If you feel that the humidity in your home is high or you know for certain as you have used hygrometers to check, there are some effective measures you can take to reduce it.
High humidity is generally considered to be above 60%. In most homes the aim is to have humidity at a healthy level or 40-50%.
Humidity that is too high is damaging to our health and the fabric of our homes so it is very important to address it.
Some Of The Indicators Of High Humidity Are:-
- Visible mould around windows, in corners and behind furniture
- Visible mildew which may be white , green or black
- Peeling wallpaper or peeling bubbling paint
- Walls that feel damp or wet to the touch or where you can see damp areas with colour discolouration on walls.
- Black mould
- Windows that are dripping with water or have condensation, we frequently had this occur in our home before we took measures
- A muggy feel to the air. We did sometimes experince this.
- A damp smell in your home
- Wooden furniture or flooring that is warping or in the case of floors a squeaky floorboard or two.
- Signs of pest activity or seeing the pests themselves as creatures like silverfish love humid environments
- Clothes that feel damp when you take them out the wardrobe or draws
- Anyone in the house who starts developing typical allergy symptoms- coughing, sneezing, skin rash - as it may be a dust mite allergy. Dust mites thrive in humid conditions and love to live in mattresses, carpets, rugs, sofas and curtains and even clothes. My husband started to develop these allergic symptoms.
- You have a hygrometer to measure humidity and it is consistently showing above 60% humidity. Once we bought a hygrometer it showed that we were living in humidity generally between 55% to 75% depending on the room, so it was too high.
- I reviewed hygrometers in my previous article Reviewing The Benefits Of A Home Hygrometer To Monitor Humidity
Risk Factors For High Humidity
- You dry wet washing in your home on an airer or over a radiator. This was a big issue for us as from November to March there are few days when i can get washing out on the line in the garden. I don't like running a tumble dryer very often as it is incredibly expensive, so indoor drying was the only option. I never dried over a radiator as I knew that heavily contributed to the central heating needing to work harder, but we did use an airer frequently.
- You don't put the heating on much or at all. This was another issue for us, since the cost of energy has become significantly more expensive we do try to put the heating on for only short periods at key times for example before going for baths or showers and first thing in the morning when the house is often cold down to 12-14 degrees in winter.
- You close off some rooms in your home and do not heat them. We don't do this as I think it just makes matters worse, but we do know many people who do.
- You rarely open windows or have extractor fans on. We don't have extractor fans but every morning that it is not raining or snowing we open the windows in all rooms for a minimum of 10 minutes, longer if possible without allowing the house to get too cold.
- You have a naturally humid home like ours with solid brick walls and double glazing
- You live in a humid climate either at particular seasons or year round
Measures You Can Take To Reduce Humidity.
1. When cooking cover pots and pans with lids, use an extractor fan or open a window for a during and after cooking. We do cover pans with lids and always have a window open unless it is blowing a gale or heavy driving rain.
2. Showers. When showering keep the bathroom door closed and the extractor fan on or open a window during and for a while afterwards, at least 10 minutes, to allow steam to escape outside. We always do this to prevent steam from escaping into the rest of the house.
3.Open windows. On days it is not raining open the windows for a while, even 10 minutes helps to circulate fresh air. I was raised to do this, even in freezing cold days i recall my parents going around opening all the windows to let stale air out and fresh air in and I have continued that practice.
4.Trickle vents. If possible it is useful to install trickle vents on air bricks to improve the flow of air
5.Seal any leaks or gaps around windows and doors. This was more of an issue for us before we installed double glazed doors which have solved that problem. If you suspect any roof issues get a reputable company to check your roof for any leaks and if so have them fixed. Keep guttering clean and free from debris and check downpipes are working well.
6. Buy passive moisture-absorbing materials like silica gel or baking soda. I have found that these do not make a huge difference in bigger rooms but can be more effective in smaller spaces, cupboards and wardrobes. We have them in smaller spaces and understairs cupboards where we cant use a dehumidifyer.
16 Pack Moisture Absorbers, 10.5 OZ Humidity Absorber BucketCheck Price
7. Houseplants including the beautiful peace lily and easy to care for spider plant. I have read the claims that these plants can help to naturally absorb water thus helping with high humidity. However it is important not to overwater houseplants as otherwise the standing excess water will only contribute to raise humidity. We have both these plants in our home. I cannot tell how much direct influence they have on our humidity levels but they are lovely plants and we are happy to have them. I would not however, rely on houseplants to lower humidity. Do be aware that many houseplants contribute to humidity levels though. I still love them in our home.
8. When washing clothes run them through an additional spin cycle appropriate to the clothing, to squeeze out a little more water before drying in an airer inside. This can make a surprising difference to how damp they come out of the machine. If you can get them outside on the line for a while, or can afford to run the dryer for 10-20 minutes that too will help.
9. Buy an air conditioner.
If humidity is an issue in warmer months an air conditioner may help. We don't have an air conditioner so I can't comment how effective it is, but if you have one it would be worth testing running it with a hygrometer in the same room to see how it affects humidity levels.
10. Buy a Dehumidifier
To be fair if you have consistent high humidity in your home the most effective method is to buy a dehumidifier or even two depending on the size and layout of your home. A dehumidifier actively takes moisture out of the room thus combatting the source of the problem. In our home we do all the measures, but the dehumidifier is the one that made the most significant difference and fairly quickly. We have one upstairs and one downstairs. We have two large dessicant dehumidifiers and a small thermo electric one, which suits us as they can still operate in lower temperatures and meet our laundry and home needs. We find the smaller one is good for small rooms or for maintaining a humidity level though not quite as powerful at brining the level down. There are also compressor dehumidifiers. These machines are available in different sizes and powers for different needs. It is important to research carefully the one that will suit your home and needs.
Here are just two examples of dehumidifiers
VINBERG DEHUMIDIFIERCheck PriceOnsekin DehumidifierCheck Price
When we first started using the dehumidifiers the water container filled up very quickly and we would need to empty it several times a day. At first the hygrometer showed that the machine was doing its work and brought down the humidity , but when we stopped using it for a few hours, the humidity rose again.
After a few weeks we noted we did not need to empty it so often and that the machine brought that humidity down and it did not rise again so fast. I think this is because we had extracted the deeper levels of moisture that was likely in the mattress, sofas and curtains.
Now we can have them on a lower power setting and they still keep the rooms to humidity 40-50% humidity and fairly stable at that which is about right for us and our home.
So in our experience anyway if you do have high humidity your dehumidifier will need to work hard at first and you may need to empty it more often and keep it on for longer with the humidity up and down a bit. However, over time this will settle and you may be able to operate the dehumidifier for longer without needing to empty and on a more lower power maintenance level.
The exception to this of course is when drying laundry. We put our clothes on an airer and place the dehumidifier nearby and always on "Laundry mode" in a closed room. It is important to keep clothes well spaced out on the airer to allow airflow. I find with our more powerful machine, that I can mostly dry damp clothes overnight on a good laundry mode setting.
It is important to close windows when using a dehumidifier as otherwise your machine will be working hard to dehumidify the world !
When we bought a hygrometer our dehumidifying efforts were much more effective, as we then knew which areas and rooms to target to lower humidity. So I would recommend buying at least one hygrometer.
If you would like to learn more about them please read my article Reviewing The Benefits Of A Home Hygrometer To Monitor Humidity
So from my experience the most effective way to deal with a home that has too high humidity is to do small simple measures like keep the shower or bathroom door closed when taking a shower, cover pans when cooking , make sure there is good ventilation, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. Let fresh air in every day it is not raining or blowing gale, use a hygrometer so that you know your humidity and use a dehumidifier.
I have to say that buying our dehumidifiers was the best thing we did as our home is now so much more comfortable, clean air, no condensation on the windows, no damp and my husbands allergic reactions have ceased completely.
This article has all been about what measures to take if your home has high humidity. If however you have low humidity and the air in your home is too dry you may like to take a look at my friends article The Best Ultrasonic Humidifier: Ultra Quiet, Easy to Clean & Fill by Margaret Schindel.
Reviewing The Benefits Of A Home Hygrometer To Monitor Humidity
Read More Reviews By Raintree Annie
Read More Product Reviews on ReviewThisProducts.com
Reviewing Ten Effective Ways To Reduce High Humidity In The Home. By Raintree Annie
