Tips on How to Lower Humidity Levels in Your Des Moines Home

July 2, 2015

Iowa summers are known for being muggy and humid, but that doesn't mean that the interior of your home has to be. Homes with high humidity levels are uncomfortable and can also cause serious damage to woodwork, and they negatively impact the health of you and your family. It's extremely important to take measures to lower humidity throughout your home if this is an issue you deal with.

Signs of Interior Humidity Problems Beyond feeling like your home is a giant sauna,you can notice humidity problems in a number of ways. Take a look around the house for signs of water stains or damage on walls and ceilings, or for the growth of mold and mildew. Noticing a musty odor or condensation on windows can also indicate that you need to lower humidity levels in your home.

How to Lower Humidity Levels in the Home If you've determined that your home's humidity levels are too high, there are several simple and affordable steps you can take to remedy the issue:

  • Dehumidifier: Operating a dehumidifier in the basement area of the house will help remove the humidity where it is at the highest level.
  • Ventilation: Make sure dryer vents, kitchen hood fans and bathroom exhaust fans always be ventilated to the outdoors.
  • Vapor barriers: Homes with basements, cellars and crawl spaces with dirt floors would benefit from a plastic vapor barrier being laid on the ground.
  • Leaks: Because air leaks and leaky ductwork can contribute significantly to humidity problems, it's important to seal these off immediately.

In serious cases, you may need to take more extreme measures like upgrading your air conditioner to aproper size, investing in an air conditioning system with a variable-speed air handler, or installing a whole home dehumidification system.

Get in touch with the pros at Lozier Heating & Cooling for more tips how how to lower humidity. We proudly serve the greater Des Moines area. Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Des Moines, Iowa area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: "concept w/Shutterstock"