Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in a given environment. As it is said, virtue lies in the middle. The humidity of your home should be on the average. It is not good for the relative humidity of your home to get too low or for it to get too high. The range for the normal relative humidity of a room should be between 30% and 50%. If it is below that, it is low and if rises to 60% and above, it is very high and at this level, you will not feel comfortable in your home. Below are some of the reasons why you should dehumidify your house.
Why you should dehumidify your house
Your home will feel hotter if its humidity is high and this will make you feel uncomfortable in your home.
Your indoor air will be wet. If you sweat, it will not evaporate and thus it does not cool you off. Under such a situation, you will not be able to sleep very well. This explains why some people have sleep problem when the humidity is high.
High room humidity affects the beauty of your home decor. This is because it creates a veritable environment for mold to grow. The mold spores will start to grow and develop on the walls of your home and even in the furniture there. This will affect the painting on your wall.
It can result in economic waste. The wood of your home will begin to swell and the doors in your home will stick. When the high humidity continues for a long time, wood items in your home will begin to lose their durability resulting in economic waste. Fabric can also be damaged by mildew. High humidity can cause metal items to rust.
It can become irritating to live with pets under high humidity. This is because pets develop odor when the humidity is high. It can also affect human beings in this regard. Deodorant does not function very well when humidity is high.
What you will need to dehumidify your home
There are some essential items, you will need in order to dehumidify your home. Below are things you will require in order to naturally reduce the amount of water in your indoor environment:
- fan
- waterproof containers for desiccants, such as yogurt containers or baking pans
- humidity meter
- desiccants such as calcium chloride, silica or rock salt
- wood stove or space heater (optional)
Natural ways to dehumidify your home
Below are some natural means of dehumidifying your home.
1. Improve your home ventilation
If the humidity of your home is high, you can naturally reduce it by improving the ventilation of your home. Ventilation here means allowing fresh air to enter your home. The better the air flow in your home, the lesser the amount of moisture in the air will be. You can put on the fan in your home to ensure better air circulation around the home. A window fan should be a better product to use. You can also run an air conditioner if you have one.
Keeping the window of your home open more often especially if the outside humidity is not high is another means of improving on the ventilation of your home.
2. Absorb the moisture
It is not enough to improve the ventilation of your home in order to reduce humidity. You should also make effort to absorb moisture from the air. You can accomplish this by placing containers of desiccant in your room. There are some substances that naturally draw water from the environment. Such products include salt crystal, calcium chloride and others.
It is important that you keep an eye on the containers. Inspect it once or twice per week. Pour out the water accumulated in the containers and see if you can add more desiccant.
3. Dry the Air
Heat your home with a space heater or wood stove if you have any in order to warm and dry the air. This helps to reduce moisture from the air. Don’t heat your home with any other source except a dry heat source. Gas heat is not acceptable because it is not a dry source.
Monitor the room temperature and do not allow it to get up to 95 degree Fahrenheit. Turn off the heat source if the temperature is getting up to that level. Put on your fan so that the heat will circulate round the room as you are heating it. In this way, you will be able to dehumidify your home naturally.
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