Everyone seems to complain about their home’s humidity. You should understand that humidity can impact a home's structure and how lowering humidity will change it for the better. There are a handful of ways that your home can improve for the better. Humidity is usually the cause to why it feels warmer in spots of your house. This can happen if you have the HVAC system running and/or no direct sunlight in those shared areas. The danger of high humidity spots includes increased pressure on your HVAC system and awful leaking pipes. Here’s our list of how to reduce home humidity before those hot spots can get any worse.
General Prevention
An overlooked tip for how to reduce home humidity is to make sure you’re taking steps to prevent what can happen. Do you have exposed dirt floors? This is most common if you have a crawl space and should be sealed quickly with a layer of polyethylene. If the area is wet, make sure you dry it completely before making changes. The suggested thickness of the polyethylene is 6 to 12 inches to make sure it seals out all the moisture. If you have dryer vents in your crawl space, proper protocol means that they have air from the outside. If this is not the case, it could cause a fire hazard and should be corrected soon as possible.
Utilize a Dehumidifier
If you don’t want to have the hassle of constantly running a fan, a dehumidifier can ensure a quiet way to lower home humidity and keep a room dry. It draws the moisture from the air, passes it over cooling condensers and return cooler air. This not only clears the extra moisture in the air, but can help take the pressure of your HVAC system by helping to keep the room cool. There are many units depending on the size of the room you need to cool down, be sure to pick one’s based on square feet of a room. They range from inexpensive, $30 to the expensive, $150 and above.
On Cooler Days Open Windows
On days when it’s not as hot, you can use a breeze to open windows that have a lot of activity and moisture. Kitchens and bathrooms are most likely to be the most humid rooms in your home. If you run ceiling fans or house fans, it can help cross out the room and remove excess moisture. If you don’t have vents installed or windows, you might want to consider adding either option to help keep the air flow moving. It doesn’t have to be for the full day, a few hours should be able help well ventilate the area.
Add Plants to Your Home
Odd as it sounds, some plants have been proven to help pull humidity. If you are unable to do some of the other ways to lower home humidity, a few well-placed plants will help with your humid rooms. These include Boston ferns, are a type of plant that prefers areas with direct sunlight and high humidity. They do tend to grow a bit large, so if you need some smaller plants it’s suggested that you pick a spider plant. They also prefer high humidity areas and will thrive in those areas of your house, while brightening up the space.
The benefits of lowering humidity of your house will save you a lot of repairs and headaches down the road. When high humidity goes untreated, it can cause water patches under the wall. It may cause wood to rot and allow terminates to take over the space. It will even improve the smell of a house by making sure that mildew and mold can’t grow. These are all areas that can see immediate and long-term improvement. If you have any questions about how to reduce home humidity, contact Beam HVAC today.