How humid is it within your home? To start, humidity is defined as a quantity representing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. When figuring out how humid an area is, we give it a percentage. The average healthy home has a humidity level between 45%-55%, once you really start to go above 60%, it is considered unhealthy and can cause many issues inside. So as homeowners, how do we fight back against humidity?
What are the telltale signs of issues caused from humidity? Everyone hates that muggy feeling that leaves you uncomfortable even in your own home. If you have a stinky-musty odor in your home, it is due to the moisture trapping the scent which lingers instead of dispersing. If you have damp basements or crawl spaces, that can lead to mold issues within those spaces. Moisture can seep through the foundation and cause moisture to build up within and from that, cause mold and mildew to build up. With mold being a health issue and can lead to medical complications, it is important to make your house as secure and dry as possible.
If you are having humidity issues, the best place to start is the lowest area of your house, that being the crawlspace or basement. Most crawlspaces are damp and thus prone to having moisture issues. The first step to take would be a crawlspace encapsulation. A vapor barrier is exactly as it sounds, it creates a barrier between the ground and your home to prevent moisture from rising towards the living space. Everyone hates uninvited guests, right? Think of the vapor barrier like a bouncer kicking out any moisture trying to come uninvited into the house party. If you have an existing vapor barrier, it is best to get it inspected for any holes or leaks where moisture can penetrate. If you do not have a vapor barrier, we install a 20 millimeter thick vapor barrier that is a lot harder to rip or scratch, this way, no animals or objects can tear through as easily. Once the vapor barrier is installed, the next step is to encapsulate the crawlspace by spray-foaming the exterior walls. We generally spray between 2-3 inches which acts as an insulator and a block from moisture seeping through the foundation into the crawlspace. Once your crawlspace is completely separated from the outside, we throw in a dehumidifier that will maintain whatever humidity level we set it to.
Dehumidifiers work hard in your crawlspaces and basements to make sure whatever humidity tries to barge into your home uninvited, gets filtered out and replaced with dry air. We set our dehumidifiers to 55%, which is right where you want your house to be. Just like Goldilocks once said “Not too humid, not too dry, but 55% humidity is just right.” It is important to keep a safe humidity level within your home and with dehumidifiers, we can assure that your home will feel comfy and safe during this hot and humid summertime.
