INDIANAPOLIS — Homes typically dry out every winter, making skin and nasal passages dry, as well.
On 13Sunrise, Pat Sullivan from Sullivan Hardware and Garden explained how you can treat dry indoor air to make your home more comfortable in the winter.
"You want the humidity in your home to be around 35-to-45 percent," Sullivan said. Many furnaces have a gauge to measure humidity, or your thermostat may also track humidity.
One easy treatment for dry indoor air is a small bowl or pan of water placed near your registers so hot air flowing over the water will distribute it through the house.
Boiling water on the stove will do the same thing, but uses energy.
Taking wet clothes from your washing machine after they're rinsed, then hanging them over a register to dry can also add moisture to room air, and actually saves the energy you would expend if you tossed them in the dryer.
Whole-house humidifiers that attach to your furnace also circulate moist air, but they do require some periodic maintenance, including a check of their filter to make sure they are working efficiently.
Most all humidifiers require periodic cleaning, as well, to prevent mold buildup and to run as efficiently as possible.
Watch Sullivan's full 13Sunrise segment in the video player.