Should You Run A Humidifier with Air Conditioner at The Same Time?

As you read this, chances are that you’re sitting in your favorite chair or lying on your back in your room with the air conditioner on. Even in restaurants, bars, libraries or offices, it is common to find air conditioners helping to remove the heat in the air, especially in the summer.

While this is given, a humidifier is not as commonplace as an air conditioner. But just as air conditioners are useful appliances for our homes and offices, a humidifier can also be an important component to make life indoors comfortable and healthy.

If you have both appliances, there is often the tendency to ask whether you can use both of them together.

Well, if you have ever asked that question or wondered whether it is possible to use a humidifier and air conditioner at the same time, the answer is Yes; you can. But there’s a trick to this. If you do it wrong, you may just be engaging in a counterproductive activity.

This post will show you how to combine both units properly, the benefits and likely drawbacks. First, we’ll begin with having a better understanding of how both appliances work.

What are Humidifiers?

There are so many problems associated with dry air; from dry, rough, scaly and flaky skin to a bleeding nose and cracked lips, the effects can be mild or severe. It is also possible to have skin breakouts when frequently exposed to dry air.

Many people merely apply moisturizers to their skin and lip balm to their lips to try and control the effect to address the problem. The solution is a humidifier.

Simply put, it is a device that converts the water in its tank into a fine mist and slowly releases them into the air to enhance the humidity level.

When the air in your home is dry, a humidifier can make things more comfortable by providing the moisture and humidity you need in your home.

Most humidifiers come as standalone appliances and are powered by electricity. Others are either attached to devices like air purifiers or even air conditioners. But the job is the same, to humidity the air and make your room or office more comfortable for you.

How an Air Conditioner works?

The air conditioner, on the other hand, is an appliance that cools your home or office and eliminates heat. This is done through a systematic process;

Heat is absorbed by the coils and taken through a cycle where a refrigerator acts on the substance and turns it into gas. It is then cooked by the refrigerant and forced through the coils as household air into the room.

What this means is that the Air Conditioner mostly works by capturing and converting hot air into cool air in your home.

Should you run a humidifier with air conditioner at the same time?

Now, this is the tricky part. Yes, you can run a humidifier with an air conditioner together, but should you? This depends on the situation in the room and the capacity of your appliances.

Let’s explain further. By operation, it may seem like both appliances do opposite things; one releases warm humid air into the room and the other produces cold, often dry air into the room by reducing the humidity.

Using both at the same time would seem like a waste of energy bills, don’t you think?

The above situation is like releasing humidity into the air just for your air conditioner to take it away. However, while it is important to cool your air, it is also extremely important to keep a certain amount of humidity for your skin’s sake.

Deploying a large humidifier can do the trick; it will keep the moisture in the air even with your air conditioner working. This will certainly reduce the chance of having dry air in your home.

Benefits of using a humidifier with air conditioner at the same time

1. Replaces lost moisture caused by long use of air conditioners

Sometimes we find ourselves using an air conditioner for seven hours, to the point where the appliance sucks up all the moisture and discharge it outside the room.

When this happens, your air becomes really dry. In cases like this, you’ll require a humidifier. Using both of them wisely can help prevent such a situation and keep your room healthy.

2. Prevents Skin Water Loss

Just so you know, skin water is also lost to evaporation triggered by air conditioners and the loss of humidity. Dermatologists and skin experts will tell you that skin water is necessary for healthy skin health and appearance.

So, having a humidifier work alongside an air conditioner will help keep the air humid enough to prevent the acceleration of skin water loss.

3. Prevents Cold Fever

Air conditioners are used mostly in hot weather, like in the summer. And hot weather causes the skin pores to open up. Your open pores become receptive and with the air conditioner fan blasting directly to your body, you could catch a cold fever.

There is also the likelihood of back pain. To prevent this, it is important to have a humidifier in your room to provide some warmth and humidity.

4. Purifies the environment

Dry air often breeds dust mold and mildews and allergens which can lead to certain irritations. Using a humidifier can help to prevent this, cleanse the air and make it uninhabitable for germs and allergens to thrive.

This is especially true for humidifiers that release warm mist. For such reasons, it is advisable to use a humidifier with your air conditioner.

5. Prevents Nose and Throat Irritations

We mentioned nose bleed earlier which is often caused by extreme dryness. Another effect of dry air is dry throat. Both situations can be very discomforting and can be prevented by some degree of humidity in the air.

Drawbacks of using Humidifiers with Air Conditioners at the same time

1. Having too much humidity

In a situation where your humidifier packs too much power and your air conditioner falls shy, you may run into trouble with just too much humidity in the room. This can affect breathing or even make certain allergies worse.

Too much dampness can support the life of some germs and mildew. It is important you keep the humidity level between 30 and 50 percent, as prescribed by us Environmental Protection Agency.

2. Hard water effects

Most experts advise that users should only use distilled, purified and filtered water as hard tap water may contain minerals that may be released into the air as dust and could affect residents.

This can be further made worse by the air conditioner which may quickly dry up the minerals and make them light enough to float and be breathed in.

Final words:

As you have seen, using a humidifier with an air conditioner is not exactly the problem; knowing how to use them together is important. We hope this post has answered all the questions you have on using both appliances.

You can use an air conditioner and have your humidifier working as well, as long as you apply caution, use the right water, and ensure you always measure the humidity level in your room to maintain a positive balance.