10 ways to raise the humidity in your house

There are many ways you can raise the humidity levels in your house to help your plants live in a climate they enjoy. The biggest issues with humidity levels are usually found in the winter when the central heating is running overtime. This is when you could see some dehydration damage on your plants, so this guide should give you some ideas on how to raise the humidity levels when you need it.

Here is a quick overview of the 10 things you could do to raise the humidity levels:

1. Mist your plants as often as you can
2. Put bowls with water next to your plants
3. Make a stone tray to put your plant onto
4. Get a humidifier
5. Keep the door open while you're taking a shower
6. Let clothes dry next to your plants
7. Have a fishbowl close to your plants
8. Get a desk waterfall
9. Put plastic bags over your plants
10. Put your plants close together

Now I'll go into each one specifically and explain what it means and how it works. You can use these things on their own, but you can also combine them to raise the humidity levels to the ideal levels. This will take a bit of trial and error on your side.

Mist your plants as often as you can

Back to top Misting your plants is one of the easiest and most interactive ways you can raise the humidity around your plants. I like to do this because I get to inspect my plants' needs while I'm spraying them. With some other solutions on this list, you're a passive bystander, but with spraying your plants you're actively helping them. Misting your plants exposes the leaves and soil to water particles which will evaporate, raising the humidity.

Put bowls with water next to your plants

Back to top The goal of putting bowls, cups, or other containers with water around your plants is to expose the air to water. This will slowly evaporate the water, thus raising the humidity levels in the air. A lot of the solutions on this list are variations on this concept, by simply exposing the surrounding air to water. I've combined this with water propagation. I've placed several jars with water around my plants and put spider plant sprouts in them to grow out their roots.

A stone tray, combined with a closed off area to trap moisture.

Make a stone tray to put your plant onto

Back to top A stone tray is a good solution, but you're going to need space for this one. A stone tray is essentially a tray like a serving tray, but it could also be a plate you no longer use, filled with rocks and poured water onto. This will keep the water between the rocks and slowly evaporate it. For the best effect, you can put your pot right on top of this tray for it to benefit from this. Be careful not to put too much water in the tray if you're planning on putting your plant on top of it. You don't want to accidentally cause root rot.

Get a humidifier

Back to top A humidifier can be used for a lot of purposes, like keeping your house at a certain humidity level in the winter. It can also be used to create a humid environment for your plants. Place the humidifier next to your plants and just let it run. The close proximity to the humidifier to the plants will help it to benefit from this humidity. If you have a good humidifier, you might even be able to place this anywhere in the room and the plants will benefit from it.

Keep the door open while you're taking a shower

Back to top Keeping the door open while you're taking a shower is a bit similar to the humidifier option, as you're using water vapor to spread humidity throughout the rooms around the bathroom. If you don't want to keep the door open while you shower, you can also just trap all the steam in the bathroom and when you're done, open the door and let all the steam get out. This way you're both helping your bathroom by letting everything dry properly and your plant for providing it with much-needed humidity.

Let clothes dry next to your plants

Back to top After you've washed your clothes, you could consider drying your clothes in the same rooms as you keep your plants. If you've ever done this during the cold winter months, you'll know that after a little while, condensation will appear on the windows. This just shows that drying your clothes inside raises the humidity levels in your house. The closer you dry your clothes to the plants, the more they can benefit from this. Just make sure the clothes aren't touching the plants, because not all plants like to be touched.

Have a fishbowl close to your plants

Back to top Having a fishbowl close to your plants might sound a little silly, but it's very similar to putting cups and bowls of water around your plants. The exposure of water to the air will gradually raise the humidity levels in the room. As an added benefit, you'll have a nicely decorated fishbowl which could contain some great looking water plants. You can always add fish to the fishbowl or you can just leave it and go with the decorated fishbowl. Not everyone likes to keep pets, so this is all up to you.

Get a desk waterfall

Back to top Getting a desk waterfall has two benefits, it could be therapeutic and it raises the humidity levels. Since the water in your desk waterfall is constantly moving, the humidity is raised more rapidly. This could be a great solution if you need to be able to quickly raise the humidity levels, but you will need the space to place your desk waterfall. I didn't know this existed until I saw it and they actually don't look horrible. I've considered it, but I don't really have the space to be able to place this on my desk our around my plants.

Put plastic bags over your plants

Back to top Putting a plastic bag over your plants sounds strange because you won't really be able to see your plant. This is true, and it's also not meant to be a permanent solution. This technique is used for propagation and especially for fiddle figs. It traps all moisture coming from the plant and using it to create tropical environments inside the plastic bags. This could be a good way to give your plant some crisis humidity, but don't expect to do this permanently. Your plant won't like it and neither will you, because you won't be able to see your beautiful plants.

Put your plants close together

Back to top Plants, like humans, sweat. This means that water evaporates from its leaves and soil. This means that there is an opportunity to use this evaporation to raise the humidity in close proximity of this plant by using itself and other plants. If multiple plants are close to each other, each having water evaporated from its leaves and soil, they can create their own ideal environment. Of course, in most cases this won't be enough, so you can supplement the humidity with any of the methods mentioned below. Then you can ensure you've got plenty of humidity in the air to make the plants happy.

I hope you've found some inspiration on how to raise the humidity in your house. As you can see it's not as difficult as it might seem. Now go out there are raise the humidity for the plants that want it and make them happy.

Thank you for reading this post! I hope it helps you to keep your plants healthy and beautiful! If you're looking for more guides on specific plants, you can always request a plant guide to get a guide for the plant you have trouble with.

Tags: humidity