New Cold Weather Checklist for a Happy Home & A Honeywell Humidifier Giveaway!

Cold has finally hit here in the Midwest. That means our heat is constantly running and making our homes cold. The designers of Honeywell Humidifiers and indoor air scientists have released new research on how everyday household objects suffer under low humidity conditions and what steps homeowners can take to combat the effects of dry air.

The research conducted found that the following list of 10 household items are most impacted by low relative humidity:

1. Wood Furniture: Has your favorite wooden bench seemed a little shakier? It could be because of low humidity. Wood absorbs and desorbs water as relative humidity rises and falls, which causes it to swell and shrink. This results in furniture joints becoming loose or even pulling apart.
2. Musical Instruments: Not sounding quite right? Low humidity levels may be to blame for your instrument falling out of tune. Natural wood instruments such as guitars, violins and pianos can be damaged when the wood contracts resulting in failed glue joints or cracks.
3. Books: Low humidity causes the pages of books to become more brittle and fragile, and the dimensions of the pages can even change as the paper absorbs and desorbs water. This leads to wrinkles in the paper, flaking ink, or warped covers on books.
4. Woodwork and Wood Floors: If you’ve noticed a slight bend in your wood floors, or gaps between the planks, it could be because of low humidity. As the wood expands and contracts, mitered corners can separate and floors can “cup” so that the floor doesn’t remain flat.
5. Wine: Does your uncorked bottle of wine not taste right? Wine corks can dry out, shrink and crack if exposed to low humidity overtime, allowing air to come into contact with the wine and potentially ruin the bottle.
6. Artwork: Maintaining humidity levels is vital for protecting artwork around the home. Low moisture levels tend to make paint brittle and prone to cracking, which is especially detrimental to oil paintings on canvas.
7. Stamp Collections: Much like books, repeated absorption and desorption of water can ruin stamps by making them brittle or discolored.
8. Photograph Collections: Have you noticed your new photographs looking more like your parents’ photo albums? When photographs curl up at the ends, it’s likely due to low humidity levels. They can also result in the photo emulsion flaking off and damaging the photograph.
9. Walls: Peeling wallpaper and separated drywall seams can be a sign of low humidity in the home. The porous materials may crack and separate when exposed to low levels.
10. Electronic Equipment: Static electricity brought on by low humidity levels can damage internal components of computers, televisions and other electronics – a lot more damaging than dealing with static in your hair!

We’ve been recently trying out the new Honeywell Top Fill Console Humidifier.  I love how easy it is to use, and how it adds moisture to our air.   It’s so nice to NOT have dry skin, chapped lips, and a scratchy throat.  There are 2 easy ways to fill – at the humidifier or carry to the sink to fill.  The adjustable humidistat automatically turns the humidifier on and off to maintain set humidity levels.  It isn’t constantly running which I love.  There is also three-speed settings to adjust moisture output and sound level.  The wicking filter removes impurities from water reducing white dust and providing clean moisture output.  I can only recommend it!

Since we love our Honeywell Top Fill Console Humidifier so much, I have arranged for one of my lucky readers to win one — just click on the image below!

Why would you like a Honeywell Humidifier?