High humidity can be a year-round problem. People experience high humidity in the summer AND the winter months. During the winter months, condensation can form on the indoor panel of windows and on other surfaces. This increases the chances of mold and mildew growing in your home.
Mold and mildew can cause serious issues. Allowing mold into your home can cause you and your family health complications.
Along with mold, water alone can cause serious damage to your house. Water can cause window frames, siding, and other wood to rot and slowly break down. Over time this can add up to some serious repairs.
During the summer, high humidity is just awful for everybody in your house.
You can actually measure room humidity levels with a simple room humidity monitor like the one shown here—cost is under $10.
Measuring room humidity is actually very simple. They sell small humidity trackers that you can hold in your hand or mount on your wall. They show the Temperature, Percent of Humidity, and also they show what the humidity low and high is. These are all smart to track to make sure your home is running efficiently. They are sold for less than $10, I will link one below.
What Dehumidifier to Buy?
Dehumidifiers are one of the best ways to lower humidity levels in your home. Dehumidifiers are inexpensive and easy to use. A Dehumidifier reduces humidity levels by sucking the moisture out of the air.
How do you know what dehumidifier to buy? First, you need to know how big the area the dehumidifier will be working in.
If the area is a very large, 2,000 sqft living room, a small dehumidifier won’t work. It won’t have enough power to pull the moisture out of the air.
But, if you only have high humidity in a small room, then a portable dehumidifier will do the trick. These are cheap and easy to purchase on Amazon.
Portable Dehumidifiers
Portable dehumidifiers use a fan to pull in the humid air. The humid air is pulled over cold coils filled with refrigerant. The refrigerant quickly cools the humid air causing condensation. This turns the moisture in the air into a liquid which is then stored in the dehumidifier. These can be purchased at any home improvement store.
These dehumidifiers have become very advanced over the years. They are easier than ever to use, affordable, and very efficient at removing humidity.
Portable dehumidifiers are best used in tight spaces like a closet. You can get these for less than $25. I will link some good options below.
Different Dehumidifier Sizes
If you try and put a portable dehumidifier (see above) in a living room it will not be able to work efficiently. Dehumidifiers use drying capacity to measure how much water is removed from the air in a certain number of hours. For example how many pints of water can it remove in one day.
Here are the dehumidifier standards for sizing. This will help you choose the right size dehumidifier for your space.
It is always better to buy a dehumidifer that is standard for a larger space. This will ensure that it will be able to handle any level of humidity. If you dehumidifer is to small it will run constitily without bring the humidity levels down in your space.
Understanding Humidity Control
The optimal humidity in your home should be 30-60% humidity. Experts say that anything lower or higher will create problems. One good way help monitor this is by getting a smart thermostat. This will allow you to adjust temperatures in real time and monitor humidity.
If you cannot find a way to monitor these levels it may be good to purchase a hygrometer to hang next to the dehumidifier. These devices are a cheap way to make sure your levels are good.
