Spring is typically characterized by rain, which leads to oversaturation of the ground and consequently high humidity levels in the atmosphere. Given the risks associated with excess indoor moisture, you’ve probably contemplated running a dehumidifier. However, some of these devices, especially compressor-based units, consume a lot of energy and thus cannot be considered environmentally friendly.
Here are effective ways of reducing your home’s humidity levels without running electric dehumidifiers.
Improve Ventilation
Enhancing ventilation is probably the simplest and cheapest ways to significantly lower the humidity levels in your home. Towards this end, you’ll want to increase the number of vents in your house and regularly open the doors and windows. Ensure to open the windows and doors early in the morning and keep them this way for the longest period possible.
However, make sure that the windows and doors are installed in such a way that no raindrops get into your house. Also, consider placing fans in areas with susceptibility to high humidity. Fans tend to improve air circulation in your property. Besides, fans in the bathroom and kitchen may help with improving your indoor air quality.
Use Dehumidifier
Vents might be the cheapest route to take when looking to rid your property of excess moisture, but the appliances are the undisputed kings when it comes to lowering the humidity levels in your home. However, some of them consume lots of electricity and are too expensive.
The good news is that some dehumidifiers are inexpensive, easy to install, and incredibly environmentally friendly. A good example is the desiccant dehumidifiers; these units offer similar benefits as your compressor-based dehumidifiers but without the exorbitant cost of purchase or running.
Besides, a desiccant dehumidifier can be reused and doesn’t require electricity to recharge. The desiccant units work efficiently in high temperatures, as well as during the rainy and cold months. In essence, desiccant dehumidifiers perform remarkably well in areas with lower temperatures and high humidity levels, including basements, garages, and conservatories.
Fix the Leaks
Have you spotted watermarks on your walls or stains on your ceiling? If affirmative, the chances are that you have a leaky pipe somewhere in your home. Leaks tend to cause high humidity levels. Be sure to check for high water tables or cracked pipes under the floorboards. Water might also find its way into your house via the roof; assess these areas to ascertain that there are no leaks. If your fears are confirmed, consider calling a plumber to investigate and fix the issue before it escalates to dangerous levels.
Take Shorter Showers
Your bathroom, particularly the showers could be the biggest source of humidity in your home. You will, therefore, want to shorten the time you spend in the shower to reduce the amount of moisture released into your home’s indoor atmosphere. Also, make sure that the ventilation fans are running while you’re taking showers. It’s also advisable to leave the windows and doors open for at least 30 minutes after taking a shower.
Remove Indoor Plants
Natural plants are often a perfect addition to your interior décor; they can add color to any space and emit fresh air into your home. However, indoor plants are also one of the biggest contributing factors to excess moisture in the air. That said, you can reduce the humidity levels in your home by decreasing the number of potted plants in your home, or moving them all outside altogether. Do you still need to beautify your home’s interior? Go for synthetic plants.
Utilize Rock Salt
Rock salt is a hygroscopic material (forget the seemingly complex term; it simply means drawing and storing water) and is one of the most effective natural ways of lowering humidity levels in the air. This substance pulls moisture out of your indoor atmosphere and ultimately improves air circulation. Even though rock salt uses the same mechanism as an electric dehumidifier, no electricity is required.
Additionally, rock salt is cheap, non-toxic, easy to find, and straightforward to use. You need two buckets and one bag of rock salt to efficiently remove moisture from your indoor air.
Follow the instructions below to dehumidify your home using rock salt:
- Drill a dozen holes on the sides of one bucket
- Place the drilled bucket on top of another bucket with no holes
- Pour the rock salt into the top bucket
- Install the buckets in the areas you need to dehumidify
The rock salt in the top bucket will pull moisture from the air and the liquid will collect into the bottom container. Discard the liquid regularly and replace the rock salt in the top bucket to keep the process of removing moisture from your indoor air going.
The Bottom Line
With the above-mentioned natural ways of dehumidifying your home during the cold, rainy seasons, you can forego buying energy consuming and expensive moisture controls, such as AC units and electrical dehumidifiers. Besides, these natural methods are easy to use and can work anywhere regardless of the climate. What better ways to get rid of your home from unwanted humidity and the associated health risks and discomfort than using nature moisture extraction methods? The above dehumidification techniques promise to make your home more habitable without making the environment pay for it.
