How Dry I Am

[vakkotaur]

No, not about desiring a drink, but about humidity. Cold air can hold less moisture than warm air, and thus Winter is rather dry. This is apparent in how much more static (clinging clothes, electrical discharges) there is in the Winter. A few days ago I bought hygrometer to see just what the indoor relative humidity was. It has been solidly at 16%, save for the time I put it in the bathroom while taking a shower. The listed range of the detector is 20% to 95% so that 16% is likely wrong, but it does tell me it's too dry. Ideally, relative humidity should be in the range of 25% to 55%.

The obvious answer to the problem is to get a humidifier. The problem is, which one? I've looked around the web a bit and decided I do not want to go with an ultrasonic type, and I'd rather not go with a "warm mist" type due to the power draw, and that leaves the "cool mist" type. Even within that, which one? Inexpensive is good, but I'd like to avoid cheap - I want the humidity in the air, not spilled all over things I'd rather not have get wet. I don't need to see a visible plume of moisture. Something that just unobtrusively works is what I desire.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[ginafae.livejournal.com]

I can say the Walgreens brand vaporizer works just fine. We have had a few over the 10 years I've been married, maybe three, but at around $15, this is reasonable.

We once purchased an expensive(er) humidifier which was supposed to last longer and work better, and it barely made it one winter. It had some sort of filter which absorbed the water, after which air blew over it, thereby sending moist air to the room. But the filter tended to mold, and they were expensive. Back to the Walgreens brand for us.

We do tend to do the warm air, just because we keep our house pretty cold. Haven't noticed the power draw, though I trust you that it is more than negligible.

Hope this helps!