Control Moisture in a Northwoods Home

You may be reading the title of this blog and thinking to yourself, “but moisture is good, right?”. Well, that’s not entirely true. Although a certain level of moisture in your Northwoods home is necessary for health and easy breathing, too little or too much moisture can be a big problem! Before discussing how to control this potential for trouble, it’s important to understand where the moisture comes from and how it moves about.

How Moisture Enters Your Home

You may be surprised to learn that YOU are often the main cause of moisture in your Northwoods home. Simply by living, we humans automatically create vapors. The simple act of breathing is a culprit, as is showering or even cooking (think of all that steam coming from a pot of spaghetti!). And of course, pets and plants need water and then expel moisture, making the interior of your home filled with tiny droplets of water all day, every day. In fact, according to Energy Star, a household of 4 people adds between 2-3 gallons of water to the indoor air of a home every single day!

That said, humans and the way we live are not the only moisture creators. If your home is not sealed well, external water may enter it through the basement, roof, or windows and doors. Often, a home’s humidity problems are due to improper use of insulation, flashing and weather-stripping that allow rain and outdoor moisture to enter to the walls. Uninsulated pipes can sweat, fridges can drip, appliances can cause steam – but where does all that water go?

How Moisture Moves Around Your Home

Hopefully, you are exercising every possible avenue to control the moisture in your home at a healthy and safe level. However, that can be hard to do, especially when you don’t quite know how the water droplets move around your home. The moisture can move through your home with the flow of the air, by spreading on surfaces, or by heat transfer.

Picture your home shaped like a funnel – the cold, dry air sits at the bottom, and likely makes up the smallest portion of air in the home. The warm, moist air rises, layering the higher levels of your home. The warm air is naturally the moister, as warmer air holds water more. This is where the biggest potential problems to your home come in. When that warm air full of moisture cools, such as when it reaches the cold outer walls or your roof, the tiny little water droplets are dispelled to the surfaces. Suddenly, your home’s insulation, framing, and walls are covered in dew.

Measuring Air Moisture Levels in Your Northwoods Home

We know that a damp home spawns the growth of bacteria and mold, encourages insect infestations and dust mites, and can rot the important building elements of your home, as well as cause allergy or asthma problems. But you have to consider the opposite side of the spectrum – too little moisture can cause respiratory problems, as well as decreasing indoor comfort. So how much moisture is too much for your Northwoods home? Generally speaking, humans prefer more moisture than is good for your home. For the building itself, dryer is always better.

Luckily, there are tools to measure the humidity of a building. You can use a hygrometer, which is similar to a temperature gauge. These are readily available for sale, even on Amazon.com for only about $10. This handy device will tell you the percentage of indoor humidity in your home. 20% to 40% is normal, but lower than 20% is not good. And maintaining a moisture level above 50% could lead to major problems.

Even without a tool to measure, it’s often possible to spot signs of an improper humidity level. If there is too little moisture in your home for too long, you will notice a high level of static electricity and possibly even warped floors. If your home seems dry to you, it may not be due to a lack of humidity but rather because the moisture is being trapped in the walls. And if you see about ½ inch of condensation along the bottom of your windows, that is fine but more than that means too much moisture. If you see no moisture, it is likely a sign of air leakage, which is also bad. Signs of high moisture levels also include mold, salt deposits, peeling wallpaper or paint, corrosion of metal, condensation.

Ice dams on your roof should also be considered a warning sign, indicating air leakage. When your roof is allowing cold air in, that cold air will hit the warm, moist air rising from lower levels, dropping the water particles onto surfaces and could do very serious damage. Attics can quickly turn into mold gardens, rotting the roof and requiring an entire roof replacement, among other problems.

How to Maintain Healthy Humidity Levels in Your Home

Controlling the moisture levels in your Northwoods home will create a more comfortable living environment and actually lower your energy bills, as well as prevent expensive damages and potential health problems. The reasons why to take action are easy to understand, but what to do? Here are some best practice suggestions from North Twin Builders that you can use yourself:

• Regularly check around your homes for signs of moisture, paying particular attention to windows, paint or wallpaper.
• Make sure fixtures penetrating the home’s exterior building envelope are properly sealed.
• Fix faucet or plumbing leaks right away to prevent excess water entering the indoor environment.
• Ensure that gutters drain away from the home.
• Don’t ignore even a small roof leak!
• Check that any exhaust fans actually vent to the outside and are performing properly.
• Be sure to turn on the fan when showering or cooking and allow to run at least a half an hour to expel extra humidity.
• Make sure your dryer vents to the outside.
• Open the blinds occasionally – when your window coverings are closed, they stop warm air from flowing past the window and effectively trap condensation.
• Check with your trusted home contractor before relying on a humidifier, as these can often add to the problem.

Why Call a Knowledgeable Home Contractor

Your best option is to call a trusted contractor, like North Twin Builders, to fix the structural problems and present living solutions. The fact is that moisture control requires just the right combination of air sealing and ventilation, and techniques can vary based on the type of home construction and the local climate. Ideally, your home was built by a qualified Energy Star home builder that understands all of the elements of building science, lowering the potential for moisture problems. But even a later walk-through by a professional contractor or energy auditor can make a difference!

A knowledgeable contractor will look at each element of your home to determine what actions are necessary. It may be that cold external surfaces need to be warmed up with properly installed quality insulation. Or maybe there are air leaks that are affecting the flow of moisture. Although every single home, even brand new ones, has moisture and can preset humidity problems, the attention of an experienced contractor can quickly lower the potential problems associated, and lessen the final expense involved when contacted promptly.

If you suspect that the moisture levels in your home are below or above recommendations, don’t wait to take action! It’s more cost effective to address the issue head on than wait until the entire foundation or frame needs to be replaced!

Contact North Twin Builders Today to Solve Your Home Moisture Problems!