Dry air takes toll on humans and houses

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Dry air takes toll on humans and houses

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Lee Stratton

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/homegarden/homegarden.php?

story=dispatch/2006/02/05/20060205-I1-00.html

Old Man Winter has a dry sense of humor.

A zap of static electricity is his favorite practical joke.

Winter's cold often begets a desertdry household environment that

exacts a toll on the house and its residents.

``The skin typically gets rough, flaky and scaly, which leads to

itching, irritation and redness, " said Dr. Bain Herron, a

dermatologist in Gahanna.

Skin begins losing moisture when the humidity is less than 60

percent, Herron said.

Heated air indoors can have a humidity level of less than 10

percent.

``Low humidity impairs the skin's ability to rehydrate, " Herron

said.

Insufficient moisture also can lead to dry nasal passages,

nosebleeds and other health problems, said Dr. Boris Karanfilov, a

sinus specialist at Mount Carmel West.

``Our nose, sinuses and lungs prefer a humidity of between 30 to 50

percent, " he said.

``A lack of moisture for respiratory systems makes a person more

susceptible to bacterial, viral and fungal infections. "

Bone-dry air also can loosen the glued joints of wood furniture and

lead to separations in hardwood floors and trim.

``Dry air is probably the largest complaint about heating systems

other than the cost, " said Tadit , owner of Constructive

Solutions, a Columbus remodeling and buildingperformance company.

Consumers typically turn to tabletop humidifiers or whole-house,

furnacemounted humidifiers to add moisture.

Schwerling, owner of Sears Heating and Cooling on Cleveland

Avenue, said about two-thirds of the residential furnaces his

company repairs and installs are equipped with humidifiers.

Moist air feels warmer to the skin than dry air and allows residents

to conserve energy by keeping their furnace thermostats set 2 or 3

degrees lower without being chilled, he said.

``Life is so much better with some moisture in the air, " he said.

Humidifiers, however, are not necessarily carefree or perfect

solutions. They treat the symptoms without curing the cause,

said.

The variety of choices can be confusing. Improper use and

maintenance can lead to health problems for the occupants and

structural problems for the house.

Excessive moisture can lead to condensation on windows, the

formation of mold, mildew and an increase of dust mites — a problem

for people with respiratory problems and allergies.

The following information comes from central Ohio experts, the U.S.

Enivronmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Product Safety

Commission, and humidifier manufacturers and retailers:

Moisture content

Relative humidity describes how much moisture is in the air. A

relative humidity of 100 percent means that, at a given temperature,

the air is saturated and can absorb no more moisture. At 50 percent,

the moisture content is half of the air's capacity at the same

temperature.

Dry air is a winter problem because cold air cannot hold as much

moisture as warm air.

If 25-degree air with 60 percent relative humidity enters a house

and is rapidly heated to 70 degrees, the relative humidity drops to

15 percent.

The air will feel both dry and cool.

Air at 69 degrees and 35 percent relative humidity feels as warm as

72-degree air with 19 percent relative humidity, according to

Lennox, a manufacturer of heating and cooling equipment.

Leaky homes

The furnace is not the primary culprit when dry air becomes a

problem in homes.

" In the majority of houses, there's too much air moving through, "

said.

Cold air, particularly on the windward side of a house, can pour in

through poorly sealed windows and doors, uninsulated wall sockets

and other leaks. Warm air escapes through fireplace chimneys, canned

lights in the ceiling, and uninsulated and unsealed attic hatches,

taking moisture with it.

" If you add up all these little holes, it can be as much as having a

window wide open all winter long, " he said. " The lowmoisture thing

is mainly an airloss situation. "

A house with limited air leaks likely would maintain a comfortable

level of humidity in the winter, said. Cooking, bathing,

dishwashing, plant watering and breathing pump moisture into the

air.

Schwerling said he doesn't need a humidifier in his home, built

during the energy crisis of the 1970s. Because the basement has

moist air, " We keep the furnace fan running 24 hours a day, " he

said.

A humidifier might make a leaky, dry home more comfortable,

said.

" But you still have the heat loss and you still can have the

moisture loss. "

Moisture loss can cause a danger to the house itself. When warm,

moist air seeps out and strikes cold surfaces in the attic or wall,

the moisture can condense into standing water, causing metal to rust

and wood to rot, he said.