Homeowners understand the importance of maintaining a comfortable indoor space. However, one of the frequently overlooked indoor comfort factors is humidity. High humidity can contribute to mold growth, wood rot, and poor indoor air quality. On the other hand, low humidity can cause itchy skin, joint stiffness, and sinus irritation. Balancing your indoor humidity can significantly improve your health, wellness, and finances, which is why we provide home comfort solutions! Your electric bill is reduced by us.
Our latest guide helps you understand how relative humidity affects your health, indoor space, and electric bills. We also touch on the common signs of high humidity and how to address the problem for continued indoor comfort.
What is Relative Humidity?
Relative humidity is the percentage of moisture contained in the air. The air’s moisture can be affected by various factors, including the current temperature or weather conditions. During the summer months, high humidity can make the air feel warmer than the thermostat reading.
How Does High Humidity Affect Indoor Comfort?
High humidity is one of the precursors for common indoor damages like mold and mildew. When the indoor humidity is high, the air starts to feel muggy and the indoor air quality declines. The reduction in indoor air quality also causes a decline in indoor comfort levels.
Homeowners can experience reduced indoor comfort levels through aggravated respiratory issues like asthma, allergies, and more. This can also result in irregular sleeping patterns or poor-quality sleep.
High humidity can be dangerous when coupled with high heat or temperature. The combination affects the body’s natural cooling mechanism, leading to heat stroke or related problems. It can also lead to other issues affecting the home, causing the proliferation of dust mites and silverfish.
Besides its effect on the body and home, high humidity levels can also affect your appliances. Appliances like HVAC systems may suffer under pressure to deliver the perfect indoor condition. This can further impact your finances by raising energy bills and increasing HVAC repair and maintenance costs.
Common Signs of High Indoor Humidity
Knowing the common signs of high indoor humidity can save you a lot of stress and money. Noticing the signs early can help prevent health problems, improve indoor air quality, and reduce costs. Below are some of the common signs to watch out for.
- Moist or clammy indoor air
- Chronic discomfort and poor sleep quality
- Dust mites
- Musty, heavy, or foul odors
- Foggy mirrors and windows
- Indoor mold growth or proliferation
- Window frame or wood rot
- Wet insulation
- Blistering or wet paint
- Sweating walls or ceilings
- Peeling wallpaper
The above signs point to high indoor humidity levels. Leaving the problem unattended can significantly affect your overall health and home.
What is the Ideal Indoor Humidity Range?
The perfect indoor humidity range is between 30 and 50%. At this range, the home is comfortable and indoor air quality is greatly improved.
How to Reduce High Humidity Levels
Getting your home’s indoor humidity to the perfect level will require conscious efforts. Below are some ways to improve your indoor air quality and reduce humidity.
Use Air Conditioners
The air conditioning unit can help reduce high humidity levels by neutralizing warm, humid air with cooler air. You can keep your humidity under control by setting your AC to the right temperature and letting it run efficiently.
Install/Use Exhaust or Ventilation Fans
Ventilation fans can help to dissipate high humidity within the home. Installing ventilation fans in areas like the kitchen and bathroom reduces warm air and improves indoor air quality.
Fix Leaking Pipes
Getting rid of high humidity levels means reducing moisture sources within your home. An excellent way to achieve this is to ensure your plumbing is up to date.
Fixing leaks in your home not only reduces moisture. It also saves you money and prevents future moisture-related damage.
Dry Laundry Outside
Drying your laundry indoors can be a convenient choice. However, this practice contributes to the moisture in your indoor space. You can effectively reduce indoor moisture levels/humidity by drying your clothes outside or using dryers.
Take Cool Showers
Showers are an important part of your day but don’t always have to be hot. You can take cooler showers during warmer temperatures to reduce indoor humidity levels.
Taking cooler showers reduces the amount of steam produced and the amount of moisture in the air.
Air Out Your Home
Airing out your home can also help to reduce indoor humidity levels. Do this by opening your windows for a few hours each day.
The tips above can help lower your indoor humidity and improve indoor comfort. Homeowners can contact trusted HVAC technicians to brainstorm improved ways to balance humidity levels and improve indoor air quality.
