Is your home too humid to handle? As much as you’re itching for warmer temperatures, your home may need some support when it comes to maintaining the humidity levels inside.
What is Humidity?
Before diving into how humidity affects your home, you’ll want to understand what it is and what it does. Humidity is the measure of the level of water vapor in the air: The warmer the temperature inside your home, the more water vapor the air is able to hold. While it can make your home feel like a warm summer day, too much humidity can be harmful to your home and your health.
How High Humidity Affects Your Home
So what’s a good humidity level to have in your home? Anywhere between 30% and 50% humidity is optimal. If the levels are too high, parts of your home may show some telltale signs.
Signs of High Humidity
The first thing you’ll want to check is your thermostat. If it’s a hot summer day and your room temperature is significantly higher than your thermostat’s set cooling point, it’s likely your central air conditioning system isn’t working properly and could be allowing humidity to build up in your home.
Keep an eye out for these other signs of high humidity, too:
- Condensation and moisture on your doors, windows, pipes, and colder surfaces
- Heavy condensation around evaporator coil and supply ductwork
- Mold and mildew
- Warping furniture, floors, and walls
- Yellowing stains on your ceiling or walls
- Peeling paint
If you detect any of these signs, you should take immediate action to control your air quality and prevent any further damage to your home.
How High Humidity Affects Your Health
While high humidity can damage parts of your home, it can be even more harmful to you and your family’s health. If your home’s humidity levels are too high, you may experience dehydration, difficulty breathing, skin or throat irritation, poor sleep, or allergy-like symptoms. Be sure to monitor any unusual health symptoms.
How to Maintain Your Home’s Humidity
It’s important to keep a healthy amount of humidity at all times. Here are some approaches that will help:
- Run a dehumidifier in your basement
- Invest in an indoor humidity gauge
- Install vent fans in your kitchen and bathrooms
- Keep your air conditioner’s drip pan and drain lines clean
- Make sure your air ducts are sealed properly
- Run ceiling fans and your HVAC fan continuously during the summer
Some or all of these methods can help maintain and reduce the humidity levels in your home. You may even want to purchase plants that can absorb and collect moisture from the air!
If your home’s humidity levels aren’t improving, you can rely on our team of professionals to help resolve the issue! Your home and health are our priority, so don’t hesitate to call if you suspect problems with your humidity levels.
