Having high humidity in your home is something that can range from being just an annoyance to a full-blown problem and a crisis. The average recommended humidity for most homes falls in the 40%-50% range with anything above 60% bringing too many risks for respiratory problems, mold, and mildew, as well as bug infestations.
Unfortunately, dehumidifiers can be expensive, especially when you need more than one for your home or something bigger instead. So, how to remove humidity from a room without a dehumidifier?
There are many tricks you can use but there’s a difference between knowing how to dehumidify a food cabinet and how to reduce humidity in your house without a dehumidifier. Here are some guidelines and ideas you might want to follow even if you’re using a dehumidifier but especially if you’re not:
- Improve the natural ventilation in your home. Stale air is a huge problem if you don’t what high humidity levels in your home. Open your home’s windows and doors daily to create a good airflow.
- Utilize other artificial ventilation options. Air conditioning, fans, and other vents should also be used regularly for the purpose of improving ventilation and not just when you’re feeling hot.
- Replace the furnace and AC air filters to maximize their effectiveness. You may be using your AC daily but if it’s not effective enough you might have to change its air filters.
- Take shorter and colder showers. Regular, long, and hot showers are one of the biggest humidity sources for your home so reducing those can help the problem. Also, remember to ventilate properly during and after showers.
- Use additional dehumidifying options in cabinets and wardrobes. Things such as silica gel pouches, cups with baking soda or rock salt, as well as buckets with charcoal briquettes can all help absorb the humidity in smaller spaces such as cabinets, wardrobes, and closets.
- Line dry your clothes outside. If you’re not machine-drying your clothes and you’re line-drying them instead, you should really do this outside as it releases a great deal of moisture in the air.
- Keep moisture-releasing plants outdoors and moisture-absorbing plants – indoors. Some plants such as the Peace Lily, Reed palms, cactuses, and Boston ferns absorb moisture which makes them great for reducing your indoor humidity. Most other plants tend to release moisture, however, so they are best kept outdoors.
- Fix and insulate your home’s walls. Miniature cracks in your walls and windows can introduce extra moisture in your home from outside, not to mention that they also present temperature and pest problems. Knowing how to dehumidify a room without a dehumidifier is great but before you do that you should make sure your home’s whole structural integrity is maintained.
