What is a comfortable humidity in a house?

It’s important to maintain the proper humidity levels in your home and workplace to keep a comfortable, healthy space. Indoor humidity levels should be between 30 to 50 percent, with the ideal level being about 45 percent.

Aside from the classic “big and clunky” humidifier you grew up with, here are 11 alternatives to increasing the humidity in your home.

Let Your Clothes Air-Dry.

Vent Your Dryer Inside.

Put Bowl(s) Of Water On Top Of Registers.

Put Bowl(s) Of Water On Windowsills.

Drink Tea Instead Of Coffee.

The easiest way to measure humidity is to buy a Hygrometer.

Relative Humidity (RH) can change throughout the day. Colder air holds less moisture, so the RH level will normally be higher at night.

Prices of Hygrometers can range from very cheap, to very expensive.

There are both digital and analog hygrometers.

Remember if air outside is 60% RH and the temp is 80°F that would be equal to about 75% RH with with a basement temp of 60°F. Keeping it around 55%-60% will be comfortable and obtainable with a decent dehumidifier. Recommended humidity levels for human comfort is 30-60%[1].

The higher the dewpoint is, the more moisture that is in the air. The higher the dewpoint is above 65 F, the stickier it will feel outside (feels like you have to breathe in a bunch of moisture with each breath). 75 F or above dewpoint, the air really feels sticky and humid.

Parts of your house that are in direct contact with the cold outside air are cooler than the air inside. The temperature difference with the warm, moist air inside can cause continuous condensation to occur on those cold surfaces. All that wetness will attract mold growth and cause moisture stains.

According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the ideal humidity range for humans is between 30 to 60 percent relative humidity. The ideal is somewhere around 45-55%.

That’s because more humidity in the air means your sweat is not evaporating as fast as it usually does. High humidity also has other, more serious side effects. From causing sleeping problems, to putting up a big, shiny welcome sign for various moulds, harmful bacteria and dust mites.

On humid days, when the air is already saturated with water, sweat evaporates more slowly. This explains why it feels so much hotter in high humidity. When relative humidity reaches a high enough level, the body’s natural cooling system simply can’t work. Sweat evaporates very slowly, if at all, and the body heats up.

When this happens, we feel hotter than the actual temperature. Likewise, very low humidity can make us feel cooler than the actual temperature. This happens because the dry air helps sweat evaporate more quickly than usual. If the temperature outside is 75° F (23.8° C), humidity can make it feel warmer or cooler.

When you consider that people generally are most comfortable when the relative humidity is approximately 40 percent, you can see how dry indoor air can take a toll on your family. Low humidity causes static electricity, dry skin, lips and hair, scratchy throats and noses, and itching and chapping.

When the relative humidity is 100 percent, the air is retaining the most moisture possible at that temperature without precipitation. While air conditioning can reduce the humidity level, the result is high energy bills and a cold and uncomfortable living space.

Having proper ventilation in your home for at least a few hours a day can greatly help to reduce indoor humidity.

Air conditioning.

Fans.

Replace Furnace / AC filters.

Take shorter or colder showers.

Line dry clothes outdoors.

Crack a window open.

Place houseplants outside.

Use your kitchen exhaust fans.

Dew point is a good guide to comfort. Dew point is an indicator of the total amount of moisture in the air. Most people find dew points of less than 60 degrees comfortable. When the dew point rises above 65 degrees people will begin feeling that the air is “sticky.”

A You have discovered one of the conundrums of living in cold climates. Research indicates that for health and comfort, a relative indoor humidity of 40 to 60 percent is desirable. But keeping the air that moist over the course of a winter is more than most Minnesota homes can handle.

Every homeowner should own a hygrometer that measures temperature and relative humidity (RH). The ideal relative humidity for health and comfort is about 40–50%. In the winter months, it may have to be lower than 40% RH to avoid condensation on the windows.

Humidity levels should range between 30 and 50 percent, with the ideal hovering at 45 percent. Anything lower can irritate your eyes, nose and throat while levels above 50 percent can potentially fuel the growth of harmful bacteria, dust mites and molds.

At between 10 and 20 degrees outdoor temperature, change the setting to 20 percent. Of course, tracking outdoor temperatures is a bit of a bother. If you’d rather not, set your humidifier to between 30 percent and 50 percent, then lower the humidity if you start to notice window condensation.

Forecasters watch the dew point, not relative humidity, because hot air can hold more moisture than cool air. At 90 degrees, we feel uncomfortable at dew points of 65-69 degrees. But the RH may be only 44 – 52 percent (half the atmosphere’s capacity). Dew points above 70 degrees feel oppressive.

Most experts say that the ideal house humidity should be between 30 and 50 percent, but definitely below 60 percent in the summer months.