The humidity level inside your home is probably easy to detect, whether it’s low or high. In winter months, the excessive heat from the heaters or the moisture-robbing side effects of your air-conditioner in the summer can leave your skin dehydrated and chapped, give you nose-bleeds, and even make your houseplants thirstier than usual. There are some simple steps involved to humidify your home either in the winter or summer months, as it applies to where you live.

Using a humidifier is a cost-effective method of replacing any lost moisture into the air inside your home. They can come in the form of additions to your heating or AC unit, or as stand alone workers that constantly put back the lost moisture. There are several models to suit any type of budget you may have in mind, including whole-house humidifiers. For a room unit, even seconds should be considered if you can find one that does the job. This is the best humidification method if you can afford the expense and the additional cost of power.

A cheaper method of humidifying your home is to leave bowls of water around the room. It might seem like fighting a tiger with a toothpick, but it’s very effective. Placing them near heat sources or vents with moving air will increase evaporation rate and get your room to acceptable levels of humidity fairly quickly. Another way to do this is to keep wet rags in dishes around the room; this can prevent spillage onto carpets or expensive fabric-upholstered furniture when you have little kids or pets around the house that may knock down bowlfuls of water.

Another way, albeit short term, is to boil water on the stove and then leave it on simmer for a while. This should add humidity, but it’s only a localized solution for smaller homes. Besides, it can run up your electric bill if you to it too often on those electric stoves.

Don’t use the dryer for the laundry. Instead, hang them to dry in strategic locations where the natural drying process takes care of ambient moisture. Humidifying your home this way is the most cost effective, but be careful not to hang clothes over upholstered furniture or carpeted areas – you might end up with a different kind of problem pretty soon.

If you’re into taking hot showers then leave the door open after. If there’s a shower off the bedroom, leaving the door open might actually help you sleep better. Humidity will increase until the bathroom and bedroom are equalized; close your bedroom door to stop steam from escaping.

During those dry spells and winter months, humidify your home with this simple steps and your skin, nose and lungs will thank you for it, not to mention those thirsty houseplants.