Building your home and living in a desert climate has its list of upsides and advantages. However, the dry weather and dry air around you are bound to take a toll on your well-being, especially your respiratory functions, if you don’t manage them well.
Beyond the beauty of the gorgeous sunsets, clear skies, and minimal rainfall, low humidity is a common occurrence in desert homes. So, raising humidity in your home is necessary if you live in cities like Arizona, Nevada, or any other arid region.
The good news is that there are numerous different ways you can raise the humidity in your desert homes. Confused and curious? This detailed guide will walk you through the details.
Why Do You Need to Regulate the Humidity in Desert Homes?
Before we examine the “hows” of regulating humidity in arid regions, it is crucial to first understand why it is necessary.
From health benefits to keeping furniture in pristine condition, well-regulated humidity indoors influences many factors.
Low humidity can wreak havoc on your health, furniture, comfort, etc. Here’s a breakdown of the same:
Health issues caused by dry air:
- Dry and itchy skin
- Cracked lips
- Irritated eyes and sinuses
- Respiratory problems
- Increased vulnerability to colds and flu
Furniture and fixture issues caused by dry air:
- Cracks in wooden floors
- Warping of furniture
- Drying out musical instruments like guitars and pianos
Beyond that, dry air is bound to impact one’s comfort and well-being, causing irritation and dryness along the respiratory tract, making breathing uncomfortable and difficult.
What is the “Ideal” Humidity Level for Indoors?
Whether you live in warm, dry, or rainy areas of the world, maintaining an ideal relative humidity in your home is vital.
The majority of experts recommend keeping indoor humidity levels between 40% and 60%. So, when you live in a desert area, experiencing dry air with a low humidity of around 30% is common.
This is one reason why monitoring and regulating the indoor humidity levels in desert homes is a dire necessity.
How to Increase Humidity Levels in Desert Homes?
Now that you have a basic understanding of low humidity and how it impacts your health and home, it is important to pay close attention to strategies that can help you increase humidity levels indoors.
The following are a few tips for you to consider:
1. Install a Humidifier
When your desert home has low humidity, the most efficient and logical solution is to buy and install a humidifier. There are tabletop humidifiers, whole-house humidifiers, and portable ones, emitting cool or warm mist, depending on your choice.
What kind of humidifier you purchase for your home will depend on your budget, the weather and temperature outdoors, and how you wish to regulate the temperature and humidity indoors.
We also recommend that you consider buying a humidifier with a built-in hygrometer for easy monitoring.
2. Add More Indoor Plants to Your Home
Plants perform a natural process called “transpiration,” which releases moisture into the air around them. So, when surrounded by dry air and low humidity, bringing home some indoor plants can be a great way to raise the humidity levels indoors.
Some of the best plants to include in your desert home are:
- Areca palm
- Peace lily
- Spider plant
- Boston fern
- Aloe vera, etc.
You can group a few different types of plants and place them in your living room or bedroom to create a micro-humid zone and regulate the moisture levels in the air around you.
3. Install Indoor Water Features
This might be a slightly expensive strategy, but it is a one-time investment that will help you raise and regulate the humidity in your desert home.
Indoor water features like indoor fountains provide continuous moisture to the air. They are also aesthetic and soothing, adding to the beauty of the place.
If you don’t have enough space for a fountain, aquariums or decorated bowls of water can be great choices, too. The heat will slowly evaporate the water into the air due to evaporation, increasing the moisture levels.
4. Keep Your Bathroom and Kitchen Doors Open
Although unconventional, you can manually add moisture into the air in your desert home by keeping the bathroom and kitchen doors open.
For example, after you are done taking a hot shower, keep the door open so that the steam from the hot shower mixes with the indoor air, elevating the humidity. Similarly, when you are done cooking, let the natural humidity escape and raise the moisture in adjoining rooms.
5. Place Wet Sponges or Towels Around the House
Another manual, cost-effective, and efficient way to increase the humidity in your home is to place wet sponges or towels around the house.
Instead of hanging them, soak the sponges and towels and place them over a tray or heaters. As they dry out, they will release moisture into the air, elevating the humidity levels in your desert home.
Ensure that you wash and clean these sponges and the tray daily to prevent the growth of microbes. If you want a quicker resolution, you can hang a wet towel directly in front of a fan to speed up adding moisture to the air.
Note: While they technically might not “add moisture” or “increase the humidity,” ensure that you seal any cracks or openings around the home. Doing so will ensure that your home retains at least some of the moisture available indoors.
A Few Considerations for Desert Climates and Humidity in Homes
When implementing these strategies in a desert environment, keep the following in mind:
- While raising humidity is the goal, avoid over-humidifying, which can create conditions conducive to mold and mildew growth.
- If you have hard water, ultrasonic humidifiers may leave a white dust residue, so consider using distilled water for the humidifier.
- Be mindful of the energy consumption of different humidifying methods, especially whole-house systems.
- All humidifiers require regular cleaning to prevent the buildup of minerals and microorganisms. The back of the humidifier’s packaging provides all the details related to maintenance.
Final Words
Raising the humidity in your desert home is an ongoing process that may require combining different strategies. We have sorted out some of the most effective ones you can consider. Some of them are free but require manual processing, while others are device-dependent. That said, the key to regulating and maintaining optimal humidity in your desert home is continually monitoring the levels. So, consider investing in a hygrometer too. Over time, you’ll notice a marked improvement in your comfort, skin, breathing, and even the condition of your furniture and décor, despite the arid climate outdoors.
