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How to Reduce Humidity in a Home

How to Reduce Humidity in a Home

It’s that time of year again where the mercury rises and with it, so does the humidity. When you live in the land of 10,000 lakes, you expect to be sticky and hot when you’re outside. But when the inside of your home is just as miserable, you need help fast!

If your home is more humid than it should be, don’t suffer needlessly! Check out this problem-solving guide from Budget Exteriors and then give us a call to connect with our insulation contractors or schedule HVAC services.

Why Is High Humidity a Problem?

Although most homeowners associate humidity levels with comfort first, this is by far only one of the reasons you shouldn’t brush off high humidity levels in your home. High humidity creates a fertile breeding ground for microorganisms and mold, all of which can be harmful to your family’s health. When left for up to 48 hours in rooms with humidity levels above 55%, bacteria and mold will begin to proliferate. In fact, ENERGY STAR recommends a relative humidity level of between 30% and 50%—so anything higher than that and you’ve got problems.

Increased humidity is also typically behind an array of bad odors, often caused by mildew and rot. During a particularly humid season, dust mites tend to thrive, causing allergy flare-ups for residents. Finally, humidity can damage your home’s flooring, furnishings, and drywall, causing materials to warp and deteriorate over time.

Not only does high humidity inside your home make being indoors less comfortable, but it can also interfere with your home’s energy efficiency. In turn, this can cause your monthly cooling costs and HVAC maintenance to increase.

Why Is My Home so Humid?

Isn’t that the question of the hour! Indeed, excessive humidity can have a variety of causes. Exterior climate, for one, can have immense effects on interior air quality, especially if your home is under-insulated. In other words: if it’s muggy outside, it’s probably some degree of muggy inside—but that’s no excuse if it impacts your comfort levels.

Plumbing leaks are another common culprit. If water from a leak is allowed to puddle, of course it will impact your home’s humidity levels, especially if it goes undiscovered for a while. This cause of humidity can be quite hard to tackle, as your home water system is extensive.

Finally, a lack of insulation can also be a prime cause of humid homes. If there is no physical barrier between your home’s interior climate and the exterior, it’s liable to be influenced by the latter quite a bit. Even if every other moisture-management system in your home is running on full-cylinders, it’s useless if your home can’t keep the treated air in!

How to Cut Down Your Home’s Humidity

Follow these steps to decrease the humidity levels in your home.

Schedule Regular HVAC Services

Putting off HVAC system maintenance and forgetting to change your air filter regularly can cause your system to run less efficiently. On the other hand, an air conditioner that works as it can be an effective tool for reducing the humidity inside your home.

Update Your Insulation

Insulation helps to reduce the transfer of moisture and heat between your home’s exterior and the world outside. Insulation contractors can assess your insulation for weaknesses and make recommendations for improvements.

Use Your Exhaust Fans

If you have an exhaust fan in your bathroom, using it can help to remove humidity from the air in your home. Anytime you take a bath or shower, be sure to turn on your exhaust fan first.

Invest in a Dehumidifier

When your humidity levels are over 65%, you should consider investing in a whole-home dehumidifier.

Get a Professional Assessment of Your Home’s Humidity Management System

Homes are made up of a bunch of functionally interconnected parts; no one operates in isolation. A malfunctioning gutter installation, for example, won’t be able to effectively drain rainwater, which can then seep down towards the foundation of your home, invade your basement, and cause all sorts of problems with humidity.

Regardless of what you think the cause of the excessive humidity in your home is, you need to have a home renovation professional out to the property—but not just any professional. This professional must be skilled in a variety of areas, from siding installations to replacement windows. Using this wide-ranging, comprehensive expertise, they can give you an idea of how, systematically, your home is failing you, and what you need to do to get your humidity levels back under control.

Improve the Humidity in Your Minnesota Home With the Help of Budget Exteriors

If you live in the Twin Cities metro or surrounding areas, don’t suffer any longer than you have to from sticky, hot air inside your home! Call our Bloomington, Minnesota insulation contractors at 952.887.1613 or contact us online and get a free quote on insulation or HVAC services today. You’ll be glad you did!

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