Internal humidity

propertyhunter

I was unknowingly living in high humidity (~77%) for 2 years - it was only fungus growing on fabrics that brought the problem to my attention. I got a Meaco dehumidifer and that's helped to dry out the house and bring it to around 50-55%. No condensation on windows now - so if you can't find the cause of the humidity in your home, consider buying a dehumidifier. It will be good for your long-term health.

Mary108

No heating yet @teaselMay? That's even braver than me!! 

And the low 80s humidity reading indoors doesn't worry you?

In fairness I don't think my humidity readings would worry me, if I'd seen the same in previous years! 

Mary108

I may end up doing that @propertyhunter. I'll probably start a thread on which one to buy 🤣

However I'd like to understand why I'm encountering the higher humidity and put any potential issues right, before I buy a dehumidifier 👍

teaselMay

The readings are usually in the 60s, low 80s is a reflection of the humidity outside, it's not usually that high. I do tend to have windows open during the day and the back door open most of the day if it's not raining (dogs) so lots of air flow

Sarahspangles

It’s Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Plus we’ve just had the wettest 18 months on record (something like that) and everything is pretty saturated. We’re on clay soil which is usually like concrete after the end of Summer, but not this year, so the house is currently sitting on a sponge! The garden looks great though.

Humidity will drop when it gets colder because instead of warm wet air we get dew, and that percolates into the soil. In the meantime we are running humidifiers on each floor, rather than turning up the heating and getting the house uncomfortably warm.

ThisIsWeird

Mary108 said:

I tend to spend most of my time upstairs. I have a little office/sitting room which I use a lot. The temperature upstairs is usually around 19 C and the humidity is about 67% which is much higher than it has been in the last couple of autumns
Downstairs there is a large sitting room which I have tried to heat to about 15 - 17 C. The humidity in this room has shot up and earlier this  morning was 78%   I've cranked up the heating and its 19C in the sitting room now and 72% humidity, but of course, as soon as the heating goes off and the room cools....the humidity rises again!
The hallway which isnt heated at all is 16C at the moment with a humdity of 71%

Thank you. More Qs!

1) Which room(s) has the condensation on the windows? And do you notice this mainly in the mornings?

2) Do you use the large downstairs sitting room over winter? Perhaps sometimes with visitors? But then what - not at all?

3) How is the kitchen heated? Where do you sit to eat?

4) Is your bedroom upstairs or down? How do you heat this, and for how long?

5) Which bathroom do you use? How many more are there?

Mary108

@Sarahspangles - a dehumidifier sounds like an essential household item and one I have never ever considered before!

@ThisIsWeird

1) Which room(s) has the condensation on the windows? And do you notice this mainly in the mornings?

None at the moment. When its cold outside the bedrooms have condensation inside and yes first thing in the mornings

2) Do you use the large downstairs sitting room over winter? Perhaps sometimes with visitors? But then what - not at all?

I use the large sitting room when I have friends over, but tbh we mainly go out, so I dont use it much at all

3) How is the kitchen heated? Where do you sit to eat?

The kitchen is heated by a radiator (gas central heating). The utliity also has a small radiator which I've turned off as its right beside the back door. I generally eat in my upstairs sitting room although if friends come over for a meal we eat downstairs. The conservatory in the summer, not in the winter. 

4) Is your bedroom upstairs or down? How do you heat this, and for how long?

All bedrooms are upstairs. All heating is gas central heating. I aim to put the heating on for as little time as possible and make hot water bottles and wear my snuggly onesie when its cold......I've put the heating on today and yesterday way more than I normally would (probably for 4 hours each day!!) to try to reduce the humidity, and I got much too hot in doing this!!

5) Which bathroom do you use? How many more are there?

I use my ensuite, there is a main bathroom and a downstairs cloakroom

Sarahspangles

Mary108 said:

@Sarahspangles - a dehumidifier sounds like an essential household item and one I have never ever considered before!

I originally bought ours ten years ago after buying a smelly house from a family who smoked indoors and had dogs. I was generating lots of water in each room I tackled - stripping wallpaper, steaming paintwork before repainting, and cleaning carpets and hard floors. The dehumidifier speeded up each project. It was one that costs £320 now and I bet I originally planned to resell it!

However when I ran it upstairs, in rooms that I hadn’t yet got round to, it extracted a huge amount of water because they’d been drying washing in bedrooms. After experiencing how nice cool, dry bedding is and seeing that the mould on bedroom ceilings and frames wasn’t coming back, I kept it. For a while, I didn’t have a tumble dryer but used it in a south facing room with washing on an airer and the door closed. When I met my OH he came with his own.

We barely use them from June to September but they are in use now. I’ll switch them on if the floors have been mopped or OH is airing sportswear, or if it’s rainy out, and leave them until they drop to ‘Eco’ when humidity is 50 to 55%.

I think we save on heating, though I haven’t done the maths. We keep bedrooms cool which is good for sleeping.

Mary108

Sounds like a great set up, @Sarahspangles 👍 Thank you for sharing.

What type if dehumidifier do you use? Or are they 2 different types?

vacheron

RH stands for "Relative" Humidity as in "relative to the temperature of the air". 

The warmer the air, the more water that air can hold. RH is a percentage of the maximum the air can hold at that temperature (so hypothetically beginning to condense and "rain" at 100%). This means that with the exact same amount of water in the air, the warmer areas will show a lower relative humidity.

This is probably the reason why downstairs (colder) is showing a higher RH reading than the warmer upstairs sensor. 

Also if you are keeping your house down around 15 degrees, this would also show a higher reading than a house with the exact same amount of moisture, but at a more "comfortable" 19-21C temperature.