As I said in the other thread, you answered yourself.
Save the planet, turn those humidifiers off. You'll know which ones really need it if they suffer.
I've never misted, never used trays. I hose them down outside for dust. I don't neglect them, but I sure don't fuss over them.
I would listen to the plant signs. They tell us something is wrong. The key is to fix or change one thing at a time so you know what works and what doesn't.
I think most tropicals you get haven't been raised in the tropics so they have learned to adapt.
Even at my nursery they have a greenhouse for houseplants but it is nothing like the tropics. I got my ZZ there and you've seen it in another thread.
Keep in mind if you shut them off chances are your plants will need or want a bit more water. So subtle changes.
Don't turn them off, raise the heat to 80, full sun etc all at the same time. You get the idea.

Hmmm. Well, some plants really do need a lot of humidity (Fittonia, for example), but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In fact, you've probably just jinxed yourself.

My best guess would be that whatever difference in humidity there is between the two locations, it's being balanced by the differences in light or temperature or something. If the plants in your plant room at home are very crowded together, they might be blocking light from one another and experiencing a darker situation than it looks like to you, in which case getting to the brighter light at work is giving them what they really wanted all along. If you're going really overboard on the humidity at home, maybe the plants aren't drying out as fast as they'd want, and so you're overwatering without meaning to. Maybe your job is more humid than you think. I don't know.

In the meantime: gift horses. Mouths.

As said, some houseplants natural habitat is the rain forests; others are happy in desert-like conditions...and ne'er the twain shall meet.
Plants might adapt when conditions are not that far from what they would get naturally but don't count on that if they're worlds apart.

As far as misting, that is called for specific reasons and times and to ignore what that moisturizing can do for a plant is gambling the reason not do it is sufficient to carry the plant along.

If you like, spraying a mist on a plant can sometimes do something for the person holding the sprayer than it actually does for the plant itself.
If one thinks the plant is being cleaned, or is being deprived of spider mites, or its Saturday night, one might think plants deserve a bath like anyone else.

Then too the answer may have nothing to do with humidity at all. You pointed out severl times that at work they get lots of sun. Grow lights are fine when necessary but I've noticed that many plants do much better outside with plenty of fresh/moving air and natural sunlight. So perhaps it is a response to the light they are receiving.

My living room is filled with plants and I have never provided any extra humidity. I find it's just not necessary and they all do just fine, although, there are certain kinds of plants that will do better in a terrarium, or greenhouse.
I don't have anything that needs that kind of atmosphere.
You might think something like a boston fern would need HIGH humidity, but they don't. I have two, and never needed to provide anything higher in the way of moisture then watering the soil.
One of the ferns is an old girl, late 80s, early 90s, no misting or anything else and both are growing happy.An indoor oe outdoor shower now and then is good for all plants once in a while to keep the leaves clean like it's already been stated, and that's it.
As long as they aren't right near a heat source in the winter, and they are watered correctly, they are like any other plant that doesn't crave, or need high humidity.

Billy Rae

I've been wondering about this as well. My house drops to 26-30% humidity during the winter and I have a Calathea and a Fittonia which are both supposed to require high humidity. They each grew a few new leaves this winter. There are a few brown edges, but that could very well be due to other cultural issues. They wouldn't be growing if they were limited by moisture loss. High humidity helps plants by reducing transpirational loss. But if transpirational loss is managed by reducing air movement and excessive heat (indoors) and growing a healthy root system with adequate soil moisture, then why shouldn't a plant thrive? Sure some plants may be incapable of this, but for most species you can find someone who's grown it successfully in a low humidity environment. So maybe most plants are quite adaptable in this respect and people are too quick to blame humidity levels when they should be looking at other issues. Personally, I think soil conditions are the primary cause of most problems. Whenever I've repotted a plant that was doing poorly, it always had a poor root system.

Your office environment is probably cooler overall than your home environment. Relative humidity tends to be be lower at higher temperatures because the air is capable of holding more water, so your office is probably more humid than you think. Another thing to consider is that your office temps are probably lower at night (to conserve energy and save money). Most plants benefit from a diurnal temperature change and some really appreciate it (orchids for example). Even something as simple as better ventilation in your office may help to avert problems with insects.

In my estimation, Jefe's post (a couple or so upthread) is right on target & worth reading a second time.

Poor soils that remain saturated for extended periods cause a cyclic death and regeneration of roots that start with the finest roots first. The longer the cultural conditions remain unfavorable, the larger (incrementally) the roots are that succumb to saturated, anaerobic conditions. Often, so many roots die that the plant is virtually a large cutting. The lack of roots and compromised root function/metabolism makes it impossible for the plant to absorb enough water to replace transpirational loss, and leaf margin/leaf tip necrosis is often a primary symptom with low humidity contributing to symptoms as a secondary cause.

In the case where high levels of salt in the soil are causal, the salt makes it difficult for the plant to absorb water. There MUST be a higher concentration of solutes in the water inside of cells than there is in the soil solution or water will not pass through cell walls (osmosis) into cells; and, again the plant would be unable to move water sufficient to replace transpirational losses. Leaf margin and tip necrosis would again be one of the primary symptoms.

Prevent the saturated soil AND salt build-up by using a structurally durable and well-aerated soil that allows you to water often and profusely.

Al