How Dry Air Can Wreak Havoc on Your Home This Winter


The Midwest is known for humid summers and dry winters. With winter just around the bend, that dry air is headed back into our lives. Dry air isn’t all bad, but when it’s bone dry for an extended period of time, your body and home will experience some negative side effects. Don’t let dry air cause problems this winter. Getzschman Heating & Cooling explains three reasons why installing a humidifier in your Omaha home will pay off.

Alleviate Health Problems Agitated by Dry Air

Dry air in the winter can aggravate a host of health problems. From allergies to asthma to sinus problems, heating your home in the winter months without resupplying moisture to the air can spell disaster. Dry air is taxing on your nasal passageways which can make them more susceptible to bleeding and infection. Reintroducing moisture in the air while your heater runs can help keep these issues to a minimum. Make sure your bedroom is humidified, as you spend more than a quarter of your day there.

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Prevent Damage to Wood in Your Home

A lack of humidity can also cause problems in the woodwork in your home. Just as too much humidity can cause wood in your home to swell and warp, too little humidity can cause the opposite problem. Your wood can shrink and crack. If you have hardwood floors especially, keeping your home at a steady humidity level is very important to keep it looking its best, and to ensure that it has a long lifespan.

Increase Comfort & Energy Efficiency

Dry is is just plain uncomfortable, too. It can cause bloody noses, itchy eyes and nostrils, cracked, itchy skin, static shock and staticky hair. Besides keeping hydrated in the winter months by drinking water, doctors usually recommend keeping humidity levels in your home at a normal level, which is somewhere between 35% and 50%.

A lack of humidity can also affect your heating bills in the winter. Dry air leaves your skin void of moisture, making you feel colder at normal temperatures. This can lead you to misjudge the temperature in your home and turn up the heat, which causes higher energy bills. And in homes, window and door framing is made of wood.  When low humidity strikes, those frames can shrink (just like other woodwork in your home – see above -) resulting in gaps that let in cold air from the outside, making your home less energy efficient.

Install a whole house humidifier with Getzschman Heating & Cooling today to help avoid these issues this winter. Give us a call today at 402-554-1110.