The presence of hot, sticky, and ever-present humidity in the home can be greatly annoying but is also potentially dangerous. Muggy homes can lead to mold and mildew growing everywhere and can be a perfect nesting box for disease. Reducing the humidity in your house will not only make you more comfortable but save you from bigger problems down the road.
One of the most effective ways to reduce humidity in your home is to have an air conditioner. Utilizing functions such as fans when cooking and bathing, as well as regular open windows, can help reduce overall moisture in your home. If you have a bigger humidity issue, installing extra fans in the attic and basement can help fight humidity in the whole home.
Seeing that humidity is both more comfortable and safer for your home, there is little reason to not lower it! There are several minor and major ways to tackle humidity in your home. Continue along to get a sense of what humidity looks like in your home and how to reduce it!
What Causes Humidity?
Humidity is an unseen atmospheric condition that is always present. Essentially, the level of humidity is simply a degree of water vapor in the air. The higher the humidity, the more water hangs in the air around you.
This water vapor comes from liquid water turning into a gas as it evaporates. This water can come from bodies of water and even plants. Having a lot of plants in your home can increase the amount of overall humidity. Warm places often have the highest levels of humidity as the natural temperature makes it easier for the water to evaporate!
Ideally, you want your home to range from 30-50% humidity. Humidity lower than 30% can feel cold and trigger allergies, asthma, and even damage to wooden floors! Above 50%, the extra humidity will make the home feel hotter, collect condensation, and grow mold within the home.
No need to be perfectly exact, but staying in this range will be the most comfortable and productive for your home. Usually, excess humidity is what will cause problems in your home more quickly. So keeping it cool and dry is essential for home maintenance.
Five Ways to Reduce the Humidity in Your Home
There are several simple and intensive ways to reduce the humidity of your home. You will want to take a degree of action that matches the level of humidity in your home. So if you have noticed your home feels more sticky than it should, opening windows should do the trick. But if you see mold growing in all sorts of places, then you should take more divisive action!
Increase Your Ventilation
One of the first and most important ways to reduce humidity in your home is through increasing ventilation. This will help keep the house cool and dry on its own. So you do not need to pay for more expensive mold repairs down the road.
There are several ways to increase ventilation in your home. One of which is to use more fans, especially when cooking or taking a shower. The extra humidity created by these activities can be easily blown away with simple vans or built-in ventilators. Which is very helpful in reducing humidity, particularly in wet areas.
Other options include installing an air conditioner to moderate the indoor temperature. By bringing in cool air, the water vapor is turned into liquid again. And this keeps the water from seeping into cracks or drywall.
An even simpler option is to open windows! Even if it is hot and sticky outside, simply opening your windows helps ventilate the house and move the air around. That way the water vapor is unable to settle in one particular place and causes damage.
Keep Your Air Conditioner Maintained
If you already own an air conditioner for your home, you are already on a great path to keeping humidity down. However, these machines do need regular maintenance to work properly. If the air conditioner is inefficient or straight up broken, humidity can easily set into your house.
Air conditioners work very hard during hot and humid months. It takes more energy and effort to remove the humidity in the air, which can cause them to break a bit faster than normal. So keeping an eye on your air conditioner to avoid the breaking point is a necessary step in fighting humidity.
The best way to check up on your air conditioner is to have it examined by an HVAC professional around once a year. These experts check your refrigerant levels, your filters, your air ducts, and your systems drainpipes and drip pans. Keeping your air conditioner maintained saves you on your energy bill and prevents expensive repairs from leaving you in the heat for a few days!
Control Moisture in Damp Places
Another way to manage the humidity in your home is to control the moister of damp places, mostly your basement, crawl space, and attic. Since these areas are not well insulated, it is all too easy for humid air to set into the space. Water can also seep up from the ground into your foundation, elevating overall humidity.
Even though you can never truly eradicate all of the humidity from these areas, there are some actions you can take to greatly reduce it! To prevent groundwater from seeping into your house you can fill in the cracks in the foundation of your home. Particularly if you live in places that freeze in the winter, this is the best way to avoid large foundation problems from the creeping ice.
If your basement or attic is the root of your humidity issue, it may be worth improving the room’s ventilation with AC. Even if the people of your house can not enjoy the cool air, it will keep that area safe from excess humidity and possible damages in the future.
However, if you have a very serious humidity issue in your basement, you may want to consider having it professionally sealed. This way humid air and groundwater are not able to enter the room, keeping it nice and dry!
Use a Dehumidifier
Another simple solution to excess humidity is a dehumidifier. These systems can be found as small machines meant for one room or more powerful ones that can be placed in your furnaces air handler! This method will draw moister from the air that travels all over the house and is a convenient option for bigger homes.
With the addition of a dehumidifier comes lower electric bills! By taking the humidity out of the air before it enters the home, your air conditioner only needs to do half the work. Which will save you a good amount of money in the future.
Keep Your Gutters Clean
If you live in a home that rests under trees, your gutters are likely clogged with their leave or pine needles. Although it may not be your first thought, clogged gutters can be the cause of indoor water leaks. And this extra presence of water increases the overall humidity of the home.
You should clean out your gutters every few months if you live in an area with a lot of trees over your home. But if you live somewhere with only a few trees around, then just check on your gutters every once in a while and clean them when needed. A ladder, pair of gloves, and a trash bag should be enough for you to clear the debris out of your gutters and prevent possible leaks.
Another thing you should be aware of is to have your downspout directed away from your house, extending at least 6 feet. This is to be certain that the rain or melt-off water is find its way back into your home.
How Can You Increase Ventilation?
Having good airflow in your home is the most efficient way to reduce the overall humidity. As the air moves and flows through the home efficiently, it cannot settle, which makes the air very hot and wet. So here are some extra ways to increase the overall ventilation in your home!
Check Your Washer and Dryer
Dryers typically work by blowing dry air over freshly washed clothes. However, the air that comes after this process is very humid. If your dryer does not have a good ventilation system, your dryer could be contributing to the humidity in your home! So it is a great idea to check out these appliances and improve their vents if need be.
Check Your Bathroom Ventilation Fan
We all love a nice warm bath or shower, but the humidity from our bathrooms can affect the humidity all across the house. If you want to fight the humidity at its source, you can install a ventilation fan in your bathroom. You only need to turn it on while you use the shower, but it will help push the humid air out and keep the humidity down in your home!
Add an Attic Ventilation Fan
If you have ever been in an attic, you know it is always hot and muggy. This hot and humid air can flow into all areas of your home. So if you have a real humidity problem in your attic, it can be very helpful to install a ventilation fan. It will keep your attic from getting mold and help keep your overall home nice and cool!
Conclusion
Increasing the overall ventilation of your home is the best way to fight the humidity. But hopefully, you learned a few more tips and tricks from this article to keep humidity from sneaking into your home in unexpected ways!
One more tip for those who made it to the end! Cleaning up water spills around the house can help prevent mold from growing. So if you leave a lot of water on the floor after a shower or on the counter after dishes, wipe it down! It could save you from harmful mold in the future.
Alexis is a lifelong writer and traveler who loves collecting information with the hope of someday winning trivia night. She enjoys exploring nature’s wonders, reading historical books, and trying out new baking recipes. And as a new homeowner, she is learning alongside the readers with every article!