Soaking orchids potted in bark

[Grim Tuesday]

Some sources say that most orchids potted in bark should be immersed in water for ~10-30 minutes when watering to fully saturate the medium (with the assumption that the saturated bark will stay wet longer and the plant will continue absorbing moisture from it for a few days). I think most people who do this use a catchment pot surrounding their main pot, so no two plants share water, and the catchment pot is emptied at the end of watering but left in place to increase humidity in the root zone (and reduce airflow through the sides of the pot).

Others say running water through for 15 seconds is sufficient with the assumption that this wets the bark enough to provide water for days (this has not been my experience in my indoor low humidity conditions and relatively coarse better-gro bark) or that the initial water is all the plant wanted anyways, and any additional water is not doing much other than promoting rot.

What has been people's experiences here with these two extremes with a particular eye towards indoor low humidity conditions?