Extra Dry Aircon is drying out my skin, lips, throat??

[startracker]

The aircon in my bedroom is super dry, uncomfortably dry. Wake up with chapped lips, dry skin and a parched throat gasping for water. Not from any cold, just from the dryness of the air. The A/C is about 2 years old and works fine.

 

The one in the living area is about 2 weeks old and seems a little bit similar, but not as extreme. 

 

As with every other aircon I've ever used, I set them to the 'snowflake' setting and temp around 23 or 24. But have never experienced this before.

 

 

As a side note the water in the building is extra limescaley, and also drys out my face after washing etc, so need to put on babylotion after. Not sure if the 2 are related or not.

 

Could it just be an aircon setting?

 

Is there a trick or method to not have an aircon dry out all the air? I don't see any extracter fan or whatever, if there should be one. 

 

Thanks for any info/replies. 

[johng]

23-24 is very cold....your aircon is probably working nonstop,cold air can hold less moisture than warm air so the colder the air the dryer it gets...you can go outside and see the water extracted from the air leaking out of the PVC pipe coming from the aircon.
To counter this you could raise the temperature,put the aircon into auto mode..instead of dry mode....or get a humidifier for the room.

[transam]

Put a salad bowl of water on your bedside cabinet, some salt in the water is good to...

[startracker]

^^ Thanks for the repply. I've always set A/C's to 23/24 while here, and don't feel it as cold. And haven't had this issue before, so don't think it's the temp.

 

I will set it to Auto mode tonight, and see if there's a difference. Thanks.

 

I will research about a 'humidifier'. 

[startracker]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

Put a salad bowl of water on your bedside cabinet, some salt in the water is good to...

Thanks.

 

Is this real or an old wives tale? ?

 

I'll try it. Thanks. 

[transam]

5 minutes ago, startracker said:

Thanks.

 

Is this real or an old wives tale? ?

 

I'll try it. Thanks. 

I was given the info by a pharmacist to try..Mainly because I had throat gunk build up during the night. Solved the problem 100% for me, mainly the salt in the water. Costs nothing and worth a try, give it a week...

Would like to know if it worked for you, so get back to me/us if it did...

[Mike Teavee]

19 minutes ago, johng said:

23-24 is very cold....your aircon is probably working nonstop,cold air can hold less moisture than warm air so the colder the air the dryer it gets...you can go outside and see the water extracted from the air leaking out of the PVC pipe coming from the aircon.
To counter this you could raise the temperature,put the aircon into auto mode..instead of dry mode....or get a humidifier for the room.

Wow, I usually have mine on 16 (only because it doesn't go any lower), but I did read somewhere that optimum temperature for sleeping is 18 so have moved it to that.

 

OP try adjusting the "Speed" rather than the temperature (assuming you have it running all night and don't use it in Auto mode).

 

 

[startracker]

Just put a bowl of extra salty water in the bedroom, will let you know. ?

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Wow, I usually have mine on 16 (only because it doesn't go any lower), but I did read somewhere that optimum temperature for sleeping is 18 so have moved it to that.

 

OP try adjusting the "Speed" rather than the temperature (assuming you have it running all night and don't use it in Auto mode).

 

 

Wow, that is cold....Have you thought of relocating to Norway....?

I wonder what folk did before A/C...

[Crossy]

Our bedroom A/C is set to 26 when we go to bed, 28 when the TV goes off ?

 

[JAS21]

We have a Daikin Air Purifier...MCK55TVM6 ... it has a humidifier and wins the fight with the air con every time ?  ... https://www.daikin.co.th/en/product/air-purifier-mck55tvm6

 

ps .. it also works well against the effect that Mrs J's cooking has on me ....

Edited September 16, 2018 by JAS21

[Airalee]

I use a humidifier as the dry air at night bothers my throat and sinuses.  Lazada sells the ultrasonic ones and although they help (a lot), from what I have read, everything in the water is vibrated into the air and into your lungs. I noticed that there would be a chalky film buildup on the glass so I can understand the theory.  Now I recently bought a wicking cool mist humidifier from Amazon (Honeywell HCM-710) that I’m hoping won’t have the same effect.  Being that it is 110v, I also had to purchase a converter.

[wgdanson]

24 minutes ago, transam said:

I was given the info by a pharmacist to try..Mainly because I had throat gunk build up during the night. Solved the problem 100% for me, mainly the salt in the water. Costs nothing and worth a try, give it a week...

Would like to know if it worked for you, so get back to me/us if it did...

 

20 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Wow, I usually have mine on 16 (only because it doesn't go any lower), but I did read somewhere that optimum temperature for sleeping is 18 so have moved it to that.

 

OP try adjusting the "Speed" rather than the temperature (assuming you have it running all night and don't use it in Auto mode).

 

 

I knew a guy who always had his a/c on the lowest 16-18 because it made him feel like he was back home in UK. He slept under a 13 tog duvet! Pillock !

[wgdanson]

4 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

We have a Daikin Air Purifier ...MCK55TVM6 ... it has a humidifier and wins the fight with the air con every time ?

My Mitsubishi Mr Slim Econoairs (12000 BTU) have a DEHUMIDIFIER setting.......hmmmmmm!

[Pib]

OP,

The controls on various A/C models vary....just be sure you have the setting correct versus relying on memory of how previous A/Cs worked. 

 

I know you said you set your A/C to the "snowflake" setting which should mean "Cooling" versus dehumidifying, but on some brands/models the little snowflake icon on the remote may look very similar to another setting.  Like on my Mitsubishi model when looking at the icon on the remote which looks really small to old eyes the difference between the "I FEEL mode" and "Cool mode" icon can be hard to distinguish unless looking closely.  And if mistaking choosing the "I FEEL mode" at temperature settings below 25C (like you are using) the the "I FEEL mode" will automatically select the DRY mode.  Even if your A/C model don't have something like the I FEEL mode, maybe it still does shift into using the DRY mode at certain temperature settings.....you really need to look at the manual for your particular model...if you don't have it you should be able to download it.    See below snapshot from my A/C manual talking the difference between the different modes.

 

 

[Bluespunk]

Switch off the a/c and buy a fan.

[wgdanson]

28 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Our bedroom A/C is set to 26 when we go to bed, 28 when the TV goes off ?

 

Same here, and set the timer so the whole thing goes off in an hour. 

[wgdanson]

1 minute ago, Bluespunk said:

Switch off the a/c and buy a fan.

Or simply use just the fan in the a/c.

[Andrew Dwyer]

A/c at 27 all night, tried the fan but found it hot.
Generally sleep ok but occasionally wake up with a clammy mouth !

Will try the bowl of water, wonder if a dash of vodka in the water will help me sleep ?
Maybe take the vodka internally would be better !!


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[transam]

2 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

A/c at 27 all night, tried the fan but found it hot.
Generally sleep ok but occasionally wake up with a clammy mouth !

Will try the bowl of water, wonder if a dash of vodka in the water will help me sleep ?
Maybe take the vodka internally would be better !!


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Put salt in it, give it a week, may work, may not, let me know....

[startracker]

Thanks.

 

This is the unit and remote control setting. 

 

 

[moontang]

I bought a hydrometer/thermometer at banggood for about five bucks.  It is more humid than I thought.  I agree with Crossy on temp settings, and try to turn it off for about 8-12 hours per day.  But it does start drying quite a bit more at even 25...

 

I just checked my gauge...hasnt been below 43% humidity in the BKK studio in at least 6 weeks.

 

Don't rule out the pollen. 

[jak2002003]

Our AC is only used in the bedroom at night.  Set at 26 and also we have a fan  

 

No problem with that being too hot.

 

Those of you setting you AC to lowest settings... you do realise that the room will never reach that low of a temperature?  The machine will be constantly working and using up electricity, drying out the air, making a noise, getting worn out and less efficient and break down earlier, etc.

 

Try to get used to the temperature here.  If you are in cold room.. then when you go out the heat will really feel bad to you.  

 

 

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Our AC is only used in the bedroom at night.  Set at 26 and also we have a fan  

I'm happy enough with the setting at 28c.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

If anyone's going to use a humidifier here, or anywhere, I think you'd generally want to use "purified" or "distilled" water instead of tap water, to avoid all the minerals and any other contaminants in tap water getting into your humidifier and/or into the air.

 

I'd also agree that have the air con set at night to 18C or so is VERY, unnecessarily cold. A normal comfort temperature is probably closer to 25C or so indoors....  And it's probably because the OP has the temperature set so cold, and the air con is working so hard, that it's having such a big drying out effect on the air in his room.

 

Try turning up the AC temp setting at night to a more reasonable level and humidity in the room probably will increase.

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

I'm happy enough with the setting at 28c.

26c to 28c is adequate for most folks, any less than that and I would be cold !!
25c in the car works for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[startracker]

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

A normal comfort temperature is probably closer to 25C or so indoors....  And it's probably because the OP has the temperature set so cold, and the air con is working so hard, that it's having such a big drying out effect on the air in his room.

 

 

I don't believe that's the case.

 

It's usually set to 23/24, which is what I've been setting A/C's to in Thailand for around a decade.

 

 

[startracker]

I will look into the humidifier option.

 

Can anybody advise or recommend what one should be looking for in one?

 

Thanks. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, startracker said:

It's usually set to 23/24, which is what I've been setting A/C's to in Thailand for around a decade.

 

Sorry, it was another poster in this thread, not you, who was talking about having the AC set at 18....

 

Nonetheless, you might try upping the thermostat a bit to 25 or 25 and see if that helps -- in addition to doing anything with a bowl of water and/or a humidifier.

 

As someone who's had lifelong sinus problems, I too have heard doctors recommend having a large bowl/basin of water in the bedroom at night, near or next to your head in the bed like on a nightstand, to help lessen dryness symptoms. Never done it myself, though. It's an easy and no-cost potential remedy.

Edited September 16, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, transam said:

I was given the info by a pharmacist to try..Mainly because I had throat gunk build up during the night. Solved the problem 100% for me, mainly the salt in the water. Costs nothing and worth a try, give it a week...

Would like to know if it worked for you, so get back to me/us if it did...

Not being negative, but I doubt whether salt in the water will make any difference. The water will evaporate leaving the salt in the bowl, like salt farms down south where they leave sea water in pools. But as you say, cost nowt to try it, and maybe the placebo effect will take place. Cheers.