Radiator heat is drying out my apartment: is a humidifier actually worth it or are the cheap fixes enough?
First week of real radiator heat and my apartment air is bone dry, waking up with a scratchy throat and static shocks on everything. A decent humidifier is 40 to 60 dollars plus filters, and I am in a small rental. Has anyone actually fixed dry radiator air with a humidifier, or do the cheap fixes like a bowl of water on the radiator and drying laundry inside work just as well?
2 answers
- Bowl of water first, humidifier second
Try the free fix for a week before spending anything. A wide bowl of water on each radiator plus drying laundry on a rack in the bedroom got my humidity from 22 percent to the mid 30s, measured with a 10 dollar hygrometer. If it stays under 30 percent after that, then buy the humidifier, but most rentals do not need one.
- Buy a 10-dollar hygrometer before you buy anything else
Measure first. A basic digital hygrometer costs about 10 dollars and tells you your actual humidity: 30 to 40 percent in winter is the target range. A lot of radiator apartments sit at 25 percent, where a humidifier helps, but plenty sit at 35 percent already, where a humidifier just adds condensation to the windows and mould risk. I ran one for a week before deciding and my bedroom was already at 34 percent, so I skipped the humidifier and just put a bowl of water on the radiator on the driest nights.