Causes and Remedies for High Humidity in Your Home

Having a high humidity level in your home can cause you to feel uncomfortable. Worse than that, a high humidity level can promote bacteria growth resulting in mold and mildew. No one wants to see the telltale greenish-brown signs of mold growth in their basement, garage, or home. Mold remediation can be quite costly, or, if you choose to tackle the project yourself, it can be a lot of work.

What causes high humidity levels inside your home?

There are numerous causes for high humidity levels inside your home. The outside humidity level in your region obviously effects the interior humidity level. Basements can be naturally humid because of their subterranean location.

Many everyday activities in your home can cause an increase in humidity. Your automatic dishwashing machine lets out lots of moisture during the drying cycle. If you wash and hang some of your clothes to dry, the moisture from the clothes causes an increase in humidity. The steam coming off of food during cooking causes increased moisture levels in your home. And, of course, taking a steamy, hot shower can increase humidity levels as well.

What is the United States government recommendation for optimum inside humidity level?

According to the United States government Energy Star website, "the optimum [relative humidity (RH)] level for a building is generally considered to be between 30% and 50%. Anything above this range may promote bacteria growth. (In colder climates, during the heating season, humidity levels should be in the range of 30% to 40% RH to prevent window condensation.)"

What can you do to decrease the levels of humidity inside your home?

Proper ventilation for your home can greatly help your home stay at an appropriate humidity level. In the bathroom, it is best to have an air vent that removes moisture. Be sure to turn it on just before, during, and after your hot shower or bath.

Another specific are of the home that often needs extra ventilation is the kitchen. If you do a lot of stovetop cooking, you will probably need a stove vent hood. Some stove vent hoods just redirect the air out into the kitchen, which does not help much in getting the moisture out of your home. The best range hoods are vented out to through your roof so that moisture is pulled from your kitchen to the outside of your home.

There are other simple and free ways to naturally keep the humidity level down in your home. If you have garments that you do not wish to or cannot put in the dryer, hang these garments outside rather than inside to dry. If you are generating increased moisture through showering or cooking, simply open some windows to let the moisture outside.