Keeping an eye on your home’s relative humidity levels is imperative now that the colder months are here. In this post, the top heating and air conditioning company, The Ice-Man, explains why it’s important to raise the humidity indoors during fall and winter.
Reduces Home Damage
Low indoor humidity can cause significant damage to your home’s interior components. Furniture, floorboards, and other surfaces made of wood, for example, tend to warp and bend when the surrounding air remains dry for a long time. The same conditions can also cause wallpaper to separate and drywall to crack and buckle. Increasing indoor humidity in the fall and winter prevents these problems from occurring.
Helps Improve Everyone’s Health
Maintaining a comfortable indoor humidity level throughout the fall and winter months can help you and your family stay healthy. Increasing the amount of water vapor in indoor air not only keeps the eyes, nose, and skin moisturized but also reduces the risk of family members experiencing respiratory problems.
Minimizes Static Electricity
As the dry, chilly indoor air fills your home, expect static electricity to take over. Whenever you touch a doorknob or pet your cat or dog, it’s like setting off little firecrackers that’ll have you jolting unexpectedly. Introducing moisture back indoors is important to reduce static shock.
Ways to Increase Indoor Humidity
Fortunately, increasing indoor humidity in the fall and winter months can be simple. Here are some of the effective ways to do so, as recommended by heating and AC repair professionals:
- Use a humidifier. You can easily add moisture to the air in your home using a humidifier. It helps minimize the dryness that can irritate your skin and eyes and keep respiratory issues at bay. You can either install a whole-home humidifier or use portable room humidifiers for every occupied room in your house.
- Add houseplants. If installing a humidifier is not an option, you can boost indoor humidity levels in your home by adding living houseplants. They act as a natural humidifier for your surroundings, releasing moisture through transpiration. They also clean the air you breathe by taking in carbon dioxide.
- Put bowls of water on the windowsills. Do this so that water evaporates into the air when heated by the sun. If the sun’s not streaming through your windows, place the water-filled bowls near the HVAC floor register.
Contact “The Ice-Man” Today!
The Ice-Man is a reputable AC contractor that has provided the local community with high-quality heating and cooling services for over 30 years. We are a locally run, family-owned business that is licensed and insured. Each of our HVAC experts is qualified to perform a wide range of services. To request an estimate, fill out our contact form, or call us at (609) 466-9020.