It’s Not the Heat; It’s the Humidity

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Humidity in your home can have a major impact on comfort levels. If the air is too wet, it can feel too warm, or as many would say, it feels too “close.” High humidity can also damage your furniture and ruin your electronic equipment, such as your computer, stereo or television, especially if it’s in conjunction with high temperatures.

Too Wet? Too Dry?

On the other hand, if the air is too dry, it can cause your skin to feel itchy and your nose to crackle and sometimes give you nosebleeds. It can also damage your wood furniture by drying it out and leading it to crack.

So where’s the happy medium?

I honestly never used to care about the humidity levels in our apartments or houses. Open a window. Turn on the air conditioner or a fan. Never gave it much thought.

Sometimes Humidity Feels Gross

However, this year I am truly noticing that when it is humid I feel gross. The air feels wet and sometimes damp, so humidity can be a factor for me now, whereas it was not really before.

Don’t Sweat the Humidity – Literally

Most single family homes have central heating, which usually means central cooling as well, and most of these systems tend to remove moisture from the air in your home, so many people who have central heating don’t have to worry too much about trying to keep high humidity levels down.

Central heating does not help with air that is too dry though, so if this is a problem in your house, you might want to look into buying a humidifier, which is actually little more than plastic tub with a spinner wheel inside to whip water into the air. In rare circumstances, such as when there is a very cold dry spell, you can also simply boil some water on the stove.

What Do You Do If You Don’t Have Central Air?

For those that don’t have central heating and cooling, controlling the humidity level in your home takes a bit more effort, but it can be done. The first thing to know is, window air conditioners take water out of the air that they pull in from the room that they are cooling; thus they are dehumidifiers in addition to being coolers.

Dehumidifiers Are Useful in Summer

Also, there are single-purpose dehumidifiers that you can buy as a separate unit.

Many dehumidifiers are floor models and have controls on them for setting the target humidity level in the area immediately around the unit. These work best if used in conjunction with a separate fan though. A ceiling fan is useful. Otherwise, you’re likely to find the air around the unit dry, but increasingly wet as you move farther away from it.

Don’t Forget This…

These units also have to be emptied though because when they take water out of the air in your home, they dump it in a little tank inside the unit.

When we lived in apartments we always had one of these at home. Just remember to empty it frequently and you will be fine.

Table Top Units

If you need a few different ones due to the size of your home, you could consider a table top unit. Several newer table top dehumidifiers are actually super cute. This one is not an eyesore at all. For me, that’s important. I don’t want gigantic pieces that clash with my decor. Try this table top dehumidifier.

Dehumidifiers come in a lot of different sizes, and many work remarkably well. If you wish to lower the humidity levels in your home, they are often the best way to go.