Winter is fast approaching, and freezing temperatures are already here. It’s a great time to think about humidity and its effect on you and your family, or your business.
Humidity—defined as the water vapor in the air that surrounds us—is a critical component to comfortable living.
An environment with too little humidity leads to discomfort - our eyes, skin, and respiratory tract begin to dry out. It can also dry out wooden components of your home, causing them to “shrink”, which could lead to cracking of surface finishes like paint, tape joints, wood stain, etc.
On the other hand, too much humidity can lead to respiratory issues, trouble sleeping, and a really damp environment. A space with high humidity is a premium breeding ground for nasty organic intruders like mold, dust mites, and other harmful bacteria. It can cause building products in our home to expand, leading to surface damage similar to what was experienced with the lack of humidity—essentially, any drastic humidity change, low or high, is detrimental to our dwelling’s physical well being!
That said, humidity isn’t a difficult science to understand. According to humidifier manufacturer Aprilaire, the following guide can help you understand what your humidity should be relative to the outside temperatures:
In the next blog issue of our Humidity Series, we’ll discuss what kind of HVAC equipment can be used to give you a more comfortable, humidity-controlled home!
Justin Leach
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