How do I maintain ideal humidity in my home?
How pleasant the indoor air in your home feels is often related to humidity. Is the humidity in the house too high or too low? Then it can cause ailments and health problems and damage to your home. But what is the ideal humidity level? And how do you check it?
What is humidity?
Under (relative) humidity we mean the number of particles of water vapour circulating in the air at any given time. A good humidity is between 40% and 60%. The air consists of between the 40% and the 60% of particles of water vapour at that time. The ideal level of humidity in the house is 50%.
What if the humidity in the house is not right?
There are two possible scenarios: the humidity in the house can either be too low or too high. Each of these situations has its own consequences.
What are the consequences of a too low humidity?
When humidity is too low, the air in the house is too dry and the relative humidity is below 40%. Low humidity is especially common in winter because the cold air contains less moisture. Typically, too low humidity can cause the following:
Nevertheless, too low humidity in the home is not a major problem. The problems really start when the humidity is too high.
What are the consequences of a too high humidity in the house?
Is your humidity too high? Then the relative humidity is higher than 60%. For this, there are a lot of different possible causes, which are often not always easy to detect. Everyday activities from washing, cooking, ironing to simply breathing and perspiring contribute to increased humidity. In fact, scientific studies show that an average family produces up to 15 litres of excess moisture per day. That's not nothing! But an underlying moisture problem can also cause humidity levels in the home to be too high.
The consequences of too high humidity in your home are worse than those of too low humidity; both for your home and for your own health.
So it is not a luxury to do something if you suffer from excessive humidity in your home.
Measuring humidity
You can measure the humidity in your home yourself using a hygrometer. This is a measuring instrument specifically designed to measure humidity levels in the home. This can help understand humidity levels in the indoor environment.
To ensure an accurate reading, it is important to position the hygrometer correctly. You obviously want to get a representative measurement of the humidity so that you can take appropriate action if the air turns out to be too dry or too humid. This is why we recommend not placing the hygrometer on the wall of an outside wall or near a window. This is because the humidity near external walls and windows often differs somewhat from the rest of the house.
A hygrometer is available these days for as little as 15 euros. Usually, these handy devices also have other useful functions.
How can I optimise humidity in my home?
Tips for better humidity in the home
We list our tips:
A universal and definitive solution: balanced ventilation
The best optimal solution, in other words the solution that guarantees the best humidity in the house, is the installation of a mechanical ventilation system, preferably a balanced ventilation. With balanced ventilation, you have total control over the air in your home. Does the indoor air have excessive humidity? Then you can easily take that air outside and bring in fresh air. Not only does this help control the number of water vapour particles in the air in your home, but it also provides fresh air with plenty of oxygen. Things that make you breathe better and therefore less likely to suffer from lung and respiratory problems.
Get assistance from AquaConsult
Are you suffering from excessive humidity somewhere in Flanders? Contact Aquaconsult now and our experts will be happy to help you.
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