11 Best Ways to Reduce Indoor Humidity
Do you often complain about the musty smell from your basement, peeling paint, wheezing, and coughing? Have you checked your house’s humidity levels?
These could be signs of high humidity levels in the house. Humidity makes you feel sweaty and uncomfortable. It is the primary cause of mold growth in the house, impacting not only your health but also the market value of your home.
In this article, you will learn about ideal humidity levels, the impact of high humidity, how to measure indoor humidity, and ways to reduce the same.
What are Ideal Humidity Levels In Canada?
According to Health Canada, ideal relative indoor humidity levels in Canada should be:
- For summers the average Humidity Level is — Below 50%
- For winters the average Humidity Level is — 30-35%
Humidity is the relative moisture content of the air. Relative humidity (RH) is the unit of measurement for humidity. It expresses the percentage of moisture content in the air compared to the maximum possible moisture at a specific temperature and pressure. RH levels are usually low during winter and high during summer. Too high or too low humidity levels cause discomfort, mold, and other issues.
How do humidity levels affect you and your house?
Anything below 30% or higher than 55% disturbs moisture balance in your home, which impacts your health, furniture, and building significantly.
Low indoor humidity levels cause skin irritation, respiratory infections, and eye irritation. It is a habitat for the growth of furniture and floors ruining viruses.
High humidity levels cause condensation of pipes, cold surfaces, etc., during winters. In summer, high humidity levels mixed with heat cause discomfort. It boosts the growth of harmful compounds like formaldehyde.
Thus, it is essential to maintain ideal humidity levels to stay healthy and keep your house mold and mildew free.
11 Ways To Reduce Indoor Humidity Levels.
If you are facing any issues with high humidity and looking for ways to reach the ideal level, refer to the following ten tips:
1. Effective Ventilation Improver Humidity
An effective ventilation system helps lower the humidity levels in a home, especially when it is airtight. It also improves the quality of air in your house. You should ensure bathrooms and kitchens have efficient exhaust fans removing moisture outside the house. Also, make sure exhausted air flows outside and not to the attic.
2. Use Air Conditioners To Reduce Humidity
Air conditioners are an effective way to dehumidify the environment. Air conditioners reduce humidity levels while blowing cold air. It helps achieve ideal RH levels in summer while keeping you cool. It would help if you stayed up to date with your air conditioner maintenance services.
3. Dry Laundry Outside
During the laundry drying process, all the water from the clothes evaporates and enters the atmosphere. That’s why when you dry clothes inside the house, moisture levels in the air rise, and so does the humidity. Thus, a better practice is to dry your clothes outside the house to maintain RH levels within the ideal range.
4. Well-insulated House To Improve Humidity Level
A well-insulated house not only prevents moisture from penetrating but also cool air from leaking out. It helps maintain a desirable environment indoors. Thus, ensure all your windows, external corners, and walls are well insulated.
5. Dehumidifier For a Quick Humidity Balance
A dehumidifier helps remove excess moisture in the home and creates a healthy space. It is a sure-shot way of treating excess humidity. It possesses many benefits like reducing allergies, controlling asthma, and limiting the growth of harmful viruses and mold.
One has to consider many factors before investing in a dehumidifier. Refer to Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) guidelines before buying a dehumidifier.
6. Clean Carpets
Carpeting the floor needs special attention as carpets can absorb moisture and become home to many harmful pollutants and viruses. You should keep the carpet clean and dry to avoid humidity issues. You can also create barriers with plastic sheets or insulate floors with plywood to prevent humidity.
7. Fix Leakages In Your House
If you are facing any leakages, fix them as soon as possible. The possible areas of leaks to check are pipes, tubs, sinks, etc. Leakages increase the moisture content in the air and cause humidity. Fixing and waterproofing leak-prone areas help control humidity levels.
8. Keep Your Plants Outside
Keeping plants inside the house also adds moisture to the air. In an open environment, moisture gets evaporated faster, so it is best to place them outside or in a well-ventilated room.
9. Certain Lifestyle Changes
A few lifestyle changes can help maintain ideal humidity levels, such as covering pots while cooking, reducing hot showers, using exhaust fans in bathrooms, and setting the air conditioner to ‘auto’ mode.
10. Caulking The House
Another way to keep humidity levels low is caulking the gaps and leaks from where water seeps in. The procedure is most often performed on tubs, toilets, sinks, and windows. Refer to Home Depot’s step-by-step guide to caulk like a professional.
11. Use charcoal To reduce Humidity
While charcoal may seem like an unusual solution, it is an excellent absorbent and is extremely effective in controlling humidity and odor. You can place charcoal in a room with high humidity and observe the results. You can use it as a cheap but effective home remedy for humidity problems.
How do I measure indoor humidity levels?
One of the simplest and easiest ways to measure humidity is a hygrometer. It is an inexpensive and readily available product. With a hygrometer, you won’t waste time guessing whether particular smells or wall peeling are signs of humidity.
Refer to Consumer’s “Best Hygrometer in Canada – Reviews & Buying Guide” to find the best hygrometer available in Canada.
Conclusion
Every Canadian sooner or later faces the issue of humidity. It impacts your health as well as your finances. There is nothing worse than a mildew and mold infestation invading your house. When you spend your hard-earned money on a house, it hurts to see it rot away. Thus, to maintain it properly, pay attention to humidity levels.
Humidity also affects your health negatively. For a sound and healthy life, you should take steps to remove excess moisture from your home. If you need any guidance in applying the above steps or any further guidance with humidity, contact us for humidifier repair and installation in Toronto. Our team of highly equipped technicians will help you find amicable solutions.
People also ask
What causes high indoor humidity?
There can be many reasons for the high humidity in the house. Some of the major reasons for high humidity in the house are cooking, heaters, poor insulation, water leaks, breathing, the weather outside, poor air conditioner, etc.
How do you dehumidify a room naturally?
There can be many ways to dehumidify a room naturally. Some of the wats are improving insulation, getting a dehumidifier, using charcoal, and others.
Is 70 humidity in a house too high?
70 humidity is too high and can result in serious damage to the property. 30-60% is the best range to keep the humidity.
What removes moisture from a room?
Air conditioners and dehumidifiers can be a great way to get rid of the humidity in the house.
What is the best thing to absorb moisture?
Silica Gel, calcium chloride, clay, and coal are a few of the substances which can absorb moisture from your house.
