With the weather getting colder, many of us are likely spending more time indoors, and some people turn to humidifiers to keep the air we breathe less dry. But if you’re not using humidifiers correctly, you may be breathing in toxic minerals, according to Andrea Dietrich, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech.
She explains there are two kinds of humidifiers. The ones that produce cool mist eject tiny bits of minerals from the water into the air. That’s why the Environmental Protection Agency recommends only putting distilled water in these.
Dietrich said even water that’s safe to drink may not be safe for cool mist humidifiers, because it can expose you to toxic levels of minerals, including calcium carbonate, manganese, lead, chromium and arsenic.
“Things that you can ingest you might excrete, but things that you inhale quickly get transferred to your blood and get transported around the body,” Dietrich said,
If you don’t want to buy distilled water, she recommends using a different kind of humidifier, called a vaporizer, or thermal humidifier.
“They’re the kind of old-fashioned ones,” Dietrich said. “They take water and heat it and make it into steam.”
These humidifiers went out of fashion in the 1990s because they can burn children or pets who get too close. But Dietrich advises parents to use these, and suggests they put it on a dresser or somewhere children can’t go near, and warn kids that they are hot.
Whichever humidifier you use, Deidrich said you should rinse it regularly with water, and dry it out, which can help flush out any built-up minerals in the basin.
Another way to improve indoor air quality in your home is to use fans to circulate air, or an air purifier in your bedroom or kitchen, said Linsey Marr, an air quality expert at Virginia Tech.
“We have one in my home we use when we’re cooking or if there’s wildfire smoke, or if someone’s sick, or someone’s having allergy attacks,” Marr said.
There are other ways to improve the air quality in your home without purchasing an air purifier, Marr said. She recommends cracking open windows if the outdoor air quality is good and it’s not too cold out. She said it’s also a good idea to run the stove hood in your kitchen when you cook, and use the exhaust fans in bathrooms periodically, which can also help circulate air inside your home, and make it easier to breathe.
