When your home’s humidity level is in a healthy zone, you will breathe easier, reduce your susceptibility to colds and notice fewer instances of static electricity. When the humidity is too low, you may suffer from dry skin, more allergy attacks and even nosebleeds. If you’re interested in increasing the humidity level in your home, check out our list of easy-to-follow humidity-boosting methods.
Seal Air Leaks
Cold air is a major contributor to low humidity. Before you try to increase the humidity inside your house, thoroughly inspect your house for any air leaks. The most common entry points are located around windows and exterior doors. Weather stripping and caulking can seal leaks in those areas, and both tasks are easy do-it-yourself projects.
Run a Humidifier
By far, using a humidifier is the easiest way to add moisture to the air. Humidifiers come in a variety of sizes and styles. There are ultrasonic humidifiers, which vibrate at a high enough frequency to bust water droplets into a fine mist. There are also impeller humidifiers that put out moisture via rotating disks.
Some humidifiers heat the water before cooling and releasing steam while others have a fan that blows across a saturated wick filter. When choosing a humidifier, make sure it’s rated to cover the number of square feet of the room in which you want to use it.
Change the Thermostat
When that frigid winter weather hits, your first instinct is to crank up the thermostat on your space heater or HVAC system. The higher the thermostat’s temperature, the drier the air. Instead of upping the temperature a few degrees when the weather dips below freezing, throw on a warm sweater. You will prevent the humidity from dropping and save money on heating costs.
Dampen a Towel
This method is incredibly simple. Grab a bath towel from your linen closet and wet it down completely with cool water. Then, drape the towel over a supply vent in the room that needs a humidity boost. As your HVAC system circulates the air, the water on the towel will evaporate into the air, resulting in a higher humidity level. You can also try this idea with a radiator.
Air Dry Your Laundry
Here’s another to slash your electricity bill while simultaneously raising the humidity level. Air dry your laundry on a rack as opposed to tossing your laundry in the dryer. To get the maximum benefit from hang drying your clothes, position the rack in front of a radiator or vent. Alternatively, you can put a fan behind the rack.
Install an Indoor Dryer Vent
This is a tip only for those who own electric dryers. If you need your laundry dried faster than the time it takes to air dry it, install an indoor dryer vent. This cheap, simple kit contains a cup and a screen that traps lint, so you don’t have to worry about lint blowing in the air. The exhaust on the indoor vent release hot, moist air into your home.
Decorate With Plants
Did you know that plants can raise the humidity? They do this via transpiration, which occurs when water travels from the roots to the leaves where it vaporizes into the air. If you don’t have a green thumb, there are plenty of houseplants that can survive bouts of neglect, such as Chinese evergreens, snake plants and cat palms. If you want low-water plants with splashes of color, try begonias, which have blossoms in shades of pink, orange, red and white.
Put Water in Bowls
Putting water in bowls is a variation of the evaporative wet-towel method. Take some heat-safe containers (tin ones are inexpensive), fill them with water and put them on top of your home’s floor vents or radiators. If your house doesn’t have radiators or vents on the floor, you can do a modified version of the water-bowl technique. Pour water into plastic containers or glass vases and set them on windowsills in direct sunlight.
Utilize the Bathtub
Improve the humidity level in your house just by taking a shower or a bath – There are two ways to benefit from your bathtub. After you finish bathing, leave the water in the bathtub until the water cools. If possible, leave the bathroom door open while you shower, so the moisture that accumulates in the air can spread beyond the bathroom. A fan can spread the moisture further.
Turn on the Stovetop
The kitchen is another room you can use to raise the humidity level. Spend more time making home-cooked meals. When the contents of the pot get hot, steam is released into the air. Boiling water to pour in a teacup or French press works the same way. For all-day humidity, simmer water in a pot on low and add water when the pot gets empty.
Cook With a Crock-Pot
Don’t have time to cook? Let your Crock-Pot do it for you. Making a meal in a Crock-Pot releases moisture via steam just as it does when you’re cooking on a stovetop. A Crock-Pot not only increases the humidity but also does the cooking – That’s a win-win.
Open the Dishwasher
Have you ever opened a dishwasher mid-cycle? If you have, you know how overpoweringly hot the steam gets. Take advantage of that steam by air drying your dishes instead of running the heated-dry cycle. This is yet another way to bump up the humidity while saving money on your power bill.
Heat up a Wax-Melt Warmer
Wax-melt warmers aren’t just for permeating the air with fragrance. They are also handy humidifying tools. Instead of scented wax cubes, put water in it. However, check the warmer frequently. If heat is applied to it when there’s no water in it, the ceramic may crack.
Use a Hygrometer
Hygrometers measure the humidity level in the surrounding area. Many humidifiers are equipped with a hygrometer. If your humidifier doesn’t have a hygrometer, consider buying one. With a hygrometer, you can gauge the humidity level as you implement some the above-mentioned strategies. This way, you’ll know whether you need to add another method to your humidity-increasing routine.
If you have any questions or comments, please add them below in the comment section. Similarly, please let us know if you spot any mistakes or omissions. Thanks!
