Hi All,
I am curious as to whether people with respiratory problems such as asthma or hay-fever etc use dehumidifiers, humidifiers, air purifiers or ionisers?
Have you used any of the above? How did you find it? Which brand/model did you use?
Many thanks,
Marcel
I just want to warn you because the instructions for any humidifier you may get, may not tell you to NOT use tap water in the machine. Mine did not. It was a Sunbeam ultrasonic tabletop model .
I have COPD but it was made 100 times worse when I started using the humidifier. Every day there was a white dust on my computer screen and my TV set screen. I thought it was dust from recent remodeling in the house because the workers weren't very careful about covering things up.
So, for 2 months I was breathing in this fine, white dust. I finally found out it was from the tap water I used to fill the humidifier every day. The humidifier turned the minerals in the water into this fine white dust!
I kept getting flu-like symptoms but did not know why. Well, that 2 months did my lungs right in. And, it was so preventable if the company would have warned me of the dangers of using tap water. They need to put the warning in great big letters right on the appliance!
Before using the humidifier, I was told I had COPD but I didn't believe it because it did not bother me and I did not have any troubles breathing. After the humidifier incident, I suddenly had breathing problems.
Now, I get bad flare-ups that put me into the hospital. I am now on oxygen from a recent hospital stay because I couldn't breathe. I am going to rehab to build up my chest muscles because it will help me breathe better and get off the oxygen.
Just be cautious please. If only I knew what I know now.
I am so scared of using any type of humidifier that I stay away from them.
Hope I helped someone out there who is using a humidifier or considering using one from making the fatal mistake I did!
Hi Byemould we use an E Bac dehumidifier. We live in a fully insulated bungalow and so get a lot of condensation. Last year we got black mould in corners so we had air bricks fitted, waste of money but with the dehumidifier no more black mould. It is surprising just how much water it removes.
I also have a salt lamp in the living room which I think makes a difference to the air quality hope this helps 
I've tried an ioniser in the past - and it had absolutely no impact on my asthma whatsoever:-).
I find simple humidifiers hung on my radiators (water filled) helps me. I also add room fragrance oil to them as I find plug-in or spray air fresheners trigger my asthma.
If you have asthma then humidity is not your friend, so whatever you do don't get a humidifier! The treatment of asthma is very different to the treatment of croup, COPD, etc.
A couple of years ago I had a very humid summer where I lived, and I was really struggling to breathe and constantly exhausted. My husband ran out and bought the biggest dehumidifier he could find, because our living space was open plan and pretty large. It was a Dimplex, that's all I remember about it. Anyway, I spent several weeks basically living in this one room with the dehumidifier going full pelt, and I'm pretty sure it saved me from hospitalisation that summer.
That summer was exceptional though. Most of the time all you need is ventilation and lots of it. Open windows in bedrooms all day if you can, or at least for an hour a day. Let fresh air through the house as often as you can, it helps enormously.
Years ago I had an ioniser that was so effective that all the walls furniture and carpet near it had to be cleaned weekly due to the amount of dirt that this thing deposited around it. It may have been because the house was an old (and cold!) terrace and there was nothing solid underneath the floorboards, just a crawl space that ran for the length of the block - a good source of spiders all year round and mice in the winter. Anyway I stopped using the ioniser, moved house and now have an air purifier with an ioniser included. Any dirt is now caught by the filters and the air quality changes noticeably about an hour after turning the unit on and my lungs always feel more comfortable when I use it. What a result!
You might also find it worth a visit to a salt cave if you're having problems. I have one near me and it works wonders when I'm coughing.
I haven't tried a humidifier as my lungs object to the damp - my morning swim is sometimes enough to upset them so I don't want to give them any more excuse to kick up!
I use a dehumidifyer - a smallish one that costs around £100 from B&Q - Blyss - which is good though eats electricity ... i live in a flat roofed bungalow that is around 45 yrs old and a bit damp on the north side - The machine works well ... though I do have to get mould removed occasionally from the wet room and the spare room, though only a small bit.
It is very important as I am allergic to Aspergillus. Worth the money and expense!
I also have good ventilation with the window vents, dry up condensation on the windows when it appears, shower with door closed, keep kitchen door closed when cooking etc....
Hope this helps!
PS tried an ioniser thingy once! ... didn't notice anything apart from a black soot mark on the shelf............
WARNING!
Four years ago I used a Sunbeam Ultrasonic tabletop humidifier and for 2 months I was breathing in white dust from using tap water in it as it turns the minerals in the water into this dust. (I thought the dust was from recent remodeling in the house).
That incident cause me to get COPD to a very bad extent which, today I still have it really bad and am even on oxygen right at the moment.
So, please be careful. I try to warn everyone about this danger. The danger was not told to me by the company. I had no idea I was hurting my lungs.
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