Reducing air humidity. High humidity in the house

In a residential area, the optimum humidity is 60%. Reducing the humidity of the air is allowed in summer months up to 45%. According to experts, it is easy to measure the level of humidity in the house using a special device - a hygrometer.

Excessive humidity in the room must be dealt with, since it provokes not only the appearance of condensation on window panes, but also creates a beneficial environment for the reproduction of fungal spores, mold, pathogenic microbes.

The development of indoor mold fungi has a detrimental effect on the human body, their spores can cause allergic reactions, headaches, shortness of breath, cough, skin inflammation, itching. Some types of fungi have carcinogenic properties and increase the risk of developing cancer.

If you are interested in the Canadian house price, then take care of normalizing the humidity in your home. From excess moisture furniture, wall and ceiling coverings become unusable, the shelf life of food products is significantly reduced.

How to reduce the humidity in the house

1. Steam builds up after cooking, showering, bathing, or hand washing, so it's important to ventilate these areas immediately to avoid excess moisture. Installing an extractor hood is a must if moisture comes from the shower or gas stove with regular evaporation.

2. Drying clothes in the house is highly undesirable. It is better to do it outdoors or in a free room with closed door and an open window.

3. To bring the humidity in the house back to normal, sunny days do not curtain the windows in damp rooms, let the rays of the sun dry them.

4. In dry hot summers and in frosty winter weather, the air outside is dry. To reduce the humidity in the room, simple ventilation will help.

5. Exist special device- a moisture absorber, which contains an absorbent substance that absorbs excess moisture from the air, like a sponge.

6. Plastic windows are a common cause of high humidity in the room. hermetically sealed closed windows- air exchange barrier inner space buildings and street. To avoid this, when choosing PVC profile windows, it is better to purchase frames with a built-in ventilation system.

7. Excess moisture in the room is removed domestic heaters, hair dryers and candles, houseplants. Ventilation in good condition It is also a good helper in solving the problem of high humidity.

8. Air conditioning is an effective way to reduce indoor air humidity. In addition to cooling or heating them additional features are air purification and dehumidification.

9. Faulty plumbing increases the overall humidity of the air, so replace obsolete parts or repair areas where leaks are observed.

10. Decrease in humidity is facilitated by wall decoration with natural building materials - wood and drywall. Drywall has the ability to absorb excess moisture and accumulate it in itself, and if necessary, evaporate. Thus this construction material is an excellent regulator of the microclimate in the house.

For a comfortable stay in the house, it is very important to create the right microclimate. To do this, you must adhere to the above rules and recommendations and choose quality equipment to create the necessary atmosphere for living.

Prepared by Maryana Chornovil

high humidity in the apartment is serious problem. Over time, from high humidity, mold appears on walls, windows, furniture and even clothes. Not only do the walls lose appearance and things become unusable, so dampness is also very harmful for human health. A long stay in a damp room over time leads to a decrease in immunity, exacerbation of allergic reactions and other health problems, including chronic and oncological ones.

Reasons for high humidity

There are many reasons for high humidity.

One of the reasons is the poor walls of the building from the foundation. This reason is connected with violations of technology during construction. As a result, the foundation transfers moisture to the walls, the walls evaporate it into the rooms. The result is high humidity in the apartment, and it doesn’t matter if the house is new or old. In this case, it is very difficult to eliminate the source of high humidity, because. such defects in construction are almost irreparable.

Other possible reason- salt. If the house is being built winter period, salt is often added to concrete so that frost does not interfere with the gaining strength of concrete. Walls in which there is concrete with salt will themselves be damp, and the wallpaper will be wet. And nothing can be done about it. But this is not scary, i.e. after a few years the walls will dry well and the dampness will disappear.

But most common cause high humidity in the apartment are the problems of natural ventilation. It often happens that in new apartment humidity was optimal, but after, for example, replacing windows with modern sealed ones, dampness appears. The reason for this is that airtight windows disrupt proper air circulation, and now moist air does not leave the room, condenses on walls, windows and provokes mold.

But even if everything is in order in the house with waterproofing and ventilation, this does not mean that the dampness problem will never arise. AT rainy summer when on the street long time costs high humidity, dampness may well pass into the rooms.

An aquarium can also be a source of high humidity. Aquariums, by the way, are recommended to be placed in rooms with low humidity, because they actively evaporate water and saturate the air with it. And if the humidity in the house is high, then the aquarium will only aggravate the situation.

Constant drying of washed laundry in rooms also exacerbates the situation with humidity.

The location of the windows of the apartment also affects the humidity. If the windows are sunny side, then the humidity is lower, if in the shade, then the humidity is higher.

- Heating is also one of the factors of humidity. If the heating in the apartment is poor, the batteries heat poorly, then this also contributes to an increase in humidity. - Leaking roof - if this is the case, then no methods of dealing with moisture will help until the roof is repaired.

There is another source of humidity that is inherent in any apartment - water is released into the air when people breathe. Moreover, we are not talking about milliliters per day, but about whole liters (from the whole family).

Ways to reduce humidity

There are several ways to deal with high humidity in the apartment.

First of all, it is necessary to open windows more often and ventilate the rooms. This is true not only for getting rid of dampness, but also for maintaining health, because. fresh air is always helpful. If the heating is not central, i.e. a boiler is installed, it is useful to turn on the heating more strongly and open the windows. This method dries the rooms well.

Secondly, the ventilation system should be checked. It happens that the ventilation shaft becomes clogged, air exchange stops and humidity begins to rise. In this case, the shaft must be cleaned. It happens that the mine is poorly designed and there is almost no air exchange. In this case, you can build forced ventilation. Those. Install a fan in the duct.

Thirdly you can use a dehumidifier. An air dryer or dehumidifier is a device similar in appearance to an electric heater. The meaning of his work is that he sucks the air from the room, passes it through his filters, cleans and drains it. The output is air of the required degree of humidity, cleaned of dust. This option is the most expensive, but it saves even if other methods do not help.

By the way, even the most ordinary air conditioner, set to cooling mode, reduces the humidity of the air. This happens due to the fact that moist air, in contact with the cooled surface, condenses and is discharged through the tube outside the room.

How to measure humidity in an apartment

Increased humidity in the room can be determined not only by indirect signs, such as wet walls or mold on the wallpaper, but also with the help of a specialized control and measuring device called a hygrometer (the full name is "psychrometric hygrometer"). Household hygrometers are inexpensive. They can be hung in rooms and control the level of humidity. For reference: humidity levels from 40% to 60% are acceptable.

Cellar owners often complain about the humidity in it. Usually this problem is associated with violations made during construction. How to reduce humidity in the cellar is a question that worries many Russians who store their vegetables in cellars and basements.

In basements and cellars, excessive moisture often appears. If time does not begin to take measures to eliminate it, then a fungus will appear, and then mold.

For obvious reasons, moisture and dampness are unacceptable in cellars and cellars. In a room with moist air, mold and fungus appear. It is impossible to store vegetables in such a basement, and if wet room is in ground floor, this may adversely affect the integrity of the entire structure.

One of the causes of humidity and dampness is moisture that enters the room through the walls and then accumulates on the floor. In the process of its evaporation, the humidity of the air increases many times over.

If the cellar or basement is located in a private house, the cause of dampness may be insufficient insulation of the building. At low temperatures water through the joints in the walls of the house penetrates into the basement.

Groundwater may also be the cause. This is possible with poor waterproofing of the floor.

Moisture removal methods

Lower humidity in basement can different ways. But first, check the condition of the basement waterproofing. If it does not cope with the task, then it must be redone. This is often not the cheapest option.

Most inexpensive way, at which the moisture in the cellar can be removed, is as follows:

• purchase polyethylene film, you can use the old one, the main thing is that it be whole. You will also need a shovel, trowel and clay. If the floor of your cellar is clay, then use it;
• remove a 5 cm layer of clay floor, level and tamp the resulting surface. On top of it, carefully lay two layers of polyethylene. Pour a clay layer on it and carefully tamp it down as well. This must be done carefully so that the film layer does not move. The clay will begin to dry out and the air in the cellar will become drier. Instead of a clay floor, you can make it out of concrete.

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Additional Causes of Humidity

1. Often moisture in the cellars appears during the snowmelt season and after precipitation. Pour a layer of sand at the bottom of the cellar, and 10 cm of fine gravel on top. The dampness should be gone. If this does not happen within a year, then make the gravel layer thicker by another 10 cm. The ground water will sink to a lower level, and from there it will no longer be able to rise to the level of the basement or cellar floor.
2. The humidity in the basement is significantly affected by the condensate that appears on the walls. You can fight it with the help of a special waterproofing plaster. Plaster the walls of the basement with it - and they will begin to breathe. Condensation will disappear along with dampness. Ready-made waterproofing mixture is sold in stores. You can cook it yourself. Add a waterproofing additive to dry plaster.
3. Remove fungus and mold from the walls with a special solution and apply plaster to the wall.
4. Moisture in the cellars appears where thin and cold floors are made in them. Make a double floor, in the middle of which lay a layer of roofing material. The humidity in the air will decrease.
5. You can fight moisture in the basement with the help of potassium chloride, which quickly absorbs excess moisture. Pour the powder of this substance into jars and place it in the corners of the cellar. This method works well if you have a small cellar.

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What to do if nothing helps

If all these simple ways cannot reduce the humidity in the cellar, then additional waterproofing must be created.

1. Start by waterproofing the floor. Cover it with several layers of bitumen. Warm it up building hair dryer and lay two layers of roofing material on top. Instead, you can lay waterproofing, it is not exposed to rot and is resistant to mold.
2. At the second stage of waterproofing, build additional walls in half a brick. Between them you mount a waterproofing layer. On top of the cellar do concrete screed at 10 cm.

Has moisture started to appear on the floor and walls in the basement? What should be done to make it dry and suitable for storing vegetables?

1. The first thing you need to do is to regularly ventilate the basement by opening it every day. Check ventilation.
2. If moisture appears on the walls and floor in the basement in the spring, they must be repaired. On the floor you make a screed from waterproof cement. Carefully inspect the walls, if they have cracks, repair them, and then plaster the walls.
3. If possible, dig out the basement walls from the outside. Repair any cracks you find. cement mortar. Cover the walls with a layer of bitumen or roofing felt, this will enhance the waterproofing of the basement. Can be done around its perimeter clay castle. In the trench around the basement, lay the clay in layers of 20 cm, carefully tamping. Such a lock will completely block the flow of groundwater and rainwater to the basement walls.
4. You can additionally along the outer perimeter of the basement, in a trench dug to the depth of the foundation, lay drainage pipes through which water will be discharged into drain hole or septic.

Is groundwater flooding the basement floor? Dig a hole below the basement floor level. Make a gravel pillow in it, place a container on it with holes drilled in the side walls.

The container must be wrapped with a cloth that passes water well, it will prevent the holes in the container from silting up. Place a float pump in it. Water fills the tank, the float rises and turns on the pump. The water is pumped out, the float drops and the pump turns off. Such a device will allow you to effectively deal with water and humidity in the basement.

It is uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous to live in an apartment with high humidity. In such rooms, a fungus appears on the walls, causing allergic reactions. Such a microclimate leads to health problems. In humid air, the joints begin to ache, permanent colds, insomnia begins, chronic nasal congestion, general weakness and other unpleasant symptoms appear.

Damp air danger

The optimum humidity in a residential area is 45-60%. In winter, when the central heating batteries are working, the air in the apartment becomes drier. Both excessively high water vapor content and excessive dryness are equally dangerous for human health.

Most often, drying clothes on batteries and poor ventilation lead to an increase in humidity in the apartment.

If the air is often damp, sooner or later dampness will appear, from which interior items will suffer, furniture and leather upholstery will deteriorate, plaster will crumble, wallpaper will peel off, and the wooden floor will deform. In a damp apartment, books and documents deteriorate, food quickly becomes moldy. But the most terrible consequence of dampness is mold and fungus that appear in the corners of the apartment. These microorganisms can spoil health and quickly render housing unusable, especially if the walls are made of wood.

Worse in a damp apartment general state organism. Excessively humid air is the cause of increased oily skin, greasy hair, skin rashes and allergies. People living in damp conditions are prone to lung disease, chronic bronchitis and other respiratory problems. Excessively humid air is heavy, the room smells bad, which makes it unpleasant to live in it. In a damp atmosphere, any bacteria multiply rapidly, so residents are exposed to dangerous infectious diseases including tuberculosis.

Causes of dampness in the apartment

Dampness in the room may appear on the internal and external reasons. To determine where the moisture comes from - from the outside or from the inside - it is enough to conduct a small experiment. For several hours, glass is applied to the wall facing the street. If the indoor area becomes damp, this means that dampness is entering the room from the outside. This is especially common in corner apartments or in houses, during the construction of which waterproofing standards were violated.

If the part of the wall covered with glass turned out to be dry after a few hours, you need to look for the causes of dampness inside the room. It can be:

• on the ground floor in a house with a basement - raising ground water or man-made flooding of the basement;
• poor ventilation or lack of it - this happens when neighbors close the ventilation shaft;
• leaking plumbing, for example, the bath does not fit snugly against the wall and while taking a shower, water penetrates the floor, accumulating under the bath in puddles;
• drying a large number linen in the apartment, what happens when the family has Small child or bedridden patient;
• passion for houseplants indoor flower evaporates water with leaves and affects the microclimate in the apartment.

Sources internal humidity on the 1st floor or any other, as well as in a private house without a basement, can become:

• frequent showers or baths;
• daily laundry;
• cooking food;
• respiration and evaporation of moisture through the skin;
• the presence of aquariums in the apartment.

Microclimate correction

It is estimated that as a result economic activity a family of 3 gets up to 100 liters of water into the air every week. It is not surprising that in apartments with airtight plastic windows and poor ventilation, the microclimate changes so much that the walls begin to dampen, and black mold appears in the corners.

To reduce the humidity in the apartment, the first thing to do is check the operation of the ventilation and the tightness of the heating and water pipes. If something is wrong with these systems, you will have to contact specialists. If the ventilation and pipes function flawlessly, you can reduce the humidity in the following ways:

1. 1. Regularly ventilate the room - just open the windows wide open for at least 10 minutes and the damp air will go away.
2. 2. At night, the bathroom door should be left open.

Residents of megacities can turn on air conditioning instead of airing. This will help get rid of dampness in the apartment and prevent its gas contamination.

An alpine window (supply valve) will help to dry the air. The device delivers fresh air apartment even in winter. Alpine window is necessary in a room with poor gas exchange. To install the system, you will have to make a hole in outer wall. It is closed with heat and soundproof material. You can regulate the level of fresh air entering the apartment using a damper. The exhaust air leaves the room through natural ventilation. Alpine vents are installed above the windows. The device is not suitable for airing bathrooms, kitchens and toilets - forced ventilation is needed in these rooms.

Alpine window device

Alpine window - appearance from the inside and outside

Effectively reduces humidity and eliminates the smell of damp air conditioner. The appliance has a dehumidification function. You can simply use it as a hair dryer for apartment air by turning it on to the appropriate mode. But even when normal work The air conditioner dries out the room a bit.

To remove the fungus and mold that appeared on the ceiling and in the upper corners after the next flood, a high-quality antiseptic will help. Such funds are sold in hardware stores.

The room, severely affected by the fungus, needs to be repaired. Wallpaper is being removed from the walls. Sometimes you even have to remove the plaster. All surfaces are treated with an antiseptic and cleaned of fungus and mold. Strongly affected areas of the walls can be smeared with creosote. After applying the impregnation, the walls and ceiling must dry completely, only then they can be finished. It is better to use wood and drywall for finishing. These materials absorb water in the presence of excessive air humidity, and release it in a dry atmosphere.

In winter, the room becomes damp due to the cold. To lower the humidity, it is enough to use electric heaters until they are turned on. central heating. They warm up the room and dry the air. Issued and chemicals for drying apartments. For example, Henkel implements the "Stop-moisture" system, which consists of an absorbent and an absorbent. Atmospheric moisture is absorbed by the absorber and enters a special container, from where it can simply be poured into the sewer.