[irishspy]

OK a question from an Easterner who is moving to Las Vegas. Do folks use Humidifiers in their homes and what seasons or when? plus what size and etc. Is this common or just a waste of time and money. Please keep in mind back east we do not have the dry air like you folks have. I will be living I a single level townhouse 1700 sq ft.

[macgeek]

I don't have a humidifier in my house, yes the air is dry, and during winter you get more static electric shocks, but you get used to it.

Jonathan

[Everdeen]

I only use my humidifier when I practice hot yoga at home.

I have a hygrometer and have noticed that the humidity stays right around 16% inside. It is dryer in the winter. I read somewhere, though, that people are most comfortable with 25% in their homes. I know for people with asthma, the less humid the better.

See how comfortable you are. If you feel you need one, you can always get one later.

[SportyandMisty]

I started with a humidifier -- one I purchased at Costco online. It works well. After a while, I got used to the dryness & don't use the humidifier anymore.

I suggest you follow the same approach. Don't get an expensive humidifier. Also, do not use tap water in the humidifier. Why? Las Vegas area tap water has a lot of dissolved minerals (it is "hard" water). Instead, go to a Wal-Mart or equivalent & bring back 5 gallon refillable bottles of water that has gone through a reverse osmosis (RO) system that removes most of those dissolved minerals. I think you'll spend about 25 to 30 cents a gallon.

[tiger08]

Although not very common here, I installed a whole house humidifier on our heating and a/c unit. Back east, it seems like every home has one but not too many out here.
Fooling with portable units gets old after a while, especially when you have to fill em once or twice a day.
In the summer time, you cant do much to add humidity because your air conditioning unit is designed to remove humidity. You could also try using an evaporative cooler in the summer when the weather is more on the dry side.

[ScoopLV]

Evaporative coolers here, as well.

[AOldfield]

Coming from the East myself and growing up using a humidifier in the winter there, I thought I'd need one when I moved out here. I ended up getting quite a few nose bleeds the first few weeks (but my capillaries are thin anyway) but then grew used to the single digit humidity and love it. I have fewer general aches and pains and just adjust to putting more lotion on every day and drinking a lot of water--it's a good practice for the desert anyway!

If you feel you need one to sleep or something, maybe getting a portable for one room would be fine, but I agree it's a pain having to refill (which you would more often out here than back East). Evap. Cooler ("swamp cooler", I think?) might be more economical in the long run. You never know how your body might adjust, though, so I'd give it a few weeks when you get out here (sorry if I missed that you're here already!) and see how you feel. I know it feels good to me to be dried out! The electric shocks are a pain, though--my poor cats think I'm torturing them when I try to pet them!

[observer53]

Phoenix has the same issue as Vegas in terms of the dry air. Lived there over 50 years without a humidifier. See how you feel after a couple of weeks, if you have issues, get a cheap one, but, as stated upthread, you may not need it for long.

[macgeek]

You will get

WEEK ONE: "vegas nose" - Dry nose, sniffling, always feels clogged, stuffy - but no sinus pain
WEEK TWO: "Vegas lips" - Dry lips, cracking - Keep chap stick with you constantly
WEEK THREE: "Vegas throat" - Dry throat, feels almost like a cold, drink plenty of liquids, and keep candies

"Vegas eyes" - This happens around the three month mark, your eyes are dry - eye drops best

Your skin may also dry up, and feel itchy, any lotion works, you dont need expensive crap

After about 6 months your body adjusts and you return to normality YMMV

Oh, PS. SUNBLOCK... SPF 300+

Jonathan

[Gatsby1925]

I have one, but I only use it when I am sick. As a result, a find that it gets the most use in the winter and late fall.