Really dry air in the house - suggestions?

[countthestars]

We rent an apartment and keep it fairly warm (70-73 degrees) during the day and shut the heat off to sleep. It usually drops to 65 or 66 degrees overnight.

Our air is really, really dry. We both have (TMI!!) bloody-ish boogers from the lack of moisture when we wake up. I run the humidifier at night even though I know you aren't "supposed" to because of bacteria because we probably wouldn't sleep at all without it.

Anything else I can/should be doing? Do we need to keep the house at a lower temp during the day? I WFH and like it toasty. Suggestions?

[arch01]

eh, we run our humidifiers 24/7. one upstairs, one downstairs. it keeps the humidity at about 40%, but the house is 63 at night and 65 during the day.

[takeonyou]

I run a humidifier in my daycare room when the kids are here (where we spend 90% of the day) because otherwise, the kids and I will all end up with random nosebleeds. I run the humidifier all night in my bedroom and my kids rooms for the same reason. You can try leaving bowls of water out by the vents if you have forced hot air heat. I find it helps a lot.

[rubytue]

What kind of heat do you have? Fueled forced air? Radiators? Heat pump? We kept bowls of water on the radiators when we had them. And we don't run the bathroom fan during showers in the winter. Not major stuff though.

[Deleted]

I would just run the humidifier more often. We always used ours 24/7 during the winter.

[simpsongal]

We have this problem too - forced air heat. I need to buy a humidifier. Any recs? Maybe we'll get a whole house humidifier next year, it's just not in the cards this year.

[LoveTrains]

I run my humidifier 24/7 in the winter.

[arch01]

Nov 26, 2012 12:26:00 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

We have this problem too - forced air heat. I need to buy a humidifier. Any recs? Maybe we'll get a whole house humidifier next year, it's just not in the cards this year.

we have 2 of the crane teardrop humidifiers. one we've had for 3 years, the other 1. no complaints.

[Deleted]

This thread is reminding me to start our humidifier...

We live in a super dry climate where the snow has so little moisture that it usually squeaks. We just bought a humidifier for dd's room. We also hang our clothes and sheets to dry rather than run the dryer, and don't run the fan in the bathroom, both of which introduce moisture into the house.

Other than that, good lotion (Eucerin) and the occasional swab of Vaseline up the nose when it's really dry.

[rosetyler]

We run a humidifier. I also sometimes keep a pot of water simmering on the stove for an hour or so in the evening or on weekends (throw in some essential oils or cinnamon sticks with orange/apple slices for fragrance). I leave the dishwasher door open as soon as it's done, lets the moist steam into the air. I don't run the exhaust fan in the bathroom when I shower in the winter, it also lets the steam linger longer.

Other tips:
If you take baths, leave the bath water to linger when you're done until it cools completely.
Avoid cooking in the oven if possible, it dries out the air even more (use stovetop or microwave)
Decorate with bowls of water - if you have a few decorative vases, fill them up. Put out fresh cut flowers, floating candles, or just leave the water. It evaporates into the air, helping a little bit.

[takeonyou]

Also, when my kids are really dry (eczema) I put a bowl of water in front of the vents in their room and hang a hand towel over the vent with the end dipping into the water. When the heat kicks on, it pushes moisture into the room.

[countthestars]

Thanks everyone! I'll put some water out and see if that helps