Humidity refers to the moisture in the air that can make you feel uncomfortable and lethargic on warm or damp days. As normal as it is to experience, there are ways to lower the amount of humidity to keep your home interiors secure.
Safe humidity levels in the home should be between 30-50% when measured by a hygrometer or moisture meter. When humidity levels reach above 50% indoors, it cultivates the conditions for unwanted growths such as mold, mildew, and dust mites.
All of these growths and biological pollutants can damage your home interiors and lead to allergies. Thus, combating humidity is also vital to protecting your family’s health.
Here are the ways you can control indoor humidity and prevent it from damaging your home’s interior:
Fix Leakages And Cracks
One of the biggest culprits of high humidity in homes is undetected leaky pipes and cracked windows and roof tiles. Moisture from outside can creep in through these cracks and change the relative humidity inside the home. Leaking pipes increase the water retention and drip on surfaces around the house.
Check for discoloration on your walls, ceilings, and frequent dampness in your kitchen, bathroom, and basement. Also, inspect your walls for peeling plaster and wallpaper or rot in wood and swelling in your laminate flooring.
In this case, reduce excess humidity by consulting experts on the Moisture Master Pros website or research professionals that specialize in leaking pipes and water damage. Doing this will lessen the amount of water retention in your home. Cracks in the roof and windows can be replaced and sealed off to keep the outside humidity from coming inside.
Use A Dehumidifier Or Air Conditioner
Dehumidifiers are a handy and quick solution to combat humidity. This appliance works by removing moisture from the air and can be used in any room. This is an ideal choice if you have a problem with carpet dampness in high humidity. The dehumidifier can help stop water vapor from absorbing into your carpet and thus ward off allergies.
The dehumidifier can also be placed in rooms where you wash the dishes or iron clothing, especially if the clothes are dried inside on a rack. These areas are prone to humidity because of the steam and wetness the clothes give off.
Similarly, an air conditioner lowers humidity by evaporating water vapor content in the air. If you want to be energy efficient or choose not to use an air conditioner, a ceiling fan is an adequate alternative. It won’t work as efficiently to reduce humidity as an electric air conditioner, but it will still keep air circulating. The constant movement of air will stop water vapor from forming in the air of your home.
Improve Ventilation and Insulation
Both ventilation and insulation work concurrently to counteract home humidity and improve air quality. This is particularly important in areas of the home that frequently come in contact with water. These areas include ventilating the bathroom, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. It can be as simple as installing vents or opening windows to the outside. Inside the house, allow fresh air circulation to keep the rooms cool and dry.
You can ventilate enclosed areas by moving house plants to spacious areas and installing a ventilation fan above your stove when cooking. The fan sucks up water droplets in the air created by steam from cooking and prevents its condensation. In doing this, you can keep your kitchen curtains and wooden cabinets fresh and damage-free.
During winter can be a time for excessive humidity if you live in a region with cold, damp climates. For that reason, in winter your focus should be on insulation. This can be done by heating cold surfaces such as windows with window film when condensation starts to form. You can also keep bedroom doors inside the house and push furniture closer open to raise heat circulation.
Conclusion
You can counteract the humidity in your home to the recommended relative humidity percentage with a few actions. Firstly, you can inspect your home for any signs of cracks and leakages because this is a way that humidity may be sneaking into your home. Contact a professional to help you if the task is too daunting.
Next, you can invest in a dehumidifier or air conditioner to evaporate water vapor in the air and deter it from forming into humidity. Finally, by tackling circulation with ventilation fans, getting fresh air inside, you can keep moisture out, and your home stays dry.
