If you have a house, you may have a humidifier attached to your central heating system. This is what it looks like –> .
If you live in the Toronto area or have winters like we do in Canada, due to the dry-cold winters, I highly recommend that you get a humidifier attached to your system. This will keep your house at a good humidity level between 30-50% and keep your eyes, skin, ability to breath much better than a house without a humidifier. It’s also good to monitor the levels of humidity around the house with a Hygrometer (humidity monitor)… I would suggest 1 on each floor or sleeping areas to keep ideal humidify levels.
Maintenance: You should always check your furnace room to make sure there are no issues. It is very simple, take a walk around and look for anything unusual such as leaks, air blowing out of ducts that do not seem normal. If you do not know, call your certified service technician or a quality handyman and they can advise from there.
How often should you change it? Depending on your usage, humidify levels, climate where you are living, it will defer. It’s always good to check it out and make sure it is not clogged or full of calcium buildup. (from hard water).
I recently had a run-in with a leak in the basement. The water was actually coming from the humidifier. The filter was completely clogged and the calcium buildup seeped into the escape water line and was causing a backup… so the water had nowhere to go but out and all over the floor. The filter will cost between $10-$30 and will save you a lot of headaches.