As people sometimes fail to recognize, indoor air quality is as essential as outdoor air quality. Most of the time, people can get more exposed to indoor air rather than indoor air.
Poor indoor air quality can cause various consequences, such as health problems, air conditioning problems, uncomfortable moisture levels, and higher utility bills. To prevent these issues, humidifiers are great devices for increasing humidity in a room, leading to better indoor air quality.
What’s An Ultrasonic Humidifier?
Humidifiers come in different functions and features, and an ultrasonic humidifier is an exciting option for improving air quality. Cool-mist humidifiers fall into two categories: ultrasonic humidifiers and evaporative humidifiers. As they’re classified under the same type, you shouldn’t confuse yourself with these two.
Unlike evaporative humidifiers, ultrasonic humidifiers produce extremely fine water mists through utilizing high-frequency sound vibrations, then released into the air for humidity increase. Ultrasonic humidifiers have fewer operation costs than evaporative ones, as their designs aren’t infused with filters, but they emit a minimal amount of white grey dust.
Before searching for the best ultrasonic humidifier, you should know how these devices improve indoor air quality:
Humidity Balance
Generally, humidifiers are created to enhance and balance the right amount of humidity inside an enclosed space. Extremely low and high humidity levels inside your room can cause a variety of health risks and hazards.
Low humidity levels, or dry air, affect people’s health and comfort through:
- Nasal congestion
- Chapped lips
- Static electricity
- Excessive coughing
- Dry eyes
- Dry, scaly, and itchy skin
On the other hand, the excessive moisture content in the air also leads to problems like:
- Fatigue
- Dehydration
- Heatstroke
- Muscle cramps
- Frizzy hair
- Asthma
- Pregnancy issues
Ultrasonic humidifiers balance the amount of humidity in the air that can lead to the health concerns mentioned. The recommended average relative humidity in the air is between 35% to 45%, providing a comfortable and sanitary environment and protection to your personal belongings as well.
When the air humidity is too low, simply turn the humidifier on to increase moisture in the air. However, if the air humidity is too high, getting the humidifier to work reduces condensation and mildew in the air and eliminates bacteria at the same time.
High-Frequency Technology
Looking at the humidifier’s interior, it has a small metal diaphragm, usually made of brass, which is mainly responsible for producing high-frequency vibration. Though you may not hear the sound, it’s robust in filtering dirt and balancing humidity in the air.
This modern high-frequency technology features rapid movement where the water supplied will operate in the same movement as the vibration. As water tune in with the vibration, it’ll be broken down into smaller droplets, eventually transforming into water vapor. The vapor or mist released into the air is what makes the air quality clean, sanitized, and safer.
Ultrasonic humidifiers release higher output than other types of humidifiers like an impeller and evaporative ones, making them perfect for arid conditions, especially during the winter. One of the drawbacks of an ultrasonic humidifier is its absence of filter that makes it operate quieter but can discharge white or grey dust that can be quite irritating.
However, a hack that most humidifier owners don’t know is that tap water causes these white dust and filtered water can prevent this from happening. Regular cleaning is also advised to avoid the accumulation of dirt and white dust.
Unique Mechanisms
Unlike any other types of humidifiers, ultrasonic humidifiers operate in an incredible way that applies the rules of science well. It generally uses these two mechanisms:
- Cavitation Bubble Implosion: While a high-frequency vibration is created upon turning the device on, it also creates an oscillation or wave movement. As the humidifier changes from off to on, there’s an amplitude change noticed on the oscillator, where the oscillation becomes greater with time.
This wave movement causes the emergence of a powerful water hammer effect, discharging tiny cavitation bubbles on the surface of the humidifier. This bubble implosion leads to a discharge of tiny water aerosols that increases the humidity level of the dry air.
- Capillary Wave Theory: Still relating to oscillation, a special type of wave called Rayleigh waves are generated by the sudden wave movement caused by the vibration. This phenomenon also contributes to the release of tiny water aerosols into the air as the waves reach their peak.
When these two mechanisms take place inside the ultrasonic humidifier, it generates homogenous aerosol mist that adds moisture to the surrounding air, requiring less energy consumption than most humidifiers.
Conclusion
Ultrasonic humidifiers are classified as one of the most environmentally friendly products created today. It provides safety and comfort for people inside the room, with its ability to balance humidity levels and consume less energy than most devices.
Though they can’t guarantee 100% protection from health risks and complications, you should still maintain its efficiency by changing the water and cleaning it regularly.