Families can benefit from humidifiers during colder months with low humidity, but experts say they can also cause problems if they're not cleaned regularly.
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00:00 Many families turn to humidifiers to tackle dry winter air.
00:05 When we start blasting that heat, we find that our throats are dry, as you can hear mine is right now.
00:12 We have chapped lips. Some of us get nosebleeds, the dry cough.
00:17 Doctors say humidifiers have health benefits.
00:20 Aiming for humidity less than 50% and preferably in the 25-35% that would be a good target range to get to.
00:31 Humidifiers are an easy solution if they're used properly.
00:35 A dirty humidifier tank could end up with bacteria, even fungi inside, sending a mist spraying into your home that could make you sick.
00:43 This my friend is the one thing that almost killed me.
00:49 Heart transplant recipient Jim Murrell says a humidifier that was not properly cleaned at his home landed him in the hospital for two weeks.
00:58 The Cryptococcus, which is basically a fungus you can get in your lungs that comes from basically soil and water.
01:05 Ones on the cheaper end of the spectrum often times can contain a lot of bacteria, viruses, spores, molds, whatever, growing inside of them that you may not be aware of.
01:16 You need to clean them really regularly and preferably use distilled or really well filtered water because bacteria and mold can grow pretty easily in those.
01:26 You can check the humidity level in your neighborhood anytime for free on the AccuWeather app.
01:32 Our team of experts even designed an algorithm to estimate the humidity indoors, helping you decide when it's best to use a humidifier.
01:41 We've had continuous innovation. That's part of our DNA here at AccuWeather.
01:45 We're always thinking about how do we provide even more features, even more tools to help people.
01:51 For AccuWeather, I'm Bill Waddell.
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