Most plants do best with humidity in the range of 60% to 80%, but the average home registers only about 30% to 40%. A heated home with lots of carpets and draperies may have as little as 5% ambient humidity.... far too low for orchids to thrive (or people, for that matter -- which is why humidifiers are so commonly employed for people with respiratory ailments).
If you have adequate humidity to raise other houseplants, you have enough to raise orchids. But if humidity is a problem for your other plants, then it will definitely be a concern for your orchids. No expensive equipment is necessary to provide more humidity for your orchids. Commercially available purpose-built humidity trays are very nice, but really any tray large enough to hold your plants -- and deep enough to hold some water -- will suffice.
To create a humidity tray, fill the tray with gravel or place a rack across the tray. Next, put water in the tray. The evaporating water will help the plants thrive in a dry environment. Be sure the plants are not actually sitting in the water. Never place orchids in standing water (having said that, there are many people who use a system called "semi-hydro"... but that is beyond this page's scope).
source:orchids.org
photo courtesy of aka fortex
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