Against mold
You can use these tips to lower the humidity at home
Watch the video: Be careful when saving heating costs: What you should know about mold formation.
But be careful: if you don’t heat much, you encourage mold to form on the outside walls. However, mold is harmful to health and can trigger asthma or allergies when inhaled.
The problem: The moisture in the air can condense on cold walls. This causes the walls to become damp.
If the humidity in the apartment is higher than 70 percent, mold formation is almost inevitable.
To keep an eye on the humidity, it is worth purchasing a hygrometer; it shows the water content in the air in percent. If the value is too high, it can be brought below 60 percent by targeted ventilation for around 15 minutes.
A humidity level between 40 and 60 percent is optimal for living spaces.
The air in the kitchen and bathroom can also be a little more humid. However, the humidity level should not exceed 70 percent here either.
Air that is too dry can also be dangerous for the body and the building structure.
A tip: Keeping the temperature as constant as possible throughout the day helps to keep the water content in the air the same.
If you wake up in the morning and see foggy windows, the humidity in your home may be too high. How you can lower them and what else you should consider.
Especially when it’s colder outside, the humidity at home can be high. However, this can be unhealthy and lead to mold in the home. Because cooler air saturates more quickly than warmer air. Excess moisture then settles on windows and surfaces and in the long term there is a risk of mold due to the excessive moisture. We explain how you can reduce the humidity and how high it should ideally be.
What is the optimal humidity?
As a rule, a humidity of 40 to 60 percent is a good guideline for you. Short-term deviations, for example if you cooked in the kitchen or showered in the bathroom, are not a problem as long as the humidity drops again afterwards. However, if the air is permanently too humid, it offers an attractive environment for pathogens and, as mentioned above, increased mold formation. This means unpleasant consequences for your home and a burden on your health. But air that is too dry is also not good for your health: such a room climate can, among other things, put strain on the mucous membranes and consequently inhibit protection against infections. In such a case humidifier be helpful.
But back to increased humidity: Values above 80 percent are very critical if they are measured more often. By the way, you can measure the humidity with one hygrometer. These devices usually also display the room temperature at the same time. This way you can achieve optimal humidity.
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Reduce humidity: These tips will help
If you regularly measure values above 60 percent in your living spaces, you should follow the following tips to reduce the humidity.
- Heat properly: In order to dehumidify the air in the room, it is advisable to heat the rooms – even if it is not currently optimal from a financial perspective. Because the temperature of the air also rises and the humidity remains lower. To save energy costs, you should heat properly and regularly dust and ventilate your radiator.
- Ventilate properly: In addition to proper heating, ventilation is also important to keep the indoor climate healthy. You should ventilate regularly or cross-ventilate – especially after sleeping, cooking or showering or when you have visitors and there are many people in one room. And: If you have to deal with mold in the bedroom, you should always let the mattress and bedding air out well.
- It is better not to dry laundry in the apartment: If you prefer to dry your laundry in your apartment, you should keep an eye on the humidity. If it is consistently higher than recommended, you should consider changing the location for drying clothes. A ventilated basement room or the terrace, for example, are also well suited.
- Cook and shower carefully: As mentioned above, it is usually not a problem if the humidity in the bathroom is briefly increased after showering or bathing. However, you should make sure to keep the bathroom door closed so that the water vapor does not spread throughout the apartment. After bathing or showering, ventilate the room sufficiently. The same principle applies to cooking in the kitchen. It is best to cook with the lids closed and the steam extractor hood switched on. You should also open the windows after cooking and ventilate them well.
- Integrate plants sensibly: Plants can create a more homely environment and increase well-being. There are air-purifying plants that may be worth purchasing. If you often measure humidity that is too high, you should place it in moderation in your home. Houseplants can also increase the humidity in rooms. The reason: They release a large portion of the irrigation water back into the environment. In rooms with critical values, it can help to redistribute the plants or reduce them entirely.
- Dehumidifier: Dehumidifiers are another tool to reduce humidity. On the one hand, they are available on a granulate basis as so-called passive dehumidifiers. These models However, they are not very efficient when placed in larger, busy rooms. They are more suitable for basements or storage rooms. Because it takes time for them to absorb the moisture and they do not counteract it. At electrical devices On the other hand, they are active dehumidifiers. With these models, however, you should keep an eye on both acquisition and operating costs. Stiftung Warentest tested twelve electric dehumidifiers in 2023 and rated nine as recommended when it comes to reducing air humidity. With a few exceptions, they can only be used as short-term interim solutions because they draw a lot of electricity.
Electric dehumidifiers: what should you pay attention to when buying?
When purchasing one electric dehumidifier there are some criteria you can pay attention to. The rating from Stiftung Warentest can be just as helpful as other customer reviews. It is important that the target humidity is as adjustable as possible, ideally as a percentage in order to achieve optimal humidity. In addition, the device of choice should be selected to suit the size of the room. Guide values are usually given that can be helpful when purchasing. The active dehumidifier’s water bowl should be full after about a day. If it happens faster, purchasing a second device may make sense.
Another tip: dehumidifiers should also be switched on and active at night. Once the drying threshold is reached, the devices usually switch off automatically. However, you should not do this manually, otherwise efficiency may suffer. In addition, the cold reduces the productivity of the devices; they are most effective on warmer days. However, you should then keep the windows closed while the device is running.
source: Stiftung Warentest
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