I am a stickler for keeping my home’s humidity between 35% and 45% year round, using a fleet of dehumidifiers in the summer and another fleet of humidifiers in the winter. In the spring and fall, I have a transition period when both are out and plugged in, to deal with changing weather patterns as needed. This probably sounds weird to a lot of people, but I believe this is an overlooked aspect of indoor climate control, for the sake of comfort and good health.
Anyway, I had decided after Thanksgiving to put away the dehumidifiers for the winter. But then this weekend we got a combo of unseasonably high temperatures with unrelenting rain, and it’s currently an insanely high 64% humidity in here. For now, I’m not bothering to dig out the dehumidifiers, so I’m riding it out until normal winter weather returns.
Earlier it was about 65 degrees and 68% humidity, and there was a definite clammy, dank, dungeonish feel. Now, with careful application of a little heat, it’s up to 71 degrees and no longer feels like it’s soaking a chill into my bones; nor has it gotten warm enough to feel muggy and make me sweat. But I can definitely feel a sort of “mistiness” or something when I breathe. Kind of an interesting, different sensation…but I will still be glad to get back to my 40% humidity.
And yes: I am definitely trying to bring this section of the SDMB back to its core mission!
My bathroom dehumidifier is plugged in all year, to a power strip connected to that very same outlet. Definitely helps keep away mold and mildew, and helps towels dry faster.
I’ve never heard of anyone measuring the humidity indoors. But now I’m kind of curious what it would be here. I imagine it would generally be on the low side since the outside also is generally low, what with living in the desert.
My mom had an extreme case of dry eye, where she had to use drops every hour or her lid would rip at her eye. My parents’ house had humidifiers everywhere, and she had to sleep with foam goggles soaked in water. My father always had his eye on the humidity.
SlackerInc,
If I may ask, what do you use to measure the humidity? I live in a very damp area and have a dirt floor basement. I use a dehumidifier all year round set to come on as it measures the level. But I would like to know the actual indoor level.
Humidity sensors are actually pretty cheap. I have one of these on my desk at home; as of this writing, it’s a cool nine bucks, with free shipping. It helps me measure how well my humidifier is doing in the winter, as I’m prone to getting very dry lips if humidity dips below 25% or so for a couple days.
Definitely helps keep away mold and mildew, and helps towels dry faster.