Moisture can be everywhere in your home brought by daily activities such as cooking, bathing, washing dishes, and more. With proper insulation, your home will produce normal moisture levels, but if not, moisture can accumulate on the surfaces, running down through many parts.
Heating appliances can increase moisture at home. Add to that poor insulation, especially during winter, and you get those water droplets invading your home, which will then invite many other problems such as mold and mildew. In addition, indoor moisture can cause infestations that will require termite control treatment.
Here are the major problems that high humidity or moisture can bring:
Mold and mildew buildup
Molds can never grow without water or moisture. When your home is filled with moisture, you can attract mold and mildew growth indoors, potentially leading to health problems.
Mildew is under the category of a mold that grows flat on a surface and can just be removed so easily. On the other hand, mold not just grows on the surface but also penetrates beneath the material.
Most mildew is found in the different organic materials in your home, while mold grows in permanent parts such as walls, windows, and other structures. When this happens, the mold and mildew can effectively peel and rot the paints of your home.
Bugs infestation
Aside from molds and mildew, you have many other bugs that love moisture just as much as those fungi. These bugs include cockroaches, dust mites, termites, bedbugs, and even centipedes occasionally crawling in or infesting your home.
You wouldn’t want to have any of these insects be your thriving home mate. If they do infest, eradicate them right away, but make sure to determine their very root cause most of all. If moisture, take heed of the tips on the next part.
Electronics damage
Moisture, aside from damaging the organic and permanent structures in your home, can also affect your electronic possessions. In fact, electronic appliances are most susceptible to moisture damage. Moisture can easily penetrate the internal components, lower the insulation resistance, then create short circuits.
If you should bring electric appliances from the cold outdoors, basement, or garage inside the home, ensure that the appliances adjust to the indoor climate before being switched on.
Tips for Managing Indoor Moisture
Among all the seasons, winter is the most significant cause of humidity. It’s the time when all windows are closed, heating systems are turned on, and the circulation of air around the home is reduced.
Moisture enters the walls, crawl spaces, and basements of the home without much chance to get out. This is when having proper insulation and ventilation becomes crucial. But in other seasons, you’ll only have to reduce cool surfaces.
Here are some ways you can ensure that the moisture levels in your home remain at an average level at any season:
Give your home proper ventilation
Most of the time, one quick way to solve the moisture issues in your home is to ensure proper ventilation. In the winter, you can open your blinds and drapes to invite warmth inside the interior glass. You might want to leave your interior doors open too for air to circulate better.
Use appliances with fans venting outside such as a dryer exhaust, ducted kitchen exhaust hood, and bathroom exhaust fan to immediately eliminate moisture from dishwashing, bathing, showering, cooking, and clothes drying.
Improve your home’s insulation
Proper insulation can significantly protect your home from environmental factors and even help you save your energy bills. In terms of keeping moisture out of your home, good insulation can make all the difference.
In the winter, surfaces that are usually cool include the doors, walls, and windows, while in the summer, it’s the uninsulated cold-water pipes. Make sure to get your cold-water pipes insulated for the warm weather.
Use dehumidifiers
Dehumidifiers are there for the sole purpose of reducing moisture problems at home. They come in different sizes and shapes to accommodate whatever the size of your home. They can just run silently in the background, too, so they’re really a great addition at home.
Know which parts in your home to fix
Do you have an unused fireplace? Better seal that up since it can still contribute to moisture buildup. When the air can’t circulate, condensation happens, and moisture accumulates.
Leaks in the walls, roofs, faucets, pipes, and toilets as well shouldn’t be ignored. Any sitting water can evaporate, leading to excess moisture, and finally, result in any other damages.
With these tips, you can prevent mold growth and insect infestations driven by excessive moisture. Thus, it would be best to take note of the humidity level in your home—it shouldn’t get too low nor too high. If it’s too low, your body will take a toll, like chappy lips, itchy eyes, and dry skin. The ideal humidity level should be between 40 and 60 percent. If you keep it moderate, you can stay comfortable at home even in summer.