Humidity
Believe it or not, during winter months in Ontario the air in your home is probably as dry as the Sahara Desert.
Humidity levels affect your comfort and health inside your home just as much as they do outside. Too much humidity can promote mold and mildew growth. Too little can lead to dry skin, sore throats and respiratory problems. An imbalance on either side can keep you from feeling comfortable at normal temperature settings.
The CHMC recommends that your home maintain a humidity level between 40 and 60 percent.
During extremely cold weather your home loses humidity to the outdoors and the level may drop to as low as 10 percent. A humidifier adds moisture to your indoor air and can help relieve ailments related to dry respiratory membranes.
Health Concerns: Conditioning the amount of moisture in the air is necessary for your family's health. One of the major causes of respiratory infections is inadequate humidity during cold weather. The start of the heating season each fall causes many people to begin having repeated attacks of winter colds. Winter weather is blamed for these problems, but the actual cause may be dryness, which develops in the membranes of the nose, throat and bronchial tubes. Relative humidity also has a significant effect on controlling the occurrence of airborne infections.
Other Concerns: Dry air can cause more than health problems. Static electricity is a direct result of very dry air. Houseplants can suffer from "winter drought" caused by low humidity levels. A humidifier can help keep the indoor air comfortably moist, despite conditions of the low outdoor humidity.
