What You Need to Know About Humidity in Your Vermont Home

Did you know that the relative humidity in your home should be between 30% – 50%? Excessive levels of humidity in your Vermont home can lead to some unwanted consequences that could be harmful to your home or family. Too much humidity can cause or exacerbate health problems such as allergies in some people. It can also lead to mold, mildew or rot, causing structural damage to your home or its contents. Monitoring and controlling indoor moisture are important steps to maintaining the health of your home.

In addition to protecting your personal comfort and the structure of your home, controlling humidity is important for energy saving; lower humidity can increase the efficiency of your air conditioner.

Signs Your Home is Too Humid:

• Water stains on walls or ceilings
• Mold and mildew
• Condensation on windows
• Musty odor
• Feeling of clamminess
• Rotting wood

How to Lower Humidity Levels in Your Home

The most important step in lowering the humidity in your home is to find and stop the source of the moisture. For example, if your cold water pipes are uninsulated, droplets can accumulate and run down into walls and other structural components of your house in addition to raising humidity levels. Your first step should be working to identify these major moisture sources and correct them if possible.

If you suspect that you may not have proper ventilation or if you have serious mold/condensation problems, consult a professional. Not all moisture problems have easily identifiable sources.

There are also small changes you can make that can make a significant difference to your humidity levels. Here are a few simple measures you can take to reduce moisture in your Vermont home:

• Use your dehumidifier and kitchen/bathroom vent fans diligently
• Seal air and duct leaks
• Keep air conditioning drip pans and drain lines clear
• On extra hot and humid days, avoid boiling water on the stove and taking hot showers—it will be harder for the excess moisture from these activities to evaporate.
• Adjust outdoor downspouts so that they carry water further away from the house, and keep them clean.
• Try keeping the indoor temperature a bit warmer—warm air can hold more moisture than cooled air, so the relative humidity will decrease if the temperature increases.
• Consider line-drying your laundry outside. Dryers, even those that are vented outside, can produce excess moisture.

There are many potential causes of moisture in Vermont homes, and all of them can contribute to increased indoor humidity. For more personal comfort and better health for your home and your family, take some of the steps in this article to help reduce the humidity in your home.

If you think you may have a moisture problem, contact Avonda Air Systems to speak with a professional about your options.

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