Estimated reading time: 2-3 minutes
Every January in Colorado Springs, I take a humidity reading before I start most HVAC calls. Without active humidification, homes are sitting at 18 to 20 percent relative humidity by mid-winter. I've walked into homes where a wet sponge has been on the radiator for months. The meter reads the same.
I'm Dale Chason, the HVAC Manager at Awesome Home Services. Martha Stewart's team quoted me on this topic recently. My answer was the same as what I tell homeowners standing in their living room: the sponge isn't doing what they think it's doing, and in some cases, it's making things worse.
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What Does the Meter Show in Homes Running This Trick?
Homeowners have walked me over to the radiator to show me that the sponge is working. They're not wrong that the air nearest the surface reads higher while the sponge is still wet. The reading I take on the other side of the room is the same as a home that's tried nothing: 18, maybe 20 percent in January.
I've installed whole-home humidifiers in homes that were running the sponge trick. Before I touch anything, I take a baseline reading: 18, maybe 19 percent. I remove the sponge and take another. Same number. After the humidifier runs, the reading changes. The sponge wasn't contributing anything.
What I've Found on Radiators Where This Has Been Tried
The wet phase isn't what I worry about on an inspection. The dry phase is.
I've traced more than one persistent burning smell in a Colorado Springs home back to a scorched sponge the homeowner had stopped thinking about. Steam radiators run above 200 degrees, and a dry sponge sitting on that surface scorches before it ignites.
On radiators I've inspected after years of the sponge routine, the finish has mineral deposits burned into it from every wet-dry cycle, and on older units, there's corrosion underneath. The calcium and magnesium in Colorado Springs tap water deposits on the metal surface every time the water evaporates.
Mold is the other thing. A warm, wet sponge sitting in place for a few days is mold territory. Whatever humidity benefit comes in the first hour arrives alongside an air quality trade-off that builds from there.
What to Do Instead of a Sponge
After a whole-home humidifier ties into the air handler and we turn it on, I take a reading in the same rooms I measured before the installation. Homes that were sitting at 18 percent in January start holding at 38 to 42 percent across the house. That's the difference you feel: the dry skin stops, the static goes away, and the cracking that shows up in hardwood floors and trim joints over a Colorado Springs winter doesn't progress.
When the system installation isn't the right fit, I'd reach for a portable evaporative model over an ultrasonic one. Evaporative units read the room and stop adding moisture when they hit the target range. Ultrasonic models push out a finer mist and will over-humidify a space if nobody's watching the output, which creates its own set of problems.
If your home is running dry this winter and you want to know how far off you are, we can take a humidity reading on the next HVAC call. You'll have an actual number against the 40 percent target, and you'll know what it would take to get there.
Awesome Home Services handles whole-home humidifier installation, HVAC service, and heating system maintenance across Colorado Springs and surrounding communities.
Written by: Dale Chason, HVAC Manager
Dale serves as the HVAC Manager at Awesome Home Services, bringing decades of hands-on industry experience and a leadership style rooted in consistency, care, and accountability. Dale has been in the HVAC industry since 1995, beginning his career right after graduating high school. He worked his way up from install helper to lead installer, service technician, sales, and ultimately into management. That full-circle journey gives him a deep understanding of every role within the HVAC department and allows him to lead with empathy, practical knowledge, and respect for the work being done in the field.
