A common phenomenon is increased watery eyes in wintertime in the open air. What happens to our eyes, who or what causes corneal irritation? And where does the hygrostat? What is it - a device necessary in the household or unnecessary junk from advertising?
And what does this word mean? Both of its halves are Latin. The first "hygro" means humidity. The second “stat” is a fixed, stable position. So, sorted it out. Hygrostat - a device to maintain a fixed level of humidity. And what does it happen, this same humidity and why maintain it?
What conditions should a person live in?
Man is the crown of the creation of nature, and thanks to his mental abilities, he was able to conquer heights and depths where even the simplest organisms survive with difficulty, or even life is completely absent. Indeed, in addition to the vents of volcanoes, the deeps of the Mariana Trench and the stratosphere, man even managed to “stomp” along the moon.
But coming home, this very crown of creation takes off all its spacesuits, puts on a housecoat, soft slippers and becomes more vulnerable than other living species on the planet to environmental conditions. And these conditions for the highest representative of the primacy squad are in a very, very narrow corridor.
It is believed that the human body can survive at ambient temperatures from -40 to +60 ° C. And in order to feel comfortable, a person needs to warm the air around him to a temperature of about 20 ° C. Atmospheric pressure at which we feel comfortable - 760 mmHg, increasing or decreasing it by only 10 mm already causes problems with well-being in hypertensive patients.
But if we are familiar with pressure and temperature, then a little attention was paid to such a parameter as humidity in our country. But in vain, especially since humidity refers to such parameters that a person, in his home, is at least able to control.
What happens from dry air?
Even the ancients guessed the value of the level of humidity. It was no accident that palace construction, especially in the southern latitudes, was so popular with fountains, artificial waterfalls and streams. We can say that the fountain is also a kind of hygrostat.
What is it - living in dry air? With a decrease in humidity, the human body begins to suffer. The mucous membranes are the first to be hit. And not only open - the eye and the oral cavity, but also the internal ones - in the bronchi and lungs. Deprived of natural protection in the form of mucus, the lungs become an easy target for any pathogens. But this is not the worst. Without sputum, the lungs stop self-cleaning, which leads to congestion in them.
When is a hygrostat needed?
How to understand that a hygrostat is needed in the house? This is easily determined using a special device - a hygrometer. Recently, most home desktop electronic thermometers have been equipped with this feature. But there are some signs, noticing which, it is worth thinking about the problem.
So, with low humidity, a person for no apparent reason becomes lethargic, fatigue quickly comes. Family members often begin to get sick with various respiratory diseases, and the mucous membranes of the eyes become sensitive and painful.
Types of humidifier designs. Traditional
The most common and at the same time the simplest in design and reliable hygrostat. What it is? By design, a conventional axial fan, with the only difference being that the air in it is driven through a filter moistened with water.
The regulation of humidity occurs by itself - dry air intensively absorbs water molecules, and when humidity reaches 60%, the absorption process stops.
Steam
The next type of hygrostat. The characteristics of such a device will be slightly different. A steam humidifier of the same size can serve a room 5-6 times larger in volume. It consumes more power and requires a disconnect device.
Ultrasonic
He came to our life from medicine, where he served and regularly serves for inhalation. To date, a hygrostat is gaining popularity. The description of the principle of its operation is briefly as follows: a piezoelectric element, vibrating under the influence of current, makes water vibrate with a high frequency and thus breaks it into tiny splashes. Like the previous model, it requires electronics to turn off the device when a certain humidity is reached.
Harvester
Combined hygrostat - what is it? The easiest way to say that this is one of the options for a good air conditioner. Such a device is capable of not only increasing the humidity in the room, but also, on the contrary, drying it if necessary. And besides this, it conditiones the air not only by its moisture content, but also by temperature, cooling or heating it depending on the settings and the weather outside.
Design features, additional options
The advantage of complex hygrostats, ultrasonic and steam, is the ability to adjust the humidity level as you wish. Some devices have the option of aromatherapy - the ability to add essential oils to the water.
Traditional humidifiers often serve as filters for cleaning it. In this case, they are equipped with replaceable filter cartridges. A more sophisticated type of filter, optionally added to the humidifier, is electrostatic. Thanks to exposure to dust particles by an electrostatic field, air is cleared better.
However, chasing additional options, one should not forget about the main purpose of the hygrostat.