The weather here in the Minneapolis, MN area has been frigid for the past two weeks, temperatures hovering around 0 and below every night. With the furnace constantly running, I noticed that my house was very dry. I didn't want to turn on a steamer, (like what you would use when the kids are sick) because that would use a lot of electricity.
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Ardelle, I moved to west Texas a few months ago and I've had sinus problems and colds ever since whether I run the heat or not. There is very little humidity in the air all year long here.
When I was a child, I remember my grandmother putting mason jars filled with water on her floor vents during the winter months. We have ceiling vents in the upstairs of our home and floor vents in the downstairs. We have gas heat, which is very dry and tends to dry out the sinuses making one more likely to catch colds and have nose bleeds. I bought some metal mixing bowls from wal-marts and filled them with water. I set them near the heater vents upstairs on top of furniture pieces, a tall bookshelf in my son's room, a clothing wardrobe in our bedroom, a storage unit in the bathroom, and a linen wardrobe in the hall. I refill them every so often as the water evaporates.
Another hint I forgot: Boiling water on the stove will work too. Get a large dutch oven and fill with water, bring to a boil, shut heat off and allow the water to evaporate.
I have solved that problem pretty easily, Texan. First, get a good kitchen sponge with no scrubbing side. The good ones shouldn't drip! That is the key here. Cut it so it can fit into a snack-sized ziplock bag. Then, take the snack-sized ziplock bag, fold it in half and use a hole puncher to punch holes in it. Don't worry about if they are "clean" holes are not. It won't matter. Soak the sponge so it is saturated, then squeeze the excess off. Put it into the bag, and seal.
The downfall I've found to this is you have to refresh the sponge a few times a day if it is really, really dry and hot. I've found that it also works with a larger bag and the big car washing sponges too. Just follow the same method above and tie more securely since they'll be heavier.
As a note, it is cheaper to use the big car washing sponges. They are about $1.80 each at Walmart. =D
I have an electric clothes dryer in my bathroom. In the winter I have the pipe pushing the air from it above the dryer and I put a nylon stocking over the end to catch the extra lint. Don't forget to close off the pipe to the outside. Adds alot of moisture, heat and makes the house smell like the fresh scent of your dryer sheet.
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