Why do you get sick more often in the winter than you do the rest of the year?
     Is it because there are more germs?
     No!  There are fewer germs in the winter than during any other season!
     There are three ways to kill germs:
          * Chemically
          * Heat
          * Cold
     When the temperature outside is below freezing, all germs have been killed by the cold.  Everything outdoors is sterile!

How does the body's immune system work?
     When you breathe in, your first line of defense are the little hairs in your nose; the cilia.
     Your sinus cavities are protected by the mucous membrane, which constantly secretes mucus.
     If you look in the back of your throat, behind your uvula, you'll find a little opening.  That's where the mucus from your sinus cavities drains into your stomach, carrying germs with it, where they are killed chemically by the acid in your stomach.  That's when things go well.

     When you enter an environment with a low relative humidity, the moisture is sucked from your body, and you feel it in the wettest parts of your body first- your sinuses, your throat, and your eyes and lastly, your skin, which is also constantly secreting moisture in the form of perspiration.
     Your mucous membranes are paper thin and very fragile.  Mucus is what keeps them pliable.  When they dry out, they crack.  When they crack, they open a direct channel into the blood stream.
     This means that, in the winter, when you blow your nose and see blood in the handkerchief, you've got to get some moisture to your mucous membranes immediately, because it means that if you inhale a cold germ or flu virus, it's got a direct channel into your bloodstream.  I personally do that by carrying a bottle of commercially produced sterile saline solution, which I find in drug stores in the same area as the medicated nose sprays.

     Your throat is also lined with mucous membrane.  Have you ever said, "I've got that feeling in the back of my throat that I get when I've got a cold coming on"?  That's a dry spot in your throat, which means you've got a crack in your throat's mucous membrane, and yes, you're in serious danger of being infected with a cold germ, flu virus or worse.  The immediate solution is start gargling with salt water a few times per hour for the rest of the day and to spray sterile saline solution into your nose.
     Of course, the way to prevent all of this from happening is to keep the humidity at the proper level at all times.  That's best done with a central humidifier.

How does the body regulate it's temperature?
     Your body is a furnace that is constantly generating heat.  It regulates the temperature by constantly secreting moisture in the form of perspiration, which evaporates.
     When any substance goes from the liquid state to the gaseous state, it absorbs heat.  This means, that as the perspiration evaporates, it absorbs heat from you skin.  The drier the air, the more rapid that rebate  of evaporation and the quicker your body cools.
     When  it's cold outside and you've got the forced-air heat running and feel a little chilly, you turn the heat up, which dries the indoor air all the more, causing your body to kick into a higher "cooling mode."
     The higher you turn up the heat, the drier the air becomes, the more your body evaporates moisture and the cooler you feel.

What's the lowest cost way to lower your heating bills?
      The right thing to do when you're feeling chilly is to check the indoor humidity level first.  Raise the humidity level and you'll feel more comfortable without increasing the heat.
     At 70 degrees, for every 10% you increase the indoor relative humidity, you increase the "apparent temperature" approximately 1 degrees/F.
     For every 1 degree/F that you reduce your thermostat setting, you save approximately 5% on your energy consumption.
     This means that consumers can save 20-30% or more on their heating costs on the coldest days and nights of the winter...and be more comfortable, healthier and extend the useful life of their home and furnishings!
     What else can you install for less than $1,000 that will save that kind of money on heating costs?

Why do floors creak, wooden furniture falls apart and wallpaper and curtains wear out, when no one even touches them?
     Answer: they dry out.
     The low-cost solution: proper humidification.