Tag: humidity levels

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3 Simple Ways to Reduce Humidity Levels in Your Home

Hand cleaning a water spill off the floor with a blue towel. Find out how to reduce excess moisture and humidity in your home to prevent mold growth.

Do you need to reduce humidity in your home?

Don’t wait to address a water leak or excess humidity. The clock is ticking. Every hour that passes after a water leak— or excessive humidity builds up — means you’re getting closer and closer to a mold problem.

Discover how long you have to fix the issue and 3 simple ways to reduce humidity in your home.

How Long Until Excess Moisture Leads to Mold Growth?

The industry standards for water damage and mold removal state that you need to take action in the first 24-48 hours to prevent your moisture problem from becoming a mold problem.

Why?

Mold spores are ubiquitous. They are found everywhere, in every climate, and every place. Mold spores make their way into your home in many ways. A gentle breeze carries them in from open windows, and spores can hitch a ride right in your front door on the bottom of shoes or on your pet’s fur.

Mold spores are everywhere.

But mold spores don’t become a mold problem until excess moisture comes into play.

“Once fungi are inside,” says the World Health Organization, “growth can only occur in the presence of moisture.”

Moving quickly to control moisture in your home is essential for preventing a mold problem.

These three steps can help you reduce indoor humidity.

1. Control the Source

Before you can start reducing the amount of moisture in your home, you’ll need to identify and control the source.

While this sounds like a job for a professional, fear not. With a little sleuthing (and a few affordable tools), you can most likely find the source of a water leak or excess humidity all on your own.

You can use a hygrometer to measure the humidity in various home areas. Everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry can contribute to increased humidity levels, so check kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry areas.

Infrared cameras and water sensors can help you determine if an unseen water leak is causing humidity to build up inside your home.

2. Ventilate

Now that you’ve stopped the excess moisture from coming into your home, it’s time to remove the moisture built up inside.

When it comes to ventilation, your first instinct may be to throw your windows wide open. But, depending on your climate, opening a window may do more harm than good. If you live in a particularly humid environment or it is the middle of the rainy season, opening a window could allow excess humidity to enter your home, exacerbating your moisture problem even further.

The best way to ventilate your home is to run exhaust fans in kitchens, laundry rooms, and bathrooms.

That’s right: exhaust fans aren’t just used for removing foul odors from these parts of the house!

When you start cooking, running a shower, or doing a load of laundry, a properly functioning exhaust fan will vent the moisture out of the home.

A note of caution, however.

In order to properly ventilate moisture and reduce humidity, all exhaust vents must vent moisture outdoors, not send moisture into the attic or wall cavities.

If your exhaust vents are just sending moisture to other parts of the house, they will only make your moisture problems more severe and possibly aggravate mold growth in hard-to-reach areas.

3. Dehumidify

If you have utilized your home’s exhaust fans and your moisture meters and other tools are still alerting you to excess humidity levels, it may be time to try a dehumidifier.

Dehumidifiers range from portable units to whole-house add-ons for HVAC systems. They work by removing moisture from the air and collecting it in a tank.

Dehumidifiers should be set at the lowest setting for maximum effectiveness. You can find models with automatic drainage functions so you don’t have to constantly empty the water collection tanks. Most will empty the moisture via a straw which will deposit the water down a floor drain.

Pro Tip: Use humidity gauges and dehumidifiers in tandem for maximum effectiveness. Set alerts and utilize mobile apps and automatic settings to ensure your home remains at the ideal indoor levels of humidity: between 40% and 60%.

Check out the Consumer Reports Dehumidifier Buying Guide to get dehumidifier ratings for some of the most popular brands.

Dehumidifying with your HVAC System

Did you know that air conditioning units aren’t just for cooling your home? HVAC systems can also be used for dehumidifying. While it is bringing down your home’s temperature, a properly functioning (and properly sized) AC unit can also remove excess moisture from the air.

A Warning About Window Units

When it comes to using a window air conditioning unit for dehumidifying, bigger is not always better. Significant mold growth can often be found on the insulation in air conditioning units. This is fairly common when units are oversized, which causes the unit to cycle on and off. During this process, condensation can develop on the insulation, and sometimes the coils, inside.

Running an AC unit on a lower setting and avoiding the cycle-on, cycle-off process can help prevent mold growth due to condensation buildup. Alternatively, a smaller unit that’s a better fit for the room is a better buy than a too-large unit.

How big should your window unit be? Check out this calculator to find the right size air conditioner for your room.

What happens if you don’t get your moisture problem under control? Read our Complete Guide to Humidity and Moisture in the Home to get more information on ways to prevent and control the moisture issues that can quickly turn to mold problems at home.

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4 Tools to Measure Indoor Humidity And Find Water Leaks

An infrared camera measures temperature changes in a house. Discover 4 tools to find water leaks and moisture problems in a home.

Can you measure indoor humidity levels and find water leaks on your own, or do you need a professional to do the job?

There’s no need to guess when it comes to how much moisture is in your home. You can use tools to monitor your indoor humidity levels and find water leaks — and you can easily find them at local hardware stores and online.

How Humidity is Measured: Relative Humidity vs. Absolute Humidity

Before we get into tools that measure humidity and moisture in your home, let’s take a moment to talk about the different ways humidity is measured.

Relative Humidity

Relative Humidity (RH) is the amount of water vapor present in the air relative to the amount it could hold at that given temperature.

When air gets warmer, it expands and can hold more water vapor.

When air gets colder, it contracts and can hold less water vapor.

Let’s do a little science experiment in our minds to picture this better:

Imagine a 12-ounce cup filled with 6 ounces of water. This is our control cup. It’s 50% full of water.

Now imagine that it’s a hot day. As the day gets warmer, that cup expands and gets bigger. You now have a cup that could hold 24 ounces of water. This bigger cup is still filled with 6 ounces of water, but now the cup is only 25% full.

Now imagine that it’s a cold day. And the colder it is, the smaller your cup gets. Your cup has shrunk down to a 6-ounce size. If your 6-ounce cup is filled with 6 ounces of water, your cup is 100% full.

All 3 cups held the same amount of water.

But the measurement of water changed relative to how much each cup could hold.

This is how relative humidity is measured. It’s the amount of water vapor the air can hold at any given temperature, and the result is expressed as a percentage.

Absolute Humidity (AH):

Absolute humidity is the actual amount of water vapor present in the air, regardless of the temperature.

Absolute humidity compares the mass of water vapor to the mass of dry air, and it’s expressed as a ratio in grams of moisture per cubic meter of air (g/m3).

Absolute humidity is entirely independent of temperature. It measures how much water vapor is in the air, regardless of the temperature.

Usually, when we’re talking about ideal humidity levels (between 40% and 60%), we’re talking about measuring and monitoring relative humidity (RH) levels. You can learn more about humidity — and the problems it can cause — at our Complete Guide to Humidity and Moisture in the Home!

Now, on to the tools!

4 Tools to Measure Humidity and Moisture in Your Home

Hygrometers

A hygrometer is a tool used to measure the amount of water vapor (humidity) in the air. Remember when we talked about temperature affecting humidity levels above? Your hygrometer will typically measure the relative humidity (RH) of your air and show you the temperature as well as its correlating humidity percentage.

Hygrometers have come a long way from their first designs when inventors used oak husks or human hair to measure humidity! Today’s humidity measuring tools use semiconductive materials or mercury thermometers to precisely measure relative humidity.

Modern hygrometers will usually have a nice, big easy-to-read digital display.

Even better, many digital hygrometers connect to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and send you text or email alerts when your temperature and moisture levels exceed the pre-set limits. What should your ideal indoor humidity levels be? ASHRAE recommends a target level of 45% RH, but hitting that exactly on the nose can be difficult. It’s easier to set an ideal range of 40-60% humidity.

Monitoring is easy with digital hygrometers that feature apps (for iPhone or Android) that allow you to monitor humidity levels on the go. And it allows you to know when something is off and you need to take action, no matter where you are.

Look for a hygrometer that allows for multiple wireless sensors so you can monitor humidity levels of various locations throughout your home. Most moisture and mold problems occur in your home’s “out of sight, out of mind” places, such as attics, basements, crawl spaces, and other tucked-away places that you don’t often frequent.

Moisture Meters

Moisture meters are valuable tools to help you detect moisture in building materials such as wood or wallboard. If your home has a water leak in an out-of-sight location, such as behind a wall or ceiling, a moisture meter can help you find it even if you can’t see it.

There are two types of moisture meters; pin-type moisture meters and pinless moisture meters.

Pin-type moisture meters use two electrodes to scan for moisture by inserting the probes into drywall, or whatever material you’re concerned about,. although they are designed and calibrated to measure moisture in wood. Since the device looks for moisture readings between the electrodes, it can only scan a smaller and more precise area. Pin-type meters are typically used in home inspections. Keep in mind that they leave small holes where you probe, so be ready with your spackle if it’s in a visible area. These tend to be the least expensive type, and also the most user friendly.

Pinless moisture meters scan larger areas and make finding moisture readings and leaks a lot quicker. Pinless meters use electromagnetic waves (like radio waves or an electrical current) that are affected by moisture. They can be more difficult to read because different materials have different densities, and varying conductive properties. This type of moisture meter is most often used by professionals, and can get fairly expensive.

The key to using a moisture meter is to take things slow, be prepared for false readings, and always look for the source. Wet materials are a problem, but the real issue is how they got wet in the first place.

Water Sensors

Time is of the essence when you have a water leak at home. Often, a water leak can cause damage long before you see a visible sign of the leak.

Place a water sensor in leak-prone areas of your home, such as near:

  • Sinks
  • Toilets
  • Fish tanks
  • Sump pits
  • Dishwasher
  • Hot-water heaters
  • Washing machines
  • Furnaces and boilers
  • Refrigerators with ice makers and water dispensers

Some water sensors are Wi-Fi enabled so you can get instantly alerted to a water leak in your home. Others may be configured to shut off the water in the house to prevent a small leak from becoming a big problem.

We recommend: Sensative Strips Drip with 10 years of battery life.

Infrared Cameras

A new tool is now much more accessible for consumers to use at home: infrared cameras.

Infrared camera don’t really “see” through your walls, however, they are really good at measuring surface temperatures. What does this have to do with water leaks? A wet spot will register colder than its dryer surrounding areas because of evaporation. These cameras used to be $50-60k, but tech advances now mean you can get a good one for a few hundred dollars.

They are more advanced, not for every user, but can be incredible for finding leaks, wet or missing insulation, leaky ducts, issues in the ceiling and more.

The key is to use them effectively is to consider an infrared camera a screening tool, and then go on to investigate with moisture meters and other tools to collect more data.

Conclusion

Tools that help you detect water leaks and monitor/measure your indoor humidity levels can help you take control over moisture problems in your home. Excessive moisture can lead to mold growth, structural damage, an increase in pests, and more symptoms that can be harmful to the building and the health of occupants.

Luckily, these tools are easily found online or at your favorite hardware store, and help you take back control of your home’s health and safety.

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The Complete Guide To Humidity And Moisture In The Home

Condensation buildup on a window signaling a problem with humidity levels in the home. Get the guide to humidity and moisture in your home from gotmold.com

Most people don’t think much about excess humidity or moisture in the home. Until they have a serious problem, that is.

Excess moisture in the home can have a real impact on your comfort, health, and safety.

So before you find yourself fighting a moisture-related issue—like mold or structural damage—you may want to better understand how too much water can negatively impact your home sweet home.

In this guide to humidity and moisture in the home, you’ll get the 101 basics that help contribute to a healthy house, including:

  1. What causes moisture in your home?
  2. What problems are caused by excess moisture in the home?
  3. Signs of moisture problems at your house
  4. What is the ideal humidity in your house?
  5. How to check humidity levels
  6. How do I reduce moisture in my house?
  7. Who to call for moisture problems?
  8. What to do about moisture issues when you’re a renter?

Let’s dive in and find out why excess humidity and moisture can cause so many problems for health and home.

What Causes Moisture in Your Home?

Do you suspect you have a problem with excess moisture or water in your house or apartment?

There are only two possible sources of moisture in your home:

  • Air (humidity)
  • Water (flooding and leaks)

That’s it!

While this seems like a simple answer, moisture issues in the home can be a bit more complex. For starters, there are exterior and interior sources of water. There are many ways excess humidity can build up inside your home.

Excess moisture in the house can lead to issues ranging from structural damage to the building to health issues for your family.

What Problems are Caused by Excess Moisture in the Home?

If your house isn’t partially underwater due to a flood, do you really need to worry about a little bit of excess moisture?

Unfortunately, you do. Even a small imbalance can lead to big problems.

Moisture plays an essential role in the life cycle of both your building and the living things inside it. Too much water or excess humidity in your home can speed up the process of life and death for both.

Here are just a few ways excess moisture can cause problems in your home:

Mold

Mold is a living organism that needs water, food, and a hospitable environment to grow and thrive. Mold won’t spread and grow in a dry environment; if you have a mold issue, you have a moisture issue. Learn more about how to find mold in your home.

Critters

Just like mold, the creatures in and around your home are looking for water, food, and a comfy place to live. Dust mites, insects (including termites and cockroaches), spiders, rodents, and an entire ecosystem of critters can spring up in your home when there is plenty of water to nourish them.

Structural Issues

Excess moisture can cause wood to rot and metals to rust. Over time, this degradation of the structural elements of your home can lead to safety issues or even a home that is no longer inhabitable.

Rot and Decay

Your home is built from materials that can break down when exposed to too much moisture, such as wood and paper. Unfortunately, it’s also built from materials that behave much like a sponge, much like your concrete foundation that can wick moisture out of the soil surrounding it. Unlike concrete, modern building materials can also serve as a nutrient source for fungi.

Health Issues

Mold, critters, and decay can all lead to health issues for the inhabitants of a building. From respiratory problems caused by mold sensitivity to dust mite allergies to diseases caused by rodent droppings, your family may be experiencing health issues that can be tied back to a single problem: too much moisture in the home.

Take a deeper dive into these 5 problematic symptoms of excess humidity in the home.

3 Signs of Moisture Problems in Your House

Flooding in your home is an obvious sign of a problem, but did you know that a water leak can often go undetected in your home long before you see signs of water damage?

And humidity issues may be nearly invisible unless you know exactly where to look.

So how do you know if you have a moisture problem in your house? Use your senses and look for one of these three tell-tale signs.

  1. See it: blistering and peeling paint, water stains, discoloration, water droplets (i.e., condensation), trim pulling away from the wall, and of course, visible mold. If you start spotting an increase in insects or water bugs, that’s another visible sign of a water problem!
  1. Smell it: mold produces compounds known as mVOCs that emit a strong unpleasant “musty” or moldy odor. It’s one of the first signals that you have a problem. And it’s not just an aesthetic nuisance. It’s also a health hazard, according to numerous studies, so if you catch a whiff, it’s time for action.
  1. Feel it: respiratory or allergic symptoms that worsen inside your home but alleviate once you leave the building can be a sign that your house is making you sick.

Bonus sign: you’re paying for it! If you have a water leak in or around your house, an increase in your water bill may be the first sign of a problem, even before you can see, smell, or feel the effects.

If you see something, smell something, or feel something…do something!

Learn more about the 3 Signs You Need to Worry About Moisture and Mold in Your Home.

What is the Ideal Humidity Level in a Home?

You may think that humidity is only an issue for people living in tropical climates, but that’s not true.

The term “humidity” refers to the amount of water vapor in the air. Weather changes can impact humidity levels outdoors. Everyday tasks such as showering, cooking, and washing clothes and dishes can also change humidity levels inside your home. So does any significant change in temperature.

How much moisture should be in your home?

The ideal humidity level inside your home is 45% all year round. However, hitting that single target consistently is pretty tricky, especially since you can affect your humidity levels simply by taking a shower or boiling some water for pasta.

Instead of worrying about hitting the magic 45% humidity level, aim for an ideal humidity range instead.

The ideal indoor humidity range in your home is between 40% and 60%, according to ASHRAE.

  • Below 40%: your home (as well as your skin and mucous membranes) will feel too dry, become at risk of dehydration, and more susceptible to infections from airborne microbes.
  • Above 60%: you’ve got a moisture problem brewing—and likely a mold problem and dust mite problem, too.

Learn more about how humidity levels are measured and the negative impact of humidity that’s too high (or too low) in your home.

How to Check for Moisture in Your House

Monitoring your humidity levels is easier than it sounds (and more affordable than you’d think). Utilize the following devices to keep an eye on your home’s moisture levels, so you can take corrective action when it’s needed.

  • Hygrometers: a technical word for humidity gauges
  • Moisture meters: measure moisture in walls, wood, and other building materials
  • Water sensors: alert you if you’ve sprung a leak under a sink or washing machine
  • Infrared cameras: measure temperature changes resulting from evaporating water

Many of today’s tools for monitoring/ sensing humidity and water in the home are smart, connected devices. Wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity and mobile apps are pretty standard, so you can get alerted instantly whenever your humidity levels get too high or too low.

Pro Tip: Focus on your home’s “out of sight, out of mind” spots, as this is where most mold problems manifest. Attics, basements, and crawl spaces are often neglected, and these tucked-away places can be the perfect place for moisture to build up, mold to grow, and beasties and bugs to make themselves at home.

Learn more about self-diagnosing a water problem at 4 Tools to Measure Indoor Humidity and Find Water Leaks.

How to Reduce Humidity in Your House

Have your humidity monitors alerted you to excess moisture?

You’ll want to move quickly to control moisture in your home.

Time is of the essence.

Don’t wait to take action when you notice you’ve got a water leak, excess humidity, or other moisture issues.

The industry standard for water damage and mold removal states that you need to take action in the first 24-48 hours to prevent your moisture problem from becoming a mold problem. After 72 hours, the affected areas, especially porous and absorptive materials, should be dealt with as if they are moldy, whether it shows visible signs of mold or not.

There are three easy steps to take to reduce humidity in your house.

1. Source Control

It may sound obvious, but the first step to reducing moisture in your house is to stop it at its source.

  • Repair all leaks and water intrusion of any kind
  • Insulate cold water pipes to reduce condensation
  • Don’t hang clothes to dry inside.
  • Shut off humidifiers and diffusers

2. Ventilation

As mentioned above, many of your everyday tasks can contribute to high humidity in the home. Cooking, showering, washing dishes, and washing clothes are just a few of the activities that can increase indoor humidity levels.

Ventilation requires more than simply opening a window to let the steam from your shower outside. In some cases, opening a window may let even more humidity in from the outdoors and exacerbate your humidity issues.

Exhaust fans in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms pull excess moisture and fumes from the air and vent outdoors for removal. Be sure to utilize exhaust fans in these rooms while cooking, showering, and doing laundry.

Pro tip: In order to properly ventilate moisture out of the home, all exhaust vents must vent outdoors, not send moisture into the attic or wall cavities. If your exhaust vents are just sending moisture to other parts of the house, they’re not helping to remove excess humidity from the home, and you’re likely causing other problems elsewhere.

3. Dehumidify

Dehumidifiers work by removing moisture from the air and collecting it in a tank. They range from portable units to whole-house add-ons for HVAC systems.

Not all dehumidifiers are created equal. Check out the Consumer Reports Dehumidifier Buying Guide to get dehumidifier ratings for some of the most popular brands.

Set your humidifier at the lowest setting for maximum effectiveness and utilize automatic drainage functions. Most dehumidifiers will empty the moisture they’ve collected via a straw to a floor drain.

Also, keep in mind that air conditioning is not just for cooling. It’s also for dehumidifying. A properly sized air conditioner removes excess moisture from the air in the process of bringing down the temperature.

Pro Tip: Use humidity gauges and dehumidifiers in tandem for maximum effectiveness. Set alerts and utilize mobile apps and automatic settings to ensure your home remains at the ideal indoor levels of humidity: between 40% and 60%.

Who to Call for Moisture Problems in Your Home

If you have a moisture problem in your home that isn’t being fixed by removing the source, ventilating with exhaust fans, and running a dehumidifier, it might be time to call in the professionals.

A few of the professionals you may call when you have moisture problems at home include:

  • Water leak detection professionals can help you find the source of a leak if you don’t know where the water is coming from.
  • Replacement window professionals can help if water is leaking in from windows due to faulty installation or poor construction.
  • Mold inspectors, like leak detection professionals, can help you identify if and where you have a mold issue. Choose one that doesn’t also offer remediation or repair services. Learn why mold inspectors should never be remediators.

Water and mold issues typically require specialized knowledge, expertise, and equipment, something a general contractor or handyman may not be able to take care of.

Seek out a professional who has extensive knowledge of best practices for removing moisture and mold from a home.

Pro Tip: Be cautious of professionals who offer both inspection and remediation services. If your leak or mold inspector benefits from removing and fixing the problem, how do you know if you’re getting an honest inspection result? In some states, like Florida and Texas, it’s actually illegal for a professional to offer both mold inspection and mold remediation services. Learn more about why you should be wary of free mold inspection offers.

What to Do About Moisture Issues When You’re a Renter

Coordinating inspections and repairs is a lot easier when you own your own home. Renters often have to go through property management companies and/ or landlords to schedule inspections and repairs. And a renter is often left to take whatever professional that a property manager or landlord decides to hire, even if that professional has little to no experience in mold, moisture, or leaks. Even if the inspector is experienced, when the landlord is paying the bill, the outcomes are often biased.

If you are a renter and you’re having a hard time getting your landlord to agree to moisture or mold remediation from an experienced professional, don’t worry.

You have options.

Document It

First, be sure to document all issues that you’ve noticed. Remember: if you see something, smell something, or feel something… do something. Document all correspondence you’ve had with the landlord or property manager about the issue.

If you’re having physical symptoms that you think are related to excess humidity or mold in your rental, be sure to see a medical professional. Include these visits in your documentation. It can be very helpful to have a letter from your physician explaining that you have a health condition that is caused or aggravated by mold exposure. This can sometimes accelerate things, and can be very useful if you end up in landlord-tenant court.

Test It

Next, order a mold test kit and test the air inside your home. Be sure to provide the test results to your landlord and continue to document their response. An at- home test kit is an affordable tool to help identify and confirm a possible mold issue.

From here, you may want to schedule your own inspection. Be ready to pay out of pocket for the professional inspection and request a refund from your landlord, and don’t be surprised if they balk. Again, document every step of the process and all communications with your landlord.

Check out our Renters Playbook to learn more about your rights as a renter and tips to motivate your landlord to take action to control moisture and mold in your home.

Don’t Wait Until Moisture Becomes a Problem

A moisture problem is much harder and more costly to address once it’s become a mold problem. And moisture morphs into mold quickly, so don’t wait to optimize the humidity in your home!

You must be vigilant.

Get your humidity gauges in place. Set the parameters to alert you when you’re above 60% or below 40%.

Use your exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry areas.

Dry wet spots immediately, avoid hanging clothes to dry indoors, and keep windows closed if it’s raining or excessively hot and humid outside.

Watch for signs of a moisture problem, and call a professional if you can’t manage excess moisture on your own.

And remember, If you see something, smell something, or feel something…do something!