room drops below the set point). If there is no water, the unit will automatically turn off.

The advantage of all types of humidifiers-purifiers is efficiency. Devices require no more than 50W of power— exactly as much as is necessary to drive the electric motor. They literally take the energy for evaporation directly from the air. At the same time, the temperature in the room may drop slightly (by no more than 0.5-1FROM).

It is important to remember that all models of humidifier-purifiers operating on the principle of cold evaporation must be kept in perfect cleanliness, otherwise an unpleasant smell may appear in the room when they are turned on. Water tanks and trays should be washed with detergent and then rinsed with water. Air wash discs are washed under a strong stream of water or in a dishwasher. Some manufacturers of humidifiers and purifiers recommend adding special compounds to the water to prevent the growth of bacteria and increase the rate of evaporation. The highlight of Plaston— an ionizing silver rod made from antiseptic fibers containing silver. Placed in a water tank, it prevents the growth of microorganisms.

Among the humidifiers-purifiers of the traditional design, we will name AOSE2241 and AOSE2251 (Plaston), HP-501as well as the HP-900LI designed for small spaces with a built-in ionizer and backlight (both models— AirComfort), BCM4510 (Bionaire, Canada) with built-in hygrostat that allows you to adjust the humidity in the range of 35-60%. The price of these devices— 2.6-6.5thousandrub. We note the climatic complex with a built-in humidifier-evaporator 3SK-AC0304 (AirComfort) costing 15thousandrub. Popular disc «air washers»— models LW14, LW24, LW44 (Venta) and AOS1355 AOS2055 AOS2055D (Plaston). «Sinks» will cost 6-17thousandrub.

A few words about consumables. Replacement filter evaporator for traditional humidifiers costs 500-600rub. Water Preservation Agent— up to 600rub. for 1bottle. Venta offers anti-cold, soothing and orange flavors for its disc «washers» (500-600rub. for 1vial), as well as an additive that improves water absorption of industrial and automotive exhaust gases and tobacco smoke (1thousandrub. for 1bottle).

Water crushing

Low noise— this is, perhaps, the most important advantage of ultrasonic humidifiers, which are quite numerous among the models on the market. These humidifiers are able to function almost silently, they are not audible even in the bedroom at night. The performance of such devices is approximately 200-500g/h steam, the water tank is enough for 4-20h continuous operation. Devices of this type maintain a relative humidity of 40-60%, but they can also create special climatic conditions (for example, for exotic plants in a greenhouse, 80-90% relative humidity can be maintained). An ultrasonic humidifier should not normally be used for aromatherapy, as essential oils and fragrances can damage the water tank and other components of the unit.

The principle of operation of the device is based on the supply of water from a container to a plate (piezoelectric element) vibrating with a high frequency, where it is sprayed into tiny droplets. A cloud of mist forms above the plate, which the fan blows into the room through a guide nozzle. There the mist immediately evaporates and as a result the relative humidity in the room increases.

In many models of modern ultrasonic humidifiers, water can be heated before spraying (for this, the «Warm steam» mode is provided in addition to the «Cold steam» function, standard for all devices). Heating is carried out in a special compartment where water comes from the humidifier tank. At 80-86Most of the harmful bacteria and microbes are killed. However, the temperature of the fog at the outlet is only 40C, which makes the operation of such devices quite safe. Characteristically, in the «Warm steam» mode, the performance of ultrasonic humidifiers increases by about 20%, and the level of energy consumption— from 15-30 to 130-200Tue

A very significant disadvantage of ultrasonic humidifiers— their exactingness to the quality of the water used. If tap water is used, whitish salt deposits will soon appear on walls, furniture and plant leaves. This can be avoided only when filling the tanks of ultrasonic humidifiers with distilled water. Models with an integrated filter (cartridge) containing an ion-exchange resin are entering the market, thanks to which it is possible to “refuel” with tap water. This is, for example, Venta VS350 (Venta), Boneco7136 (Plaston). But such a filter will last about 1thousandh, and then you have to install a new one. I must say that in order to reduce operating costs, some manufacturers offer to replace not the entire cartridge, but only its filler. Plaston includes a Nano-Silver component (silver nanoparticles) in the cartridge plastic, which disinfects the water in which the cartridge is placed. The silver-containing coating of the inner surface of water tanks serves the same purpose, for example, AS-200 (AirSonic, Germany) andothers

ATmany ultrasonic humidifiers have a built-in hygrostat that prevents waterlogging of the room. Desired humidity level (for different models— 10-80%), as well as the intensity of humidification (from zero to maximum performance) can be set using the knobs or touch buttons on the remote control panel (for models with electronic control). ATsome devices have automatic operating modes, when activated, the device itself selects and maintains the optimum humidity in accordance with the temperature around it. The display of the humidifier (if any) displays all the necessary information: current and set humidity, operating mode, intensity of fog formation. Ultrasonic devices with a timer allow you to set the time of their action (usually 1-12h) or select continuous operation. For example, in EHU-5525D (ElectroluxSweden) used timer for 8h. The empty sensor gives a signal to turn off the unit when the water in the evaporator tank has completely dried up, and the contamination sensor warns of the need to wash the device.

Among the budget models of ultrasonic humidifiers costing 1.2-3.5thousandrub., in which only the «Cold steam» function is implemented, let’s call reliable and durable Boneco devices7133 and Boneco7136 (Plaston), VT-2323 with built-in ionizer (Vitek), AS-200 (AirSonic), CN-55 (Cyclone, Austria) and a number of other devices. For the interior of the nursery is perfect, for example, PUH1704 (Polaris, UK). It should be noted that the ultrasonic humidifier has become widespread B-741 (AirComfort), equipped with a special cartridge for aromatic oils.

ATamong the models of ultrasonic humidifiers with the «Warm steam» function, we highlight Boneco7135 (Plaston) and LH-7321FN (Cuckoo Liiot, Korea) 6-7thousandrub., equipped with demineralizing cartridges. ATin the same category, it is worth mentioning premium designer ultrasonic humidifiers BK-2500M (aircomfort), LH-6511FN (Cuckoo Liiot) VT-2324 (Vitek), AS-295 (AirSonic) andothers for 5-8thousandrub. BUTin AOS deviceThe U7142 (Plaston) has an ITC function that automatically maintains the optimal humidity level depending on the temperature around the device.

For ultrasonic humidifiers without a built-in humidistat, an external humidistat will be a useful addition. Such a device that allows you to determine the level of relative humidity in the room in the range of 10-90% with precision 5% offered by Plaston— Boneco modelA7056 costs 1.2thousandrub. A filler for three refills of a demineralizing cartridge will cost 1thousandrub.

The editors would like to thank Venta, AirComfort, Petrospec, Rusklimat for their help in preparing the material.

• Source: Ideas for Your Home Magazine#122