As the cold air enters Chicago at the beginning of the winter season, the humidity gradually drops within homes. While your heating contractor can keep your Chicago home warm, this does not increase moisture within the home. A lack of moisture inside can cause dry and itchy skin, nosebleeds, cracked lips, and even damage to woodwork. The following options can help increase humidity during the winter:
Installing a Humidifier
A humidifier should be powerful enough to cover the full area of your home that needs humidity added. This is an important note because many purchase smaller models that fail to increase moisture and leave customers dissatisfied.
Adding Humidifying Decor
Not only do houseplants make great decor, they also help to add humidity to your home. Through transpiration, plants absorb water and then circulate this moisture through their leaves back into the room. Make sure to keep your plants well watered to maintain a beautiful look but also keep the humidifying process up.
Evaporation through vases and indoor fountains also help to increase moisture in your home during the winter. If you generally forget to water plants, leave vases of flowers and water by your window sill to evaporate. An indoor fountain is also a relaxing piece of decor that can improve your driest room when placed near sources of heat or sunlight.
Keeping Your Home as Humid as Your Shower and Bath
Propping your bathroom door open while taking a hot shower helps to increase humidity in your home. The moisture from the evaporating hot shower will spread through the dry rooms in your home. If you choose to take baths instead of showers, leave the bathtub water to evaporate when you are finished. These steps are so simple yet make a large difference in the humidity of your home.
