How humidity damages your home and how to fight it
Table Of Content
Install proper insulation to help maintain optimal humidity levels in an energy-efficient way. “Ensure your air conditioning unit is properly serviced, as it naturally removes moisture from the air as part of the cooling process,” Mitchell says. Air infiltration, or unintentional airflow into a building, can impact your ability to maintain ideal indoor humidity levels at home. Costs for sealing and insulating vary widely depending on the size of your home and the scope of work required. Homeowners should expect to spend between $50 and $3,000 for home sealing and insulating.
Best Room Air Conditioners From CR's Tests
If you can’t tell if you have high humidity in your house, why not schedule an estimate for a professional air quality test? For example, you might want a mold test or a volatile organic compound (VOC) test. A house’s atmosphere typically depends on a reliable balance of temperature and moisture to allow it to function at peak performance in the long run. Even if you don’t mind the feeling of humidity indoors, try to keep it in check. That way, you won’t deal with problems that can stem from too much moisture in the air, like mold.
Table of Contents
High humidity levels can cause discomfort and health issues, and excessive humidity can even cause damage in a home. Some telltale signs of excess moisture include an AC system that smells musty, a humid feeling in the house, or visible mold and mildew growth. Excess humidity in a house can also cause condensation on windows, toilet tanks, and pipes.
A poor ventilation system may be to blame.
But be careful you don’t overdo it, and end up with a problem of high humidity as a result. The walls of your home are a prime site for condensation to gather, if high humidity is not controlled. The issue is particularly acute with exterior walls, as it’s here that warm, humid air meets a cooler surface. Keeping areas ventilated by opening a window or installing an exhaust fan can lower humidity inside the house. A professional can direct certain appliances, such as clothes dryers and stoves, to vent outside of the home. A whole-house dehumidifier costs $1,500 on average and can also help eliminate some of the moisture created by these activities.
Ways to Identify Water Damage vs. Mold (and What to Do Next)
To fully dehumidify the air flow across the coil, the cooling coils must be sized properly to meet the both the sensible load and latent load of both outside air and return air. This air must be cooled to a temperature that causes the moisture in the air to condense; this is known as latent heat (or latent energy) removal. Simultaneously, the cooling coil is reducing the sensible temperature of the air to offset the sensible energy generated in the space (lights, solar, people, equipment, etc.). A common temperature for the cooling of this air is between 50°F and 55°F. At this temperature, most HVAC system air flows will be at 100 percent RH (or complete saturation) and will effectively condense moisture from the air. Air provided to a space under these conditions has the best chance of maintaining interior conditions of 75 degrees Fahrenheit dry bulb ( Fdb) and below 60 percent RH.
Blown in cellulose insulation: To DIY or not to DIY?
Humidity also makes your home the perfect host to mold and bugs which contain a ton of health concerns on their own. The humidity level in your home should stay between 30 percent to 50 percent, says Richard Ciresi, the franchise owner with Aire Serv, a Neighborly company. "If your home or any part of it has a humidity reading of over 50 percent, consider installing or running a dehumidifier," he says.
Browse Portable Cooling
Additionally, you might find yourself paying higher heating bills during the winter. And whatever the specific causes of your home’s humidity issues, there’s a straightforward two-step fix that will drastically reduce humidity and make your house feel comfortable and fresh year round. In fact, depending on where you live, you could qualify for these home upgrades for $0 upfront cost. A standard furnace heats the air and then distributes it throughout the home, but the warming process dries the air and removes humidity. If your house has too little humidity during the winter months, switchning from a forced-air heating system to radiant heat (photo, above) will keep the air from drying out.
Try Weatherstripping
The 7 Best Small Dehumidifiers for 2024 - Top Small Dehumidifier for Bathrooms - Popular Mechanics
The 7 Best Small Dehumidifiers for 2024 - Top Small Dehumidifier for Bathrooms.
Posted: Mon, 24 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Maintaining ideal indoor humidity levels is essential for comfort, health, and safety. Your HVAC system plays a crucial role in humidity control, so your professional heating and air conditioning service provider is an excellent resource for help. Maintaining ideal indoor humidity levels matters because it’s central to occupant comfort, health, and safety.
How humidity damages your home — and how to fight it
That’s why proper ventilation is essential to preventing high humidity. You can help to ventilate your home by doing several simple things. One solution many homeowners try to remove humidity is to get a dehumidifier. These devices collect moisture from the air in your home in a bucket that you empty periodically. However, using a dehumidifier is a temporary fix and only one of the many ways you can remove moisture from the air in your home. Generally, people feel most comfortable at a low to medium amount of humidity.
One trick is to reduce high humidity in-home with air conditioning. You can even do this in winter, although it may be uncomfortably cold for a little while. More importantly, if you detect your home has increased humidity in the winter, check that you have the necessary vent fans and insulation to reduce the amount of moisture coming in. A hygrometer is the most reliable way to measure indoor humidity. This simple device accurately measures the amount of water vapor in the air.
Best indoor air quality monitors 2024 - TechHive
Best indoor air quality monitors 2024.
Posted: Tue, 06 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Since I prefer destroyed toilet paper over mold growing on everything, I am now leaving the door open and taking that gamble! Needless to say, my bathroom mold problems have decreased by around 90%. Open it up, even if it’s cold outside while cooking and you’ll be able to see that darned water vapor flow right out of your home. "If the humidity level outside is above 45 percent it's probably best not to open your windows, no matter what the temperature may be."
Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.
In the winter, they transfer heat from the outside air to the inside of your home. And now you’ve officially gotten to the good part—how to fix these issues for good. A house has a few important jobs, but one of the most important is keeping the weather outside from getting inside.
Since the mid-1990s, Mary has held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal. If homeowners insurance won’t pay for an AC replacement, there are other ways to make it happen without draining your bank account. Basically, heat pumps are the superheroes of the HVAC world (or, as we like to call them, the Tesla of HVAC). And, in the summer, they reverse the process by transferring heat from the inside of your home to the outside.
The amount of humidity that is too much depends on the climate and environment in which you are living. In general, a humidity level between 30-70% is comfortable for most people. If the humidity level is higher than 70%, it can start to cause problems such as respiratory issues, skin irritation, and mold growth.
Comments
Post a Comment