phalaenopsis root/bloom care

[sunshine forever]

hi all, am a newbie to this . after collecting several orchid plants from TJ's and acquiring others as gifts; i've decided make the effort to care for these beautiful plants in lieu of throwing them out when blooms drop. however, i am not having success with sustaining the blooms much more than a month and challenged with perfecting the watering and fertilizing. although the basics are posted online everywhere; it doesn't address my specific questions, such as i know i should water once a week or so letting the medium dry out in between watering - however, i've noticed that the wood bark gets dry quickly within a day/two but the little bulby part directly under the leaves which appears like the grower packed moss there (about 0.5" x 1.0") is still moist. i have noticed that whenever i first acquire a plant from store the plant medium is practically soggy so this creates confusion for me. also, over the course of a couple of weeks the ariel roots don't look as green and plump as they do at first - even with me watering and spritzing with miracle grow orchid food spray 1x/wk. i live in an arid part of the country so humidity is low. wondering if i should mist the ariel roots everyday. perhaps stuck in a cycle of not getting enough water then getting to much and causing sudden bloom drop on multiple plants even though consistently watering weekly (and yes, bark medium is dry) help & any pearls of wisdom is greatly appreciated. want to have these plants thrive and have blooms last for months. thank you