7 Ways To Add Moisture To The Air Without A Humidifier

Humidifier alternatives: hanging clothes to dry indoors, setting out water, taking a bath.

The winter months come with dryness that can affect your skin, hair, respiratory system, and even your furniture, and humidifier alternatives can be a useful solution for folks who don’t own a humidifier. Static electricity and other problems caused by dry air can be a huge nuisance, and I’ll be sharing some simple solutions to wintertime dryness in this post.

But before we begin, it’s important to understand why dry air can be so problematic. Here’s a quick overview of the problems that dry air can cause, as well as the benefits of having adequate moisture in the air throughout your home.

A woman trying to soothe the dry skin on her hands.

Drawbacks Of Dry Air & Benefits Of Humidity

Central heating is certainly convenient, but it isn’t without problems! The heated air coming out of your vents is bone-dry, and the more you rely on it, the drier the air in your home becomes.

Constant exposure to extra-dry air can do a number on your skin, leading to itchiness, flakiness, and even painful cracking. (Ouch!) It also contributes to staticky hair, both in humans and animals, and the only real way to eliminate these issues is by finding ways to add moisture back to the air.

In addition to keeping your skin moisturized and reducing static cling, there are other benefits to increasing the humidity level in your home, including:

Improvement of skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis
Fewer nosebleeds
Healthier hair
Less snoring
Relief from sinus conditions
Happier, healthier houseplants
Longer-lasting wood floors and furniture

Using a humidifier is one of the easiest ways to moisturize air in your home, and many models are affordable and easy to operate. It’s best to use distilled water in any humidifier to keep it clean and prevent bacterial growth (especially if anyone in your home is coping with allergies!)

If you don’t own or want to buy a humidifier or vaporizer, there are many alternatives you can use to humidify a room. (By the way, vaporizers and humidifiers both put moisture in the air, but vaporizers boil water to make steam, while most humidifiers put out a cool mist.) Check out 7 simple ways to humidify a room without a humidifier below!

7 Humidifier Alternatives & Homemade Humidifiers That Fight Dry Air

1. Hanging Clothes To Dry

Hang your clothes up to dry on a drying rack, over the back of a chair, or anywhere you have extra space. Your damp clothes will release moisture into the air as they dry, and you’ll save energy from not having to run the dryer. This is such a simple way to add humidity! (And as a bonus, it will make your indoor air smell like clean laundry too!)

2. Taking A Bath

The next time you finish a relaxing soak in the tub, don’t drain the water in the tub right away. Instead, leave the bathroom door open and allow the water to cool — the water vapor coming off the tub will help improve the moisture content of the dry air in your home. (Just make sure to put a safety gate in the bathroom doorway to protect small children and pets!)

3. Cooking On Your Stovetop

While using your oven can dry out the air even more, cooking on your stovetop can moisturize the air while warming up your house (or at least the kitchen.) Simmer a big pot of soup, or a kettle or pot of water, on your stovetop for a few hours to take advantage of this effect, or use some stovetop potpourri! Just be sure to keep an eye on it — the water will evaporate into the air over time, so don’t leave it unattended or let it dry out!

4. Setting Out Bowls Of Water

Even a bowl or vase full of water can be an effective alternative to a humidifier. Leave them out on a sunny windowsill, and evaporation will help add moisture to the air. If you have a radiator, setting an oven-safe bowl full of water on top of it can also be effective.

5. Caring For Houseplants

Ever heard of the process of transpiration? It’s the way moisture evaporates from the leaves and stems of plants, a process that can help increase the humidity in your home. It’s one of the many benefits of houseplants, so add a few more plants to your living areas for more moisturized air.

stove steamer shaped like a dragon sitting on top of a wood burning stove

6. Using A Stove Steamer

If you have a wood-burning stove, all you need is a cast iron steamer pot as an alternative to a humidifier! Look for them online, or check out your local farm supply store. All you have to do is fill the cast iron steamer with water and place it on the top of your stove. The boiling water will produce steam that will moisturize the air!

Dishwasher with the door open to add moisture to the air without a humidifier.

7. Leaving Your Dishwasher Door Open

During the dry months of winter, you might want to skip or shorten the drying cycle on your dishwasher and open the door instead. You’ll be amazed at how much steam and water vapor is produced by your dishwasher, and when you open the door all that beneficial humidity will billow out into the room. (The only drawback is that you might end up with a few water spots on your dishes, but you can alleviate that by adding a small dish of vinegar to the top rack before running the machine.)