Everyone wants the sunshine and warmth of summer, but no one wants the humidity that accompanies it.
That is understandable because high humidity is likely to cause any of the following:
- Excessive perspiration
- Frizzy hair
- Difficulty sleeping
- Mold/mildew grows faster
These are aspects of high humidity that no one wants to deal with any time of the year, especially during the nicest season. Thankfully, you are not stuck in this situation permanently. There are actions you can take that will efficiently assist in reducing the humidity within your home.
Most of them aren’t even that difficult, too!
So what are these steps you can take? Let’s jump right in!
1. Utilize Fans
This is the simplest, and easiest thing you can do to combat humidity. Now, it may not be the most effective option on the list, it still works.
Fans naturally ventilate, create air circulation, and facilitate evaporation. Fungus, such as mold, prefer warm, moist areas with stale, non-moving air. Just adding a fan to somewhere like your kitchen when you’ve finished cooking can be incredibly beneficial.
2. Proper Ventilation
Ventilation is great, specifically rooms that tend to build moisture. Just leaving your ventilation fan on for an extra ten minutes can help limit the humidity. However, you don’t necessarily want to leave the fan on for too long, as that could actually attract more humidity.
Important note: Check your ventilation and make sure rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom direct the air outside, not back into the house somewhere like the attic.
If you notice a room gathering humidity that doesn’t have an installed ventilation fan, see if you can crack a window just to get some fresh air movement.
When considering ventilation, your main concern should focus on the rooms in the home that create moisture. For instance, the kitchen for cooking, the basement if that is where you store your washer and dryer, and your bathroom, especially if you like to take hot showers.
Speaking of showers…
3. Colder, Shorter Showers
I know, I know. Hot showers can be the most relaxing 10 minutes of your day. If you scoff at the idea of only taking a ten-minute hot shower, then you should definitely keep reading for the sake of your bathroom.
While the hot water feels great on your skin, it produces a lot of steam and keeps creating it the longer you shower. With the door closed and considering most bathrooms tend to be on the smaller side size-wise, a significant amount of heat and moisture gets trapped in there.
To reduce the moisture, you can crack the window inside the bathroom and turn on ventilation. However, another alternative is taking shorter and colder showers. That may seem like a heavy sacrifice, but there are actually many proven health benefits to colder showers.
4. Leave the Firewood Outside
With warmer days approaching, take the firewood by your chimney and leave it outside. Especially if the wood is fresh-cut.
Firewood contains a lot of water, and when it is brought indoors, it evaporates. This can add an extra amount of humidity to the air. However, this is an easy fix! Summers are made for bonfires, so take that wood outside and reduce your humidity at the same time.
5. Cover Your Indoor Plant’s Soil
Plants are great aesthetically and actually absorb moisture from the air. However, they tend to release more water vapor into the air than they consume.
It’s not significant enough that you should immediately round up all your plants and toss them out the door, but if there are certain rooms in your home that have high humidity, check to see how many plants dwell inside.
Perhaps rearrange them or spread them throughout the home. Another option is to cover the soil. This will decrease the amount of humidity, and since the water isn’t evaporating from the soil, you won’t have to water the plant as much either.
6. Change the Carpet
Carpets can actually retain moisture. Moreover, dust mites also really love the moisture within carpets. If you have come to the conclusion that your humidity is a problem is due to moisture in your carpet it may be time to replace it.
Important note: changing the carpet should not be your first solution. As changing carpet can be expensive, consider it one of the last options to fix your humidity problem. Check the simpler options off your list first such as moving plants and ventilation.
7. Waterproof Basement Walls
Waterproofing your basement walls is incredibly important, especially if the walls are cement and that is where you store your washer and dryer. Basements are known for their humidity. Moisture can seep up through your home’s foundation and spread throughout the entire house.
Unfortunately, waterproofing can be expensive, and if you’re renting your home, you should certainly bring this up to your landlord.
There are benefits to waterproofing your basement walls beside lowering the risk of mold build up, as well.
Important note: Make sure your dryer’s vent is dispersing outside your house.
8. Dehumidifier
There are various models of dehumidifiers, but they can be a helpful asset in reducing humidity.
The greatest benefit of the dehumidifier is it can eliminate the humidity in your home without having to cool down your home, like an air conditioning unit.
So if you want your hair to hold less moisture without needing to break out a sweater if you don’t handle cool air well, then a dehumidifier is perfect for you. Especially if you’re happy with your air conditioning unit and not looking to upgrade.
To help decide between a dehumidifier or an A/C unit, click here.
9. Air Conditioning Unit
Air conditioning units are excellent for keeping your home cool and removing humidity from the air. For most models of air conditioners, not only do they chill your temperature, but when they absorb the warmer air, it reduces the humidity as well.
Make sure you start your unit earlier in the day to allow it to run before humidity has a chance to build up. It is easier to maintain humidity in your home rather than having to drastically lower humidity.
10. Contact HVAC Maintenance
Unfortunately, sometimes when trying to battle humidity systems like dehumidifiers and air conditioning units can overwork and start malfunctioning.
If you have been taking proactive measures and running your system and still notice high humidity, it could mean that you have a technical issue with your system.
In this case, you’ll want to either replace or repair your existing unit.
If you live in the greater Atlanta area, don’t hesitate to contact Assured Comfort for your HVAC system needs. They have the experience and knowledge necessary to solve your HVAC issues and help eliminate unwanted humidity from your home.
To schedule an HVAC repair or maintenance service, click the link below.