Is Too Much Humidity Hurting Your Health
Research reveals that the ideal humidity level in your indoor environment is between 30% and 50%. Your home’s humidity level can rise above 50% due to several household activities, including cooking, taking hot showers, as well as plumbing issues like leaking water pipes.
What is Too much Humidity?
If you’re wondering whether your home is suffering from excess humidity, you need to be on the lookout for the telltale signs. Such include condensation on the windows, musty odors, wet spots or stains on the ceilings and walls, and mold in the bathroom and basement, among other high-moisture areas. Your home is overly damp if it exceeds the recommended moisture level of 30-50%.Â
The Health Effects of Excess Humidity
High humidity levels in your home will impact your health both directly and indirectly. Direct issues are brought about by physiological processes, such as increased respiration. On the other hand, indirect effects result from excess humidity on pathogenic organisms such as mold. Â
Direct Effects
- Sweating and Dehydration
Sweating is a vital function that helps with regulating your body’s temperature. Your body perspires in an excessively humid environment, but the sweat doesn’t evaporate; instead, it rests on your skin.
Consequently, your body continues to sweat as it tries to cool down with no relief. The severe loss of salt, minerals, and water causes dehydration and overheating, leaving your body struggling to maintain its normal functions. As a result, you’re likely to suffer from muscle cramps, increased heart rate, headaches, and fatigue.
- Poor Sleep Quality
With high humidity in your bedroom, water vapor sticks on your skin, making you uncomfortable and clammy. As soon as you throw away the covers, that same sweat will quickly cool you down, leaving you grasping for the blankets once more. Fighting between the two temperatures interrupts your sleep and prevents you from having a good night’s rest.
Indirect Effects
- Asthma
When you inhale air with too much humidity, the nerves in your lungs are activated, which, in turn, tightens and narrows your airways, thus exacerbating asthma symptoms. Excess humidity in your indoor atmosphere also generates airborne pollutants like dust, mold spores, and dust mites. These pollutants are the common culprits in setting off your asthma symptoms.
- Vulnerability to Infections
The mucus membranes comprising your throat and nose are your body’s first defense against airborne pathogens. When you’re healthy, the mucus membrane traps disease-causing organisms, stopping them from traveling deeper into your body and your bloodstream. Nonetheless, you’re likely to breathe in some bacteria and viruses if they’re sticking on to surfaces and multiplying rapidly due to high humidity.
- Exposure to Airborne Chemical Pollutants
The effects of high humidity in your indoor air are not limited to trapping organic contaminants such as viruses and bacteria, as well as mold spores and dust mites. Too much humidity also plays home to airborne chemicals capable of irritating your skin, eyes, throat, and nose.
The airborne chemical pollutants are brought about by off-gassing from furniture and carpets. With too much humidity in your indoor environment, these chemicals’ concentration increases due to their reaction with water vapor. Therefore, your exposure to these chemicals is greatly enhanced.
Causes of High Humidity in Your Indoor Environment
In a nutshell, high humidity occurs when excess moisture is trapped in your home. With the health risks outlined above, you will want to learn about the causes of excess humidity in your indoor environment as shown below:
- Day to Day Activities
Everyday activities like washing the dishes, cooking, taking a shower, using your washing machine, sweating on the treadmill, and even breathing introduce moisture into your home. Things are even worse if you have a big family.
- Water Leaks
Excess moisture could also be accumulating in your home through cracks and leaks. To identify the culprits, inspect your property for cracked roof tiles, leaky water pipes, or loose zinc fittings and joints.
- Rising Damp
This is a rare but severe cause of excess humidity in your home. Rising damp occurs when the moisture in the ground increases and rises through the masonry and bricks’ pores. Look out for signs of rising damp, such as rotting window frames, mold growth, flaky plaster, as well as wet patches on the walls and ceilings. Ideally, call a professional if you notice any of these signs.
How to Deal With Excess Moisture
Combating excess humidity in your home can be a daunting process. It becomes even worse when there are hidden sources of moisture, such as concealed burst pipes. With so many health risks and dangers to your home’s structural integrity, you need to take control of the moisture levels in your indoor air.
Below are some of the most effective ways of dealing with excess humidity:
- Dehumidifier
Dehumidifiers offer an unmatched solution when it comes to riding your indoor air of excess humidity. This appliance works by extracting warm air via a fan and passing it over refrigerated coils where condensation occurs. Consequently, water droplets fall into a storage tank within the dehumidifier awaiting discharge. Dry and cool air is then released back into your indoor atmosphere, allowing you to breathe easier.
Dehumidifiers come in different sizes and shapes to satisfy your moisture extraction, humidity control requirements, and aesthetic needs to know more about the benefits of having a dehumidifiers expert at Veranda Interiors got you covered. According to them, Small models are best suited for confined areas like your attic, while larger units are ideal for large spaces like basements. Most dehumidifiers also operate quietly and aren’t disruptive to your daily activities.
- Proper Ventilation
Having a sound ventilation system will go a long way in reducing the moisture levels in your home. Adequate ventilation provides a quick solution to getting rid of excess moisture from bathrooms and kitchens. It’s essential to combine this method with the fans venting to the outside. Opening your windows will also allow the moisture to escape, reducing the chances of developing humidity-related chaos in your home.
Summary
Do you feel hotter and more uncomfortable when in a humid environment? There is a valid explanation for that; excess moisture in your indoor environment causes your body temperature to rise. Therefore, your body will compensate by working extra hard to cool down, leading to overheating and exhaustion.
High humidity also plays home to asthma and allergy triggers and harbors potentially harmful chemicals. You should, therefore, maintain a moisture level of between 30% and 50% in your indoor environment. This will allow your body to function correctly and prevent allergens’ growth, such as dust mites and mold spores.
