Ideas to Dehumidify Air

An overly humidified environment can leave you feeling sticky and unpleasant, not to mention the damage it can cause to the building itself. There are simple steps you can take to alleviate the humidity immediately, but serious problems may require special equipment to remedy. For example, if excess moisture is seeping through your roof and causing the uncomfortable humidity, it is also causing damage to the building.

Examination

• Simple problems around the home can cause a big humidity problem. Search for spilt water around the house. Cleaning up errant spills with a towel helps to reduce the water content in the air. Check behind your washing and drying machine to ensure the pipes are all properly connected. A dryer hose with a sprung leak releases steam into the house, increasing the humidity in the environment. Walk around the perimeter of the building to check for water buildup. If you see puddles sitting around the foundation left by the drain pipes, extend the drain pipes away from the hole. This keeps your foundation dry and lowers the overall humidity in a building.

Quick Fixes

• Making a few adjustments around your building can help reduce the humidity. Linens and rugs can hold excess water, increasing the humidity of your building. Set rugs outside to dry before you put them back in their proper place. Set the linens such as bedding and curtains in the dryer and run it until the cloth is dry. Keep the rugs away from the dryer vent so they don’t absorb extra moisture while they’re sitting outside.

Ventilation

• Cycling the air in your building helps to remove the excess water. Step outside and sample the weather. If it feels dryer outside than inside, open the windows and doors to release some of the built-up moisture inside the building. Set box fans in front of the windows to invite dry air from outside into the house. Turn on exhaust fans throughout the house to help push the moist air out. This is especially important in hot, moist environments, such as the kitchen and bathroom.

Product Solutions

• Some humidity problems are so bad you need to invest in some products to keep your building comfortable. If it’s wet and humid outside, close up the building and turn on the air conditioner to cycle some cool, dry air through the building. Invest in a dehumidifier that pulls the humidity out of the air on a refrigerated metal coil and stores it as water. The cold metal forms frost, which then melts into water in the dehumidfier's container. Set it up and let it run until the air feels crisp and dry in your home. Empty the collected water after you shut the machine off per the manufacturer's instructions.