Humidity In Your Home

The winter season means winter dryness, and unfortunately for many people, this leads to dry eyes, skin, and sinuses. But your body isn’t the only thing affected by the dry weather; our homes also feel the effects of the dry season.

A natural condition of wood is that it expands and shrinks depending on the weather. In months of high temperatures and humidity, wood expands. In months of cooler temperatures and low humidity, wood contracts. It is important to keep the humidity levels in your home consistent and stable, or else you run into issues that will cause you money, and a headache.

When the humidity level in your home is too low, the result is creaky floors, doors that don’t close properly, separation along the trim, windowsills or crown moudling, or gaps appearing between counter tops and walls.

A good indicator of high humidity in the home is condensation on your windows. If this is the case, your windows should be replaced with double pane, or you need to increase the fresh air ventilation in your home.

The general rule is that humidity levels in your home should fall between 35% and 50% Relative Humidity (R.H.).  Does your home follow suit with the standard humidity level? What experiences have you had with high or low humidity? We look forward to reading your comments!