15 Oct What’s the Optimal Humidity Level?
What is the level of humidity that should be present in a house?
While you can’t change the humidity level of the great outdoors, you can take steps to bring a little more comfort to your home, and change the humidity level inside your house. Ideally, your house’s humidity level should be between 30% and 50%.
What if I have more than 50%
Any more than 50% and you’ll be very uncomfortable. Humidity makes the space around us feel hotter than it actually is by making it harder for our sweat to properly evaporate. If you sweat and it’s not evaporating it’s going to be very uncomfortable. Also if your humidity is above 50% you risk the chance of mold growth. Water droplets from the air will condense on the materials in your house, and cause rot and decay. This is not only harmful to you and your family but also makes the house less structurally sound. Even with air conditioning, you can have humidity issues, ever have that cold clammy feeling or damp feeling bedding, your AC system may not be dehumidifying correctly. Additionally, you may need a whole-home energy-efficient dehumidifier.
Can I have too little humidity?
On the other hand, you don’t want too little humidity either. Inadequate humidity can cause dry skin and hair, static electricity build-up, nose bleeds, and more. This can be uncomfortable as well. Humidity that is under 5% in a house can actually cause wallpaper to peel away and can shrink wood furniture and floorboards. This in turn can cause warping that causes massive damage in a home. Even once adding a humidifier to a home we often don’t see improvement for several days in air measurements, because we need to rehydrate the home itself, including carpeting and furniture.
Final Thoughts
The lesson to be learned here is that finding the goldilocks of humidity levels is between 30% and 50%. If you have more you risk your health and home, and if you have less you risk the structural integrity of your house. If you can keep your home between those levels not only will your family be happy, but your home will be happy as well! The good news is there are some simple tips, tricks, and often airflow adjustments we can make to help you be more comfortable, as well as plenty of great products to dial your home into comfort and energy efficiency.