We have central gas heat in my house and with the advent of cooler weather I have been running the heat. But it is destroying our sinuses from the hot, dry air. I would appreciate any suggestions on what to do. My son and I both feel miserable - but don't want to be cold either. LOL
Should we get a humidifier? If so, what kind? If I go that route, can I just put it in the hallway between our bedrooms so I don't have to get one for each room? I hear horror stories about mold and humidifiers so I am leery of having one - but I feel like we are slowly being mummified.
Thanks for your suggestions. You Moms ROCK.
Thank you all of you great Moms for the advice. Since our air vents are in the ceiling I will look into the cool humidifiers this weekend. The weather has warmed up here since I posted - if it keeps up I will wind up running the AC again!!! Gotta' love living the Deep South.
Thanks Again!!!!!
When we lived in a townhouse, I got a cool mist humidifier for the back of the house. Then I would also just boil a pot of water to keep the front of the house. It really helped out and we never had any mold problems.
Get a cool mist humidifier, (you don't need to worry about "burns" or anything... I know, I know there probably wouldn't be, but someone could sue... :)...)
Anyway, I run cool mist humidifiers in 3 rooms of the house all winter, bedrooms & living room. There is a significant difference in the moisture level in the house from these & we seem to have fewer colds. Viruses seem to love dry air.
Hope this helps!!
I just run the vaporizer here. I have one on the main floor and then on the 2nd floor as well. I don't worry about the 3rd floor because it seems the first 2 are doing enough...and we have 17 rooms in the house. You can also set pans of water buy the heat vents or behind furniture and get the same results.
you just have to clean the humidifiers. I rinse w/vinegar 1/wk when we use them. use the cool ones - they have a lot less growing in them.
other options: house plants really help control humidity and keep it higher in the winter. when the dishwasher is right before the dry cycle - open the door and let all that nice steam out. saves electricity too. if you can stand it (whether from privacy needs or cool drafts), leave the bathroom doors open during showers and baths and don't turn the fans on. we do these things and rarely seem to have issues even though we live in a super dry climate. or maybe its just a natural state for us to have less than 20% humidity, so we don't notice it in the winter :)
either get a whole house humidifier , or get separate small ones for each bed room. Just make sure it's one that has multiple settings so you can put it on low.
LOL! I'd get one for each room if you sleep w/doors closed especially. I think people are a bit paranoid about mold. If you guys are being mummified, then it doesn't seem to be a hospitable environment for it anyway. Just empty the water each morning, clean them on a semi-regular basis, and don't turn them up so high that you see the mist falling. That's my two cents anyway.
You can get a whole house humidifier with cool air--no problems with steam hitting you or your son. Also, since you have central air, chek your furnace. Some furnaces have humidifiers. When we moved in to our place, the humidifier had been disconnected. Once we got it back on, our whole house humidifier has sat in the basement, unused.
think I've seen on Holmes about Homes some humidifiers that somehow attach to the heat unit -- but that might be cost-prohibitive!
Where are your vents - in the floor or low on the wall? IF you don't have small children or pets, you can simply put a container or water near the vents to help - at least until you decide what you want to do! (a pam of water steaming on the stove may well help, too - just watch it!)
