On The Lever: Understanding humidity and how humidifiers can help

I heard an ad on the radio for a whole house humidifier. Is this a good idea?

I've heard that ad too but you really need to know a lot more about what they do and the pluses and minuses before you make up your mind to buy one or not. The key is understanding what relative humidity is and how it affects you and your house. You hear or watch the weather reports and they always report a percentage number they call relative humidity.

What that number refers to is the amount of moisture in the air at a given temperature. 100 percent and it's foggy and raining. We seem to pay more attention to the humidity...