Humidifiers in the Office – for a Good Working Atmosphere

Do you often experience dry eyes, rubbing your eyes, headaches or poor concentration at work? This may be due to too dry air. An optimal indoor climate means: a temperature of about 20°C and a relative humidity of 40-60%. In this condition, our organism works best: oxygen is optimally delivered to our lungs, and the skin and mucous membranes feel comfortable. Unfortunately, in many offices this is often not the case and the air is too dry. This can trigger discomfort and illness. Humidifiers offer a way to solve this problem.
Offices tend to have dry air more often than private living spaces. There are three main reasons for this:
1. The typical sources of water vapor from home are missing here: hot showers, baking, cooking or using the dishwasher.
2. Many technical devices, such as computers, printers and projectors, dry the air.
3. In addition, the furnishings in many offices are still very lifeless. This means a lack of plants that naturally provide a good indoor climate.
In winter, heating and dry outdoor air make the rooms even drier.  For example, the relative humidity may drop below 30% for a longer period of time. This is not entirely conducive to a good working atmosphere.
Symptoms of too dry air in the workplace
A bad indoor climate naturally means a bad working atmosphere. After all, dry air can have a negative impact on the health and well-being of employees. Symptoms include:
1.Dry, burning eyes
2.Dehydration of the skin and mucous membranes
3.Irritation of the respiratory tract, such as dry cough and nosebleeds
4.Itchy, scaly skin
5.Increased susceptibility to viral infections
6.Headache
7.Fatigue
According to a study by the Fraunhofer Institute1, the use of a humidifier can significantly alleviate some of the above symptoms. For example, more than 40% of respondents experienced burning eyes without air humidification. With air humidification, it was only about half.
These symptoms make it clear: dry air is generally not good for us. In the workplace, it is especially important in the sense that you are actually supposed to stay awake, focused and productive. However, a bad indoor climate can lead to the opposite: increased fatigue, because dry air also cannot transport oxygen, concentration decreases, and performance decreases.

Humidifiers can help

While a humidifier is not necessary in private rooms in most cases, it can provide good service in offices over 60-100㎡. This is especially true for open offices, where alternative measures for air humidification are often insufficient (see the section "Natural air humidification through plants"). The dry air here is usually not only a temporary condition caused by winter air and heating, but also by indoor air conditioning in summer, which lasts throughout the year.

Thermal distillation humidifier

Through 100℃ high-temperature evaporation, most of the humidification on the market can be controlled and set. So as to reach the humidity pre-adjustment value, most of them are large-capacity humidifiers, because the heating evaporation is relatively fast, so most of them can reach 400-500ML/H
Advantages: Purify water quality through high-temperature heating, remove residual chlorine, and inhibit bacterial growth; after formal operation, the humidification speed is faster, the humidification range is wider, and it is less affected by cold weather; the temperature of the evaporated mist is comfortable, more delicate and soft, and easier to be absorbed by the human body; there is no filter, and there is no maintenance cost in the later stage.

Ultrasonic nebulizer

Here, water is vibrated and visibly atomized into mist. However, what sounds elegant has a major drawback: generally there is no filter inside, and it is impossible to filter impurities in the water. It is better to use pure water or water filtered by a purifier; the mist easily carries harmful particles in the air, which affects the user's respiratory tract; the humidification range is relatively limited, and it is easy to wet surrounding objects.

Air washer

An air washer is a combination of an air purifier and a humidifier. You purify the indoor air by inhaling air, passing it through a water tank with a disc roller, which combines dirt particles. At the same time, you enrich the clean air with water, which distributes moisture in the room. These devices are ideal for allergy sufferers, because dust and pollen are also removed from the air.
What to pay attention to
Several aspects need to be considered when using a humidifier in the office:
1. Efficiency: Make sure that the power of the device is sufficient for the existing room size.
2. Large capacity: If you need to add water frequently, it should be idle soon. Imagine adding water 3 times a day at work. Very disturbing work
3. Mold: Before buying a humidifier, always use a hygrometer to make sure that the office really has too dry air. This is because too much moisture promotes mold growth, which in turn is harmful to health. Therefore, check the indoor climate regularly.

Natural air humidification with plants

It is not always an expensive device. For a small office of 10-30㎡, simple alternatives are sometimes enough to regulate the indoor climate in a natural way.  Plants not only provide oxygen to the environment, but also moisture. Most of the poured water is released again in the form of steam through the leaves. Therefore, a green workplace is not only pleasing to the eye, but also automatically improves mood through a better indoor climate.