Excessive humidity in your home

Want to know how healthy your indoor climate is? Then, besides the CO2 level, humidity is one of the most important indicators. If the humidity is normal, you can be sure that the building structure does not contain too much or too little moisture.

If there is an imbalance, this can lead to moisture problems – and therefore health problems. Prevention is better than cure. We spend a lot of time indoors, which means that humidity has a major impact on the quality of life. In addition to a healthy indoor climate, you also want your home to feel pleasant and comfortable, all year round.

And you can regulate this living comfort by adjusting the heating and ventilation to your needs. So, if you have too low or too high humidity in your home, this has to do with the temperature and ventilation.

The correct ambient temperature ensures ideal humidity. Let’s take a look together at the possible causes of excessive or low humidity in your home and what you can do about it.

Excessive humidity: possible causes

If the humidity is more than 60% at 20 degrees, then your home is too humid and it is time to do something about it. Excessive humidity in your home is not pleasant. Your house feels clammy and you are more likely to get sick. The presence of moisture means that more and more bacteria can develop, which pollutes the air in the house. In rooms where it is damp for a long time, there is often an unpleasant smell. It is usually when you have been away from home for a while and you come back that the smell suddenly strikes you again.

Do you recognize this musty smell in a place in your home? Then there is a chance that the humidity is too high there. That doesn’t have to be everywhere in the house. It depends on which rooms, for example, are well insulated or where the walls are sensitive to moisture. In an early stage, a moisture problem is very local and you can prevent damage if you tackle it in time. Do you notice, for example, that condensation or mist quickly appears on your windows in damp weather?

This means that the outside temperature penetrates into the home and the air in the house contains too much moisture. If this problem persists, mold will form in the long term.

Excessive humidity: possible consequences

An indoor climate where mold stains are present on the walls gives rise to health complaints. Bacteria then enter the alveoli via the air, where they can then cause infections. You are then constantly exposed to germs, which gives you disease symptoms such as a sore throat, fatigue or shortness of breath.

Measuring humidity

You can easily read on a hygrometer how much percent of water is in the air. That percentage is the humidity level inside the home. Is your home insufficiently insulated? Then the humidity often rises to 70% during the autumn and winter, because it is then more difficult to heat the home sufficiently. This is certainly the case with rain and wet snow. The humidity also often rises when you take a bath or shower.

Every bathroom therefore needs proper ventilation to ensure that the humidity quickly drops back to normal levels. Rooms with a tumble dryer or kitchen appliances also often have a higher humidity level. Then you need a mechanical ventilation system to remove the moist and polluted air in time.

Too low humidity: possible causes

During a severe frost there is low humidity outside. A dry indoor climate means that you have to heat the house less and that is an advantage. However, too low humidity mainly causes disadvantages when it comes to the indoor climate.

There is a low humidity if the humidity level is lower than 40% at 20 degrees. And there can be several causes at the base. Too low humidity is often the result of poor or insufficient ventilation.

That is the case, for example, in homes that are very well insulated and where no ventilation system has yet been installed. The cause is also often due to rooms that overheat during warm days as a result of high glazing. In new-build apartments or houses, it is important to install sun protection so that the indoor temperature does not rise significantly during the summer.

These high temperatures cause the humidity to drop too far below the desired limit of 40%. The same in winter: if the heating inside is too high, the humidity will drop sharply. Too dry air mainly occurs in new construction.

Too low humidity: possible consequences

If the humidity in the house is too low, you are more likely to suffer from dry eyes, a dry throat, cracks in the lips, headaches and fatigue. In the long term, you also run a greater risk of sensitive or inflamed airways.

It is also detrimental to your home, because this can cause cracks in the wall. If you have a wooden structure, the wood can also start to crack or shrink as a result of dehydration.

Normal humidity

A high or too low humidity causes problems and so we help you to keep the humidity at a constant level, all year round. A normal humidity level is on average 45-60% at 20 degrees.

This percentage is determined by the amount of moisture you emit daily and the extent to which the polluted air in the home is temporarily removed and refreshed. Based on your home and your daily activities, we provide the most optimal ventilation system, so that your indoor climate remains healthy all year round.

Good for yourself and for your home.