ᐅ Indoor air extremely dry despite heating being turned off
Created on: 6 Feb 2020 10:29
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lukonstanzeL
lukonstanze6 Feb 2020 10:29Hello everyone,
Since August, I have been living in a new shared apartment and have noticed severe problems with the indoor air quality during the winter months. I am suffering from extremely dry skin (flaking on my face and scalp), dry hands and feet, and very dry mucous membranes. I haven’t had the chance or the device to measure humidity yet, but my girlfriend and friends from home experience the same symptoms when they visit.
I have absolutely no idea what could be causing this. We live near Lake Constance, where the outdoor humidity in winter is still about 80%. I generally prefer cooler temperatures and, especially considering the relatively mild winter, I haven’t even turned on the heating. Sleeping with the window open or closed makes only a marginal difference.
I am aware of various home remedies for low humidity, but as a student, I don’t have laundry drying daily, nor would towels or water-filled containers on the radiator help since the heating isn’t running. I do have plants that, oddly enough, develop slight mold on the soil after a few days in my room (I water very sparingly)...
I have also considered the possibility of hidden mold (which would spread to the plants quickly), but there are no other signs of mold. No odor, no pests, and dry skin and mucous membranes are not typical symptoms of mold exposure.
Another strange thing is that my flatmates don’t have any problems at all. My room is quiet, facing the courtyard, northeast. Their rooms face the main street, southwest.
I am less interested in what I can do about it, since electrical humidifiers seem to be the only option left. I am far more curious about how this discrepancy can be explained. I have lived in this city for a year, and before that, I lived in another shared apartment with similar building materials (a multi-family house from the 1950s-60s) and never had this problem.
The last possible cause I can think of is the heating circuit. Next to my room is the bathroom with a gas boiler, and the heating loop starts in my room. This means that although I don’t heat, warm pipes run through the walls around my room. However, since my flatmates also barely use the heating and the system is off at night anyway, this doesn’t seem like a plausible explanation.
Any help or theories would be greatly appreciated.
Since August, I have been living in a new shared apartment and have noticed severe problems with the indoor air quality during the winter months. I am suffering from extremely dry skin (flaking on my face and scalp), dry hands and feet, and very dry mucous membranes. I haven’t had the chance or the device to measure humidity yet, but my girlfriend and friends from home experience the same symptoms when they visit.
I have absolutely no idea what could be causing this. We live near Lake Constance, where the outdoor humidity in winter is still about 80%. I generally prefer cooler temperatures and, especially considering the relatively mild winter, I haven’t even turned on the heating. Sleeping with the window open or closed makes only a marginal difference.
I am aware of various home remedies for low humidity, but as a student, I don’t have laundry drying daily, nor would towels or water-filled containers on the radiator help since the heating isn’t running. I do have plants that, oddly enough, develop slight mold on the soil after a few days in my room (I water very sparingly)...
I have also considered the possibility of hidden mold (which would spread to the plants quickly), but there are no other signs of mold. No odor, no pests, and dry skin and mucous membranes are not typical symptoms of mold exposure.
Another strange thing is that my flatmates don’t have any problems at all. My room is quiet, facing the courtyard, northeast. Their rooms face the main street, southwest.
I am less interested in what I can do about it, since electrical humidifiers seem to be the only option left. I am far more curious about how this discrepancy can be explained. I have lived in this city for a year, and before that, I lived in another shared apartment with similar building materials (a multi-family house from the 1950s-60s) and never had this problem.
The last possible cause I can think of is the heating circuit. Next to my room is the bathroom with a gas boiler, and the heating loop starts in my room. This means that although I don’t heat, warm pipes run through the walls around my room. However, since my flatmates also barely use the heating and the system is off at night anyway, this doesn’t seem like a plausible explanation.
Any help or theories would be greatly appreciated.
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nordanney6 Feb 2020 10:42lukonstanze schrieb:
I haven’t measured the humidity yet. Why not, if you’ve been having problems for some time?
lukonstanze schrieb:
I would be very grateful for help and explanations. First, check the humidity levels. If you can rule that out as the cause, it must be something else. If in doubt, have the indoor air analyzed or consider relocating.
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nordbayer6 Feb 2020 13:09A cheap hygrometer costs 10 to 15 euros, it is not very accurate but at least indicates whether the humidity is closer to 30 or 60 percent.
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