Many people only think about the humidity in their home when there are already problems. The first sign of excessive humidity is foggy or wet windows in the morning. This is a warning sign that should not be ignored. If the humidity in living spaces is permanently too high, mold can develop.
You can read here how you can determine the air humidity, which values are optimal for which rooms and how you can reduce the air humidity.
What happens if the humidity is too high?
Problems with humidity can cause problems with the structure of our home and our own health. Excessive humidity in the apartment can lead to mold, which significantly pollutes the air in the room.
Indoor mold can have health consequences such as asthma or allergies. In addition, if the air humidity is too high, the proliferation of fungi is encouraged and there are better living conditions for parasites.
Especially in combination with a warm temperature, such as in the bathroom, high humidity can pollute the air and harm health.
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Optimal humidity in the apartment
As a rule of thumb: At 20 degrees, a humidity of 50% is ideal.
However, this cannot be applied to all rooms, as the optimal humidity depends on the temperature, and this varies from room to room.
In addition, the optimal humidity also depends on what activities are carried out in the room. In the kitchen, where cooking is done and it tends to be warm, the humidity needs to be higher than in the bedroom, where it is cool and people only sleep.
Our table shows which humidity (and room temperature) is recommended in which room:
| Space | optimal temperature | optimal humidity |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | 20 Grad | 40-60% |
| bedroom | 18 Grad | 40-60% |
| nursery | 22 Grad | 40-60% |
| Kitchen | 18 Grad | 50-60% |
| Bad | 23 Grad | 50-70% |
| Hallway | 18 Grad | 40-60% |
| Keller | 10-15 Grad | 50-65% |
Note: The optimal humidity depends on the temperature of the living space. If you heat your apartment more or less than stated in the table, the value for the recommended humidity in your apartment varies.
Measure humidity in rooms
To measure the humidity in your apartment, you can use ahygrometer(here on Amazon*) use. This is aThermometer, theadditionally via a moisture meterhas. The interaction between room temperature and humidity is therefore taken into account.
If you want to use a hygrometer to check the humidity, you should make sure that it is set up or hung correctly. The wrong placement leads to distorted results.
When setting up the hygrometer, the following applies:
- Not too close to the window.
- Not on the outside wall.
- Not too close to doors.
- Not behind curtains.
- Not over the heater.
- No direct sunlight.
Danger:If a hygrometer shows the same results in all rooms, it is probably defective. In particularly vulnerable rooms, it makes sense to install a hygrometer in each location (Order hygrometers in a set of 3 from Amazon here*).
This means that basements, bathrooms or similar can be observed at the same time. The humidity is movingpermanentlyover 70% or falls below 30%, an expert should be consulted.
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Reduce humidity: These are the best tricks
There are many reasons for excessive humidity. We humans release water into the air when we breathe or sweat. Water vapor rises in the kitchen when we cook, in the bathroom when we shower or when we run a bath. Ventilation too rare and manycan also contribute to this.
Excessive humidity can also have structural causes over which we have no direct influence. For example, windows that are too small which make ventilation difficult, moisture on the outside walls or in the building structure, or a lack of insulation. Particularly tricky: Excessive insulation can also cause problems with humidity, as hardly any air can escape.
If the humidity is permanently too high, mold can form. Therefore, you should take measures as early as possible to reduce the humidity.
1. Stoßlüften
Shock ventilation is a good way to reduce the humidity. However, this only works if the humidity outside is lower than in the apartment.
2. Rearrange aquariums, indoor fountains and plants
If the humidity in the room is too high, the second step is to remove anything from the room that is releasing additional water into the air.
These can be house plants, but also terrariums, aquariums, drinking or indoor fountains release a lot of additional moisture. If possible, place them in a room that can tolerate higher humidity.
3. Dry laundry outside the apartment
If you regularly dry damp laundry in your apartment, you should, if possible, dry the drying rack in the laundry room, on the balcony or on the terrace. The moisture from the laundry is ultimately released into the room air.
Unfortunately, if none of the options are available, the only option is to avoid washing laundry on days with particularly high humidity or to throw it in the dryer to dry. If you don't have your own dryer, you can also use the laundromat.
4. Use an extractor hood
A lot of water vapor is also generated in the kitchen and released into the air. Therefore, switch on the extractor hood when cooking and leave it running for a while after cooking until the humidity has been reduced sufficiently.
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5. Adjust room temperature
Since warm air can absorb more water, the humidity can also be reduced in winter by heating. Use the table above to see how many degrees are recommended for the ideal indoor climate.
6. Lay out wool carpets
Wool carpets can also be used to reduce the humidity in living rooms and create a healthy indoor climate. The reason: The wool fibers absorb moisture from the air and store it.
7. Set up a dehumidifier
If none of this helps, there is the simple option of setting up a dehumidifier. It contains granules that attract moisture from the air and collect it in a bowl. You can then simply dump out the collected water. There's one hereDehumidifier for around 15 euros on Amazon*.
