How to Achieve the Ideal Home Humidity Level

Table Of Content

• Cover a dirt basement floor with a vapor barrier.
• Indoor Humidity Levels: What to Know (
• Solved! This Is Your Home’s Ideal Indoor Humidity Level
• How Does Humidity Affect Sleep?
• How AprilAire Can Help You Control House Humidity
• Common Questions About Indoor Humidity Levels
• It’s not just about humidity; air quality matters, too
• Humidifiers and Sleep

We recommend you purchase a dehumidifier and use your AC unit to remove high levels of moisture in the air. Here’s how to achieve ideal indoor humidity levels for the comfort of your family, and the structural integrity of your house. You can raise your home’s humidity level through a combination of outdoor and indoor house treatments and living habits. Low humidity causes dry skin, sore throats, and static electricity.

Cover a dirt basement floor with a vapor barrier.

So, if like me you’re hating the humidity, it won’t really pass until the end of summer. But these high levels above 60% should break in just a few more days. So, a model such as the Dry Arete® One 10L Dehumidifier/Air Purifier from Meaco has a power consumption of 151 watts at 20°C and 60% relative humidity. Using the calculation 0.151kWh x 34p, you can work out that it would cost 5p per hour to run. “Like excess moisture, too dry an environment can cause problems to health and home too,” warns Chris Michael.

Indoor Humidity Levels: What to Know (

You might not realise it, but the humidity levels in your house can actually cause all kinds of unwelcome issues, such as window condensation and damp. Excessive dampness may aggravate asthma symptoms, and can also lead to bronchitis, respiratory infections, and other breathing problems that can cause sleep disruptions. Allergens that trigger adverse reactions from sleepers are another concern. Mold thrives in humid environments, as do dust mites, small creatures that often dwell in mattresses and box springs.

Solved! This Is Your Home’s Ideal Indoor Humidity Level

Ask the Remodeler: Reader with allergies wants to reduce home’s humidity - Boston.com

Ask the Remodeler: Reader with allergies wants to reduce home’s humidity.

Posted: Wed, 06 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Maintaining healthy humidity levels can make sleeping in your bedroom much more comfortable. Leaky pipes and faucets add moisture to an environment, contributing to the humidity as a whole. Be sure to repair any leaks or drips in your home, and consider wrapping any exposed pipes in insulators in order to discourage condensation from forming.

How Does Humidity Affect Sleep?

Most people find a relative humidity level between 30 and 50% is most comfortable. To achieve desired humidity levels, many homeowners install portable or whole-house dehumidifiers and humidifiers. Living in a desert climate, most of my clients’ humidity issues result from their indoor water usage habits combined with tightly constructed modern homes that trap excess moisture.

How AprilAire Can Help You Control House Humidity

Not only can high humidity levels influence our homes and health, but overly low humidity levels are now known to help the spread of infection. It is estimated that globally 10 to 20%1 of homes are affected by some measure of dampness, so we at Airthings have compiled expert advice for everything you want to know about the humidity in your home. Adequate ventilation can help control a home’s humidity level, impacting health and a home’s structural integrity.

Common Questions About Indoor Humidity Levels

Insufficient humidity can also make you feel colder, tempting you to turn the thermostat higher than necessary — and leading to a higher heating bill. For a quality portable humidifier or dehumidifier, you’ll pay between $30 and $250, depending on your needs. If, however, you prefer to have a whole-home humidifier system installed, your investment will run $576 on average. Meanwhile, the cost to buy and have a whole-house dehumidifier installed runs between $1,300 and $2,800. Homeowners who live in a climate with excessive rain will want to ensure that gutters and downspouts work correctly and rainwater is directed away from the house to keep moisture out. Professionally installed awnings placed above windows and doors are an excellent way to keep water out as well.

Look out for discolored patches, fuzzy growth or a musty odor, as these are common signs of mold. Addressing the source of the unwanted moisture is crucial to preventing and eliminating mold issues. Look at the ideal indoor humidity chart below to better understand the pros and cons of each atmosphere!

How to Raise the Humidity in Your Home - A Healthier Michigan

How to Raise the Humidity in Your Home.

Posted: Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Humidifiers and Sleep

Hot showers, while relaxing, can introduce a lot of humidity into an environment. Colder showers will decrease the amount of steam in the air and thus, humidity levels overall. Consumer Reports tests dehumidifiers in three sizes, based on the amount of moisture they remove from the air. If your space is particularly damp, buy the larger size—you won’t have to empty it as often.

A humidistat Trusted Source National Institutes of Health (NIH)The NIH, a part of the U.S. These wall-mounted devices are connected to the HVAC system in your home. Simply set the humidistat to your desired relative humidity percentage.

Low humidity can result in dry skin, sinus issues, and increased static electricity. Excessively dry air, at 5 percent humidity or less, can also cause wallpaper to peel away and wood furniture and building materials to shrink, which can lead to warping or cracking. A properly sized and installed dehumidifier should not need to operate all day to reduce humidity to ideal levels. Average run times can vary by moisture removal capacity, location, and seasonal weather changes, but a good target is 12 hours per day.

Here’s what they had to say about finding the perfect option for your space. Glenda Taylor is a BobVila.com staff writer with a background in the residential remodeling, home building, and home improvement industries. She started writing for BobVila.com in 2016 and covers a range of topics, including construction methods, code compliance, tool use, and the latest news in the housing and real estate industries. Today’s Homeowner exists to help you maintain or improve your home safely and effectively.

We’ll cover the signs of low and high indoor humidity, why these levels can be dangerous, and how to achieve an ideal indoor relative humidity. Ventilation systems are suitable for high-humidity regions and provide a controlled, filtered, and tempered air exchange between your house and the outdoors. Unlike standard ventilation options, ERVs and HRVs remove humidity from the incoming fresh air, so it’s possible to ventilate effectively even during high outdoor humidity conditions.