If there is a high level of humidity in your house, then the air can be sticky and unpleasant. In addition, excess humidity can simply be dangerous both for your property and for your health, especially if you are susceptible to allergens and pollutants. For your home to have high air quality and a level of comfort, you need to maintain ideal humidity levels.
Contents
- 1 What should be the ideal house humidity levels
- 2 How to understand that there is high humidity in your house
- 3 What causes high humidity in your home
- 4 How to reduce humidity in your home
- 5 Things you can do indoors to deal with humidity
- 6 Things you can do outdoors to deal with humidity
- 7 Causes of high humidity, despite the use of an air conditioner
- 8 Frequently Asked Questions
- 9 Conclusion
What should be the ideal house humidity levels
The ideal indoor humidity level should be 30-50%. But this is also not a constant value because the humidity levels can vary from season to season and even from room to room.
For example, the ideal humidity level for a bedroom is 50% for better sleep, as well as to reduce the number of dust mites and allergens. In summer, the humidity level in your home can be up to 60%, but in winter, this figure should be at the level of 25-30%.
You can use these recommendations if you know how to control humidity levels in your home. Therefore, it is important to know how to reduce the humidity level if you become ill.
How to understand that there is high humidity in your house
If you have a special device that measures the humidity level in the house – a hygrometer, then you will see overestimated humidity indicators in the house. If you do not have a hygrometer, then focus on external signs – sticky skin, fogged windows, warm and heavy atmosphere, the smell of mold, or just a musty smell.
There are several ways to check if the humidity level in your home is high:
- Look for condensation on surfaces such as mirrors, pipes, and in the basement.
- Inspect the ceiling – there may be wet spots or crumbling stucco.
- Floorboards may creak and paint on the floor or the skirting board may peel off.
- If one of your family members complains of shortness of breath, headaches, chronic cough, or wheezing, then he is negatively affected by high humidity levels.
- Perhaps there is a smell of mold and mildew in your house – this is very clear evidence of excessive moisture.
- Check if the walls, floors, and furniture seem damp to you.
If you find one or two signs in your house, they do not necessarily indicate a high level of humidity. However, if there are many signs, then you have to start fighting excess humidity.
What causes high humidity in your home
To understand how to deal with excessive humidity in your home, first, let’s find out the cause of the high humidity level.
Showering
If you take a hot shower for a long time, then water vapor increases the humidity level, contributing to the appearance of mold at least in the bathroom. And then the mold can spread throughout the house. Therefore, try to take a cool shower. It is good for hair and skin, as well as prevents high humidity levels.
Poor ventilation
This is a common cause of excess humidity in the house. In addition, if there is poor ventilation in your house, the air will become stale and polluted. Try to keep good ventilation in your house – this allows you to keep the air fresh and not accumulate excess moisture.
Location
Do not forget also that the humidity level depends on the region in which you live. This is a factor that you cannot control. For example, warm places on the seashore and ocean have high humidity, this also includes places where a large amount of precipitation falls.
Rising damp
This is a less common problem, but it happens that your house is on a bad foundation in a swampy area, so humidity comes from the floor, spreads along the walls, and poses a huge danger to your health.
This type of humidity can easily damage the structure of your home. In this case, you will need the help of professionals to solve the problem.
Drying your laundry indoors
Wet clothes can evaporate 2-2.5 liters of water, so this is an obvious reason for the increased indoor humidity levels. Therefore, it is better to dry the laundry either on the street or in a special dryer.
How to reduce humidity in your home
There are several options for how to control humidity level in your home. Please note that it is important to know how to reduce the humidity level in both winter and summer.
Dehumidifiers
Dehumidifiers are most often installed in basements, but some dehumidifiers are suitable for the whole house or individual rooms. For the effective operation of the dehumidifier in the room, windows, and doors must be closed, and the dehumidifier itself must be located in the middle of the room.
Proper ventilation
Make sure your ventilation is working well. If the level of importance is high, then turn on the exhaust fans in the kitchen or the bathroom, and do not turn them off until the humidity level drops to a satisfactory level. If you see fit, then you can install additional exhaust fans.
Air conditioning systems
Besides the fact that air conditioners cool your home, they also effectively remove moisture and dampness. It is only important that the power of the AC corresponds to the area of your house.
Humidity monitors
This is an important tool for controlling the humidity levels in your home. You can buy a humidity monitor at any hardware store or order it online.
Weatherstripping
The weatherstripping will help you avoid excess moisture, especially if you live in a humid climate. This is a sealing tape that is glued around windows and doors to prevent the leakage of cold and warm air outside, and the penetration of moisture inside.
Caulking
Caulking is used for facing surfaces that are constantly in contact with moisture, for example, faucets, sinks, and toilets, as well as for seams in windows and doors.
Insulation
Insulation is used for walls to prevent heat leakage from the house, as well as penetration of excess particles into the house.
Interior adjustments
This includes the installation of additional fans, regular cleaning of air vents, adjustment of the ventilation system as a whole, cleaning of air conditioning filters, and much more.
Plants
Some indoor plants increase the humidity level, while others absorb moisture from the air. When you water the plants, some of the water is absorbed by the plant itself, and the rest of the water evaporates, increasing the humidity in your home.
Some plants can absorb excess moisture from the air. Such plants include cane palm, Boston fern, peace lily, and English ivy.
Lifestyle change
You can, for example, change the settings of the AC to the “auto” position instead of “on”. Use an exhaust fan while using the bathroom, or keep the door open so that excess moisture does not concentrate in one place.
Things you can do indoors to deal with humidity
Here are some tips on how to quickly and effectively deal with excess indoor humidity:
- Carpets and rugs can retain moisture, so you can replace carpets in your home with tiles, wooden floors, etc. for a while or forever.
- Check if the pipes are insulated. This way you will avoid condensation and moisture formation.
- To avoid the penetration of moisture into the house from the outside, you can cover the windows with plastic film and use a sealant for the seams.
- Instead of using vinyl wallpaper, you can paint your walls. This way you will prevent damage to the walls from excessive humidity and prevent mold growth on the walls.
- If the house has a basement, then make sure that there are no cracks in it. If there are any, then seal them up. You can also treat the walls with an insulating material.
- Take a shower with cooler water and for a shorter time, while keeping the exhaust fans turned on.
- Make sure that your AC or climate control system fits the size of your home.
Things you can do outdoors to deal with humidity
Quick tips on what you can do outside the house to cope with the too much indoor humidity:
- Check whether all drainage channels, gutters, or easements have a slope away from your house. This way you can avoid flooding the foundation or basement of your house.
- It is recommended to regularly clean gutters and downpipes from blockages, so that water can drain promptly, and not accumulate.
- You can hire professionals, and they will treat the foundation of your house with Hydroclay, which will prevent water from entering your house.
- Check the roof regularly so that there are no cracks or loose tiles. And also keep an eye on the serviceability of the ventilation openings leading to the street.
- Install awnings or sloping ledges over windows and doors, so that during rain or snowmelt, water flows away from the foundation of the house.
Causes of high humidity, despite the use of an air conditioner
Air conditioners, of course, are not dehumidifiers, but they can also absorb excess moisture. However, if there is still high humidity in your house with the AC running, then you need to look for reasons.
Single speed
If the air conditioning system works continuously until it cools the air to the desired temperature, and then turns on the next time when the temperature rises above the thermostat threshold, it means that the AC unit does not work continuously, and cannot remove moisture from the room.
To solve this problem, you’d better install an HVAC system that involves working with alternating currents.
Oversized AC system
If the AC is too small for the room, then the powerful compressor will turn on and off too often. This means that the device does not work for a long enough amount of time to control the humidity level. That’s why you need a central air conditioning system that fits the size of your home.
Frost on the evaporator coils
Warm and humid air when using an air conditioner with variable speed leads to the appearance of frost on the coils of the evaporator. In this case, the air conditioning system cannot work properly.
Do not forget to also clean the air filter and the air conditioner unit to remove all dust and dirt that affect the refrigerant cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can high humidity make you sick?
High humidity in the house can cause allergies, headaches, cough, and many other unpleasant symptoms because humid air is a favorable environment for mold growth, which are strong allergens and pathogens of various diseases.
What happens if you have too much humidity in your house?
Besides the fact that too much moisture can cause various diseases and allergies, it can also ruin furniture, carpets, walls, and appliances in your home.
How do I fix too much humidity in my house?
The surest way to eliminate high humidity in your home is to install a dehumidifier. In addition, you can install ceiling exhaust fans, additional air conditioning, isolate windows and doors, etc.
How do you feel when humidity is high?
When the humidity in your house is too high, the air feels sticky, heavy, and warm. In addition, you may feel a constant headache, cough, runny nose, and other manifestations of an allergic reaction.
Conclusion
High humidity in the house is a cause for concern because such conditions are unfavorable for your health and your property. Excessive humidity has a bad effect on people with allergies, asthma, and other respiratory diseases. That is why you should take all measures to reduce the humidity level in your home.
My name is Ami Moore. I am a teacher by education, but I do not work in this field.
I feel an urgent need to share the best practices and my conclusions about air cleaners with my readers. After all, I understand that choosing the right air purifier takes time. Finding and selecting the right air purifier can quickly get complicated with so many brands, technologies, and styles.
I strive to educate my readers to help them make informed decisions to focus on what matters most: health and wellness.
I ran into many questions on this topic when I had to improve the air in my house and tried to study them as best I could. And it is these thoughts that I share with my readers.
I love hot showers. and only now I understand how important it is that I have good ventilation in the house
I understand that I have poor indoor air quality. The bathroom has a constant musty smell. Following the advice in the article, I will install the fan.