Americans spend roughly 90% of their time indoors each day, so the quality of the air in our homes is crucial. Humidity levels are just as important as particulate pollution (especially if you live in Florida).
Relative humidity inside a house typically exceeds relative humidity outside, mostly due to indoor activities such as washing, cooking, drying, and bathing.
However, if the humidity in your house is too high or too low, it can make your environment uncomfortable and cause building damage:
- A study from the Building Science Corporation concluded that humidity levels of 70% or greater may cause substantial damage to homes.
- Research from Environmental Health Perspectives shows that humidity levels between 40 and 60 percent maintain the efficacy of our immune defenses while limiting the transmission of viruses in the air.
- A study from the U.S. Institute of Medicine found an association between exposure to damp indoor environments and detrimental health effects such as upper respiratory symptoms, asthma and wheezing.
In this article, you will learn some tricks and pro tips to keep humidity under control naturally without spending your hard-earned money on a dehumidifier.
Six ways to naturally dehumidify your home
Humidity is unavoidable but there are several natural ways through which you can lessen indoor moisture without having to invest in a dehumidifier.
1. Get the right houseplants
Plants are excellent dehumidifiers because their leaves collect water from their environment and expel it through transpiration.
| Baby Rubber Plant (Peperomia) | Its thick and glossy leaves help reduce the humidity indoors. It thrives in low-light or indirect bright light. |
| Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) | Its heart-shaped, thick, glossy leaves help absorb moisture. Also called “Devil’s Ivy,” this plant is easy to care for and thrives indoors. |
| Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis miller) | Often used for medicinal purposes, this cactus-like plant will reduce moisture indoors all year round, requiring very little attention. |
| English Ivy (Hedera helix) | If you’re looking for something more tropical, Bamboo Palms get to work on absorbing moisture while giving your room that lush charm. |
| Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) | Lilacs not only bring a wonderful scent to your room but are also effective at reducing humidity. |
| Windmill Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) | This larger houseplant is a natural dehumidifier that thrives in poor soil conditions and requires little maintenance. |
| Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) | This ornamental plant is attractive to look at and lowers humidity by absorbing nutrients and moisture from the air. |
| Air Plant (Tillandsia) | This ornamental plant is attractive to look at AND lowers humidity by absorbing nutrients and moisture from the air. |
2. Open doors and windows regularly
Ventilation is essential, period. It is the easiest and most common solution to high humidity issues. Let the fresh air in while allowing the stagnant, humid air to go out.
Having your windows and doors open during the day (where possible) will allow fresh air to circulate throughout the room and let excess moisture escape. Even if you can only crack a small window, every little bit helps.
If the weather doesn’t permit exterior doors to be open, leave your internal doors open to allow excess moisture to disperse between rooms.
3. Target problem areas with baking soda
Not only can baking soda help remove unwanted odors from your home, but it also has a high water absorption capacity, which can remove moisture in wet air.
Simply leave a bowl of baking soda in a room with excess humidity. The bigger the room, the more baking soda you’ll need.
Try this tip in smaller spaces first, like a cupboard or wardrobe, to gauge how much you’ll need for the moisture in your problem room.
4. Fix leaks
As the water from a leaky faucet evaporates, it contributes to the moisture in the air. Repairing leaks as soon as they appear will help reduce humidity levels in your house.
Start by looking for the source of humidity by checking the pipes and taps around your home. As a rule of thumb, if the air feels damper around a pipe, it will most likely be a leak.
If you’re handy at DIY, you can use foam pipe insulation tubes to cover sweating pipes. However, if the job looks beyond you, call in a professional, as you don’t want to create a bigger issue by messing up the pipes in your home.
5. Take shorter showers
A lengthy hot water shower generates a lot of steam, raising humidity levels. Shorter showers, on the other hand, can significantly decrease the humidity in your bathroom.
Aim to shower for no more than 10-15 minutes on average each day. If you’re used to long showers, this might seem like a big sacrifice, but remember you will also be saving water, electricity and, ultimately, money.
If you can’t wash up in under 15 minutes, try taking cooler showers, as they will create less humidity. And, of course, when you can make sure to open a door and/or window.
6. Dry clothes outside
When you hang up your freshly washed clothes indoors or use a dryer, all that moisture is returned to the air. Hang up your clothes outside whenever possible to reduce humidity, save on energy and give your clothes that wonderful outdoor smell.
If the weather isn’t good enough to hang your clothes outside, try installing a washing line in your car garage.
Wrapping up
Simple daily activities, such as cooking and running the dishwasher, can increase the amount of water vapor and moisture in the air. Building-related factors, such as porous walls, leaky faucets, broken pipes, weak joints and even cracked roof tiles, can also lead to dampness and rising humidity levels in your home.
However, it’s important to remember that too little moisture in the air can also become a problem. This study revealed that microbes thrive in environments with extremely low or extremely high humidity levels because molds flourish in high humidity AND with low humidity levels, the mucous membranes that keep hazardous substances from entering our bodies do not execute their protective function.
Research shows that maintaining air relative humidity around 40 and 60 percent offers considerable health advantages. This humidity range is optimal for maintaining our immune system’s efficacy while limiting the transmission of viruses in the air.
So, whether there’s too much or too little humidity, it needs to be corrected before it starts affecting your home and your health.
