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Adding moisture to the air in your home helps raise your indoor humidity level, counteracting dramatic drops as a result of constant heating. By restoring an ideal humidity level of 45 to 50%—the level recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—your indoor environment may feel warmer, lessening the need to crank up the heat, and any moisture-sensitive furnishings in your home become better protected from damage. More importantly, humidifiers can eliminate and help prevent the uncomfortable physical effects of dry, wintry air such as:
- Dry, scaly skin
- Sore, scratchy throat
- Bloody nose
- Cracked lips
- Dry sinus passages
- Respiratory irritation
Coincidentally, some of the side effects caused by dry air are also common symptoms of medical ailments that can strike you at anytime during the year including the common cold, the flu, upper respiratory infections, and sinus infections. According to the National Institutes of Health, increasing the humidity in your home when you're battling a cold, the flu, or a sinus infection helps moisturize your nasal and throat passages. This helps drain excess mucus so you can breathe more clearly.