Poll: Do you use a humidifier in the colder months?

[cransplash]

I have dry skin, and am wondering if a humidifier will help with this in the colder winter months.

Do you have a humidifier, and is it worth it?
Yes 
No

[dragonfly08]

Yes, we have one, and yes, we absolutely think it's worth it.

When it's not working, I'm prone to overly dry skin, bloody noses in the AM, and my kids don't sleep as well (especially #2 who has extremely mild asthma but does wheeze a bit more in the dryer air).

In fact, ours currently needs maintenance and it's getting taken care of this weekend so that we're sure it's fixed before the weather turns for good.

[cransplash]

Oct 1, 2014 5:53:34 GMT -5 dragonfly08 said:

Yes, we have one, and yes, we absolutely think it's worth it.

When it's not working, I'm prone to overly dry skin, bloody noses in the AM, and my kids don't sleep as well (especially #2 who has extremely mild asthma but does wheeze a bit more in the dryer air).

In fact, ours currently needs maintenance and it's getting taken care of this weekend so that we're sure it's fixed before the weather turns for good.

I'm thinking this would help my dry skin too. 

Does it put out a lot of "white dust"? 
Which one do you own/recommend?
These 2 seem highly reviewed on Amazon: Vick's and Crane.

eta- What features should I definitely look into?

[BeagleMama]

Yes, it definitely helps with dry skin, static and general comfort of the home. We just have a small one from Target in our bedroom that we turn on at night.

[LoveTrains]

I have one that I run in my bedroom.

[mpc]

I don't, but we run one in my son's room.

[mskitkat]

Yes. We had a warm air humidifier, so it also helped us cut down on heating costs.

[scout8]

Do you mean a stand alone one that is in a bedroom? I don't use one of those, but we have a humidifier that is attached to our furnace. We turn that on in the winter.

[raangoli]

Our furnace allegedly has a humidifier built in; I have doubts as to how well it works, but my skin wasn't too bad last winter.

[AmyRI]

Yes, we use them. We have 3 (one in each bedroom), as well as a humidifier on top of each of our wood stoves. The stoves dry out the air even more than just normal winter low humidity. We do notice a difference.

DH is prone to nosebleeds and I have awful dry skin, and while it doesn't cure either, it is much better when we use them.

We have these Vicks cool mist humidifiers. I can find the filters and cleaning cartridges at a lot of local stores, which is nice.
www.amazon.com/Vicks-Gallon-Cool-Mist-Humidifier/dp/B0000TN7MO/

[Deleted]

We live in a very dry climate, so a humidifier is a necessity. Because nothing communicates "I love you" to your child like zapping them when you kiss them!

[sunshine608]

No. Last time I did I developed asthma and ended up in the hospital. I never had asthma prior to that day. Not sure if it was coincidence or not.

I did use it when I was pregnant and stuffy because I couldn't take anything "good". No problems then.

[LoveTrains]

I should add that I don't have dry skin so I don't know if the humidifier helps that. What it does help is the bloody nose I will get and the dry ass lungs that I feel I have from the dry air when I run my furnace. And it helps my contacts feel better, too.

We are probably going to get a whole house humidifier attached to our furnace very shortly.

[protozoa]

Yes, we run it every night and it helps dry skin, dry eyes, and bloody nose. My facialist noticed when I started using it again last winter so it definitely helped my skin. We have the kind that does not give off white dust.

[hopenotlost]

I can't live without one. My skin gets so dry, and around my waist where my jeans or pants rub, tiny little cracks in my skin form, and it is just downright painful. I also get bloody noses. My daughters are all the same way too, especially my middle daughter. She has eczema on her legs that flares up when it is super dry.

[v]

No, because I found my humidifier impossible to maintain and my allergist warned against it (they can be nasty germ/allergen spreaders).

So I just don't turn the heat on that much and I slather myself with coconut oil (and I take fish oil pills). That has made a big difference in my super dry skin.

[Deleted]

Very worth it. I only have one in the bedroom right now, but I need to get one for downstairs. I have a long haired cat and he becomes so staticy in the winter and shocks his nose all the time, so I feel bad.

[dragonfly08]

Oct 1, 2014 6:02:35 GMT -5 cransplash said:

Oct 1, 2014 5:53:34 GMT -5 dragonfly08 said:

Yes, we have one, and yes, we absolutely think it's worth it.

When it's not working, I'm prone to overly dry skin, bloody noses in the AM, and my kids don't sleep as well (especially #2 who has extremely mild asthma but does wheeze a bit more in the dryer air).

In fact, ours currently needs maintenance and it's getting taken care of this weekend so that we're sure it's fixed before the weather turns for good.

I'm thinking this would help my dry skin too. 

Does it put out a lot of "white dust"? 
Which one do you own/recommend?
These 2 seem highly reviewed on Amazon: Vick's and Crane.

eta- What features should I definitely look into?

We have an AprilAire whole-house unit, meaning it's attached to our furnace.  No issues with dust or anything else, and we don't have to turn it on and off...it's programmed to cycle as needed based on the humidity level in the house.  I can't help much with features beyond that since DH chose and installed it.  :-)