The Relationship Between Evaporative Coolers and Humidifiers

If you live out west in a dry climate, then you know the benefits of an evaporative cooler – primarily the moisture and healthy humidity coolers provide. What you may not know is that humidifiers share many of the same great benefits as their evaporative cooler cousins.

Evaporative coolers, or “swamp coolers,” naturally cool the air using water-soaked rigid media or aspen pads, a pump, and a fan. You open up your windows, turn on your unit, and the hot, outdoor air is drawn into the swamp cooler where it blows across your saturated media to create cool air that provides a comfortable atmosphere for you and your family.

Since they draw in fresh air, evaporative coolers are a great economical way to cool your home, but they are also a healthy way to cool your home. Adding healthy humidity to your home can help reduce many allergens. Increased humidity also helps relieve eye and skin irritations, nosebleeds, even respiratory illnesses.

Humidifiers work with similar technology. Like an evaporative cooler, an evaporative humidifier draws your home’s dry air into the unit. The dry air passes over a water-soaked paper filter, or “wick,” and then releases into your home as moist vapor. Sound familiar?

Unlike evaporative coolers, humidifiers work with the air inside your home, so there is no need to open windows, but like swamp coolers, humidifiers help purify your air, as well as add moisture to your indoor environment. This is especially beneficial during winter months, when dry, cold air makes it harder to maintain indoor humidity levels.

Ultrasonic humidifiers are another way to create healthy indoor humidity levels. Rather than a wick, ultrasonic humidifiers use a metal diaphragm that vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency to create droplets of water. These droplets are then propelled into your home, creating a cool or warm mist that humidifies your living space.

Regulating your indoor humidity is as important as regulating your indoor temperatures. Healthy humidity levels keep skin looking youthful, help with snoring, and are good for your pets, your furniture, your wooden instruments, and wooden flooring.

Best of all, an indoor humidity level of 40 to 60% can help fight off colds, kill bacteria, and reduce the flu virus by up to 80% within 24 hours!

Evaporative coolers and humidifiers have many similarities and all are beneficial to you, your home, your pets, and even your plants. Running your evaporative cooler in dry climates during the summer creates healthy moisture for your home. Running your humidifier year-round helps you breathe easy and feel moisturized, in any climate.