ᐅ Help! High Indoor Humidity!

Hello,

I recently measured the humidity levels in our basement using a hygrometer.

Result: over 73%!

I have read that the ideal indoor humidity is between 40% and 60%.

Can mold develop at humidity levels above 70%, or has anyone had experience with this?

That depends on the surface temperature of the walls...

But it’s a bit much. Where is it coming from?

Is this a new build? How often is the basement ventilated?

Hello Flixomi,

I looked into this for you. There are many ways to reduce indoor humidity, that’s for sure. There are devices called dehumidifiers that you can set up to extract moisture from the air. However, they only regulate the humidity itself, not the related factors.

We’ve had this problem since we moved. Previously, we lived in an apartment with a ventilation system or automatic air exchange. That was great, and the air was usually on the dry side rather than too humid. Now—living in a regular house again—we face the common issues everyone has. The air is sometimes too humid, or it feels stuffy or musty if you don’t ventilate at night, and so on.

We got an air purifier, but a combined unit that also controls humidity. This makes sense because we often had high humidity levels, and I wasn’t sure if that could become a risk for mold and similar problems. This purifier removes all of that, including spores, viruses, bacteria, and so forth.

Mold can start to develop already at 60-65% humidity, depending, as mentioned before, on various factors such as temperature, the materials the walls are made of, and how well the space is ventilated. One option, as previously mentioned, is a ventilation system, but this does not address the root cause, which should be identified and eliminated.

What is the current status now?
The post is already a bit old..