What is the Ideal Home Humidity Level for Your House?

Table Of Content

• What Is the Ideal Indoor Humidity?
• The climate affects the humidity level in your home.
• Measure for optimal humidity for house – ice cube method
• Poor insulation could be increasing the home’s humidity levels.
• Striking The Right Balance Of Ideal Relative Humidity
• Signs and Dangers of Low Indoor Humidity
• Ideal humidity – and signs of trouble

When you breathe in poor-quality air long enough, you could develop respiratory illnesses. Use our relative humidity charts to find the proper humidity level in your house. This is commonly referred to as short cycling, and a professional can diagnose the problem as part of HVAC inspection cost. While the cost of HVAC replacement may seem high to homeowners at first, investing in a smaller unit may make a home more comfortable and energy efficient in the long run.

What Is the Ideal Indoor Humidity?

This small tool can be placed in a living space that’s a good distance away from a bathroom or kitchen where moisture is created. You’ll also want to avoid placing it near doors and windows to ensure the reading isn’t skewed by rain, sunlight, or other weather conditions. Living in a desert climate, most of my clients’ humidity issues result from their indoor water usage habits combined with tightly constructed modern homes that trap excess moisture. Many modern programmable and smart thermostats record and display indoor relative humidity percentages.

The climate affects the humidity level in your home.

Both are right, because those levels exist in an acceptable range for home humidity. After showering or bathing, leave the bathroom door open to let the steam escape into adjacent rooms. This can help increase humidity levels throughout your living space. Indoor humidity refers to the amount of water vapor present in the air within your living space.

Measure for optimal humidity for house – ice cube method

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The optimal environment for sleeping would be neither too humid nor too dry—somewhere in the ideal range of 40-60%. Additionally, it is essential to maintain a comfortable temperature (ideally 65 degrees) for an ideal sleep experience. Keeping the indoor humidity level at 40–60% and the temperature at 65 degrees can help create an atmosphere conducive to restful sleep. It can be tricky to determine if home issues are due to high or low humidity levels.

Individuals with allergies or asthma should consult a doctor before making significant changes and get professional advice. Are you confident about the quality of the indoor air you breathe? A key factor in ensuring its healthiness is maintaining an optimal relative humidity level for your house. Something that can be surprisingly difficult to achieve if you don’t know where the baseline lies. The right humidity level is also key for sleeping throughout the night.

Very high readings are considered to be anything above 70% humidity, while low humidity is anything below 25%. If you want to make sure to keep the humidity of your home at a safe level so that mold doesn’t grow, then you need to have a level that is above 60%. The climate here is subtropical, with much of the year being warm or hot with mild winters. Within the Ohio Valley zone of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennesse, and West Virginia, there are humid, sub-tropical areas of hot, humid summers and mild winters. The Pacific Northwest coastal region includes Idaho, Oregon, and Washington state. They have a marine oceanic climate characterized by cool winters and summers.

High levels of humidity cancreate a dangerous breeding ground for bacteria, fungi (fungus), mould and dustmites. These contaminants can infiltrate the air and cause a host of problemssuch as severe headaches, respiratory difficulties, or allergic reactions. Inparticular, mould releases spores that pose serious health risks if they arebreathed in in large amounts. However, this approach will only work when you are sure that the air outside is fresher and drier.

Ideal humidity – and signs of trouble

You can buy a digital hygrometer online or at a local big-box store. It will monitor your home’s moisture level so you can be proactive about creating a relaxing environment. We like the ThermoPro TP50 Digital Hygrometer because it’s easy to read and reports your home’s indoor temperature and humidity level. Plus, the comfort indicator will let you know if you’re approaching a temperature or humidity level outside your desired settings. The ideal indoor relative humidity is between 30% and 50%, but this doesn’t mean you must rush out and buy a humidifier if you’re reading 51% at specific points of the year.

Missing the mark on your home’s indoor humidity levels can lead to poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and severe health concerns. In order to maintain a comfortable and healthy home, it is essential to monitor indoor humidity and make adjustments. The benefit of opting for a whole-home humidity control system? It will automatically measure indoor humidity levels and make the necessary adjustments so the level in your home remains between 40–60%. Whole-home humidifiers and dehumidifiers will set your space up for the perfect indoor humidity range. For that reason, humidity becomes trapped, causing a sticky feel in the air.

If you’ve been exposed to mold, you can clean it while wearing a mask and fix any moisture problems so that the mold doesn’t return. You can also contact a restoration company to clean up the mold if the problem is extensive. Today’s Homeowner exists to help you maintain or improve your home safely and effectively. We uphold strict editorial standards and carefully vet the advice and resources referenced in our articles. Click below to learn more about our review process and how we earn money. If your humidity is too high, there are so many ways to bring this down.

Unfortunately, this can breed mold and mildew growth and lead to uncomfortable skin and allergy symptoms. Ahead, discover the ideal humidity level for the inside of your house and several expert-recommended ways to adjust your home's moisture levels. Ensuring the ideal relative humidity levels is crucial for both comfort and the overall well-being of occupants. It helps prevent issues like mold growth, and discomfort due to excessive dryness or excess moisture levels in the air and promotes a healthier indoor environment. Low indoor humidity means that your house’s humidity level is below 30%.