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William Alan Photo/Demand Media

Humidifiers are used for various reasons, such as treating the common cold, sinus disease and allergies. Store-bought humidifiers come in a number of formats for different purposes, but there’s no need to purchase a humidifier for $45 when you can simply make one at home. After all, the primary objective is to raise the humidity in a room using vaporized water, and this can easily be accomplished with everyday household items.

Use Boiling Water

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William Alan Photo/Demand Media

Use boiling water to raise the humidity in any room. Simply place a pot of water on the stove, let it get to boiling point and then remove it from the burning to allow the steam to form. Take the pot of hot water to the room where you want to raise the humidity and place it on a table or dresser. Be sure to use caution when transporting the hot water. Also use a pot holder under the hot pot to avoid ruining your furniture. This method is not advised for people with children or pets as they can easily get burned by touching the pot or the water. This method can increase the room humidity quickly, depending on the size of the room.

Make a Sponge Humidifier

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William Alan Photo/Demand Media

Make a sponge humidifier for smaller spaces, such as a closet or small bedroom. Buy large food-storage bags and large sponges. With a hole puncher, and place 20 holes in the plastic bags. Wet a large sponge until the sponge is saturated. Squeeze any excess water out of the sponge so it is very damp, but not dripping wet. Place the sponge in the hole-punched food storage bag and put it in the room or closet your want to raise the humidity. This method may take longer to increase the humidity but it will do it without the use of heat. Use more or less sponges to increase or decrease the amount of humidity in the room.

Use a Shower

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William Alan Photo/Demand Media

Use a shower to increase humidity in a bathroom or a room adjacent to a bathroom for very fast humidity. Close the bathroom door and turn the shower on with hot water. Do not get in the shower, but leave the shower door open to allow the hot steam to enter the bathroom. Once the bathroom is completely filled with steam, either shut the shower off (if intented to raise the bathroom humidity) or leave the shower on and open the door to let the steam out (if intended to raise the adjacent room humidity).