Tips to reduce moisture in your home
Moisture can enter your home from many places and many homes have more than one source of moisture. Cooking, bathing and even our own breath put moisture to the air. Also, sources outside your home can increase the moisture inside. Too much indoor humidity can promote the growth of mold, mildew, and bacteria.
Try these simple actions to avoid excessive moisture:
- Keep basement and crawl spaces sealed off from the outdoors.
- Install gutters and divert roof runoff away from the foundation.
- Improve grades around the foundation to drain water away.
- Cover dirt floors in crawl spaces and basements with heavy duty plastic.
- Ensure that clothes dryers are properly vented to the outdoors.
- Wrap cold water pipes with pipe insulation to eliminate sweating.
- Use exhaust ventilation to remove moisture generated by showering, bathing and cooking.
- Reduce the number of plants in humid areas.
- Do not store wet firewood in the basement.
- Do not open basement windows and doors in the summer to dry out the basement. This can make the problem worse by allowing moist outdoor air into your cool basement, causing increased condensation.
Some of the most common indications of excess moisture are:
- Wet stains on walls and ceilings
- Stuffy feeling in room
- Rotting wood
- Condensation on windows
- Musty smells
- Allergies (if the air in your home is too moist, it will encourage the growth of bacteria and mold, common allergens)
If you find the moisture problem still persists, a dehumidifier may help reduce the moisture level in your home. Find a retailer of ENERGY STAR qualified dehumidifiers.