Summer humidity levels can seem impossible to deal with, but with a few tips, they should be manageable.
You can try these 10 tips to reduce the humidity levels in your home:
- use a whole house dehumidifier
- use desiccants
- turn on your air conditioner
- keep the house dry
- fix leaks
- use exhaust fans
- upgrade insulation
- move houseplants
- dry laundry outside
- open a window
Below you’ll find in-depth breakdowns for each tip and how to implement it right at home.
Let’s get started.
10 Ways to Reduce Humidity in Your Home in Summer
1. Use a whole house dehumidifier
The easiest and most effective way to reduce humidity levels in your home is by installing a whole house dehumidifier.
Whole home humidifiers work by hooking up directly to your HVAC system and controlling the humidity in your home.
The best feature is that you won’t have to worry about emptying out any water tanks as you can attach a drain hose and let it drain continuously.
They sense the humidity levels in your home and start and stop automatically, saving you money.
You’ll be able to enjoy prevented mold, mildew, wood rot, musty odors, and termites.
The downside of a whole house dehumidifier is that they are costly and installation can be expensive.
You may not need one if you only need to dehumidify a room, and for that, I would suggest checking out 30 pint dehumidifiers instead.
2. Use desiccants
Desiccants are hygroscopic substances used as drying agents.
They’re inside those tiny packets you get with various items that say “DO NOT EAT” on them.
Desiccants are great for preventing moisture in moisture-sensitive products like beef jerky or shoes.
What’s cool about desiccants is that you can save money on electricity and even reuse them.
Once the beads on the inside change colors, you can plug in the renewable dehumidifier and dry out the desiccants making it reusable.
If you only have a minor humidity problem in your home, they can be great at regulating indoor humidity levels.
I would not however recommend them if you’re dealing with excess humidity as they’re only going to be good at treating small areas.
3. Turn on the air conditioner
While it may not be common knowledge, an air conditioner can remove humidity from your home.
Refrigerant absorbs humidity and then the excess moisture is drained out.
Air conditioning is not going to be a replacement for a dehumidifier, but it can help tremendously in removing humidity indoors.
You may find that air conditioning systems are not going to be foolproof when it comes to taking care of excessive humidity.
In this case, I would recommend looking into getting a dehumidifier to aid your air conditioner.
You’ll find that your air conditioner will have to work less, resulting in less energy bills.
4. Keep the house dry
In your search for lower humidity in your house, you may forget that everyday activities can increase the humidity levels inside.
Consider taking cooler showers, drying your sink and counter, and any spills that may occur in your bathroom.
5. Fix leaks and seepage
Any water entering your home through leaks or seepage will result in higher humidity levels in your home.
You may want to look into hiring outside help if you aren’t comfortable doing an assessment yourself on your home and surrounding area.
Leaks in pipes can end up causing water to puddle and cause elevated humidity levels.
If you suspect you have leaky pipes, then you can call on our HVAC experts to come give you a hand. Get a free quote by clicking the button below.
6. Use exhaust fans in bathrooms
Taking a hot shower will result in steam build up which will increase the humidity level.
If you don’t have exhaust or vent fans installed, all of that built up moisture will stay in your bathroom resulting in mold and mildew.
You can check your local hardware store for exhaust fans.
If you don’t want to opt to install an exhaust fan, you can opt to take shorter showers during the summer months.
7. Take care of insulation
Poor insulation will not only cause your AC unit to work harder, but will let in humid air from the outside into your home.
If your attic, garage or basement are unfinished, this can all lead to humidity entering your home.
The rooms that are adjacent to the affected rooms will suffer the most.
You can opt to DIY by using caulk to fill in cracks around walls in problem areas.
Weatherproofing strips can also work in a pinch, but the best solution would be to have a professional give an estimate.
8. Move houseplants
Houseplants not only open up their pores to take in carbon dioxide, but they also release moisture back into the air.
Indoor plants can be a reason for increased humidity levels in your home.
During the summer, some of your plants should be alright when placed outside.
Just make sure to read up on each specific plant to make sure that they will be ok in the outside elements.
9. Dry laundry outside
If you’re hanging up damp clothes to dry indoors, you may want to move them outside for the summer.
The dry air will not only dry your clothes faster, but you won’t have them releasing excessive moisture into the air.
10. Open a window
At times it can feel like it’s more humid indoors than it is outdoors. When you’re experiencing humid weather, this can be the case.
Open up a window to let some of that warm air out and get some cool air flowing back in.
What Causes High Humidity Levels During the Summer Inside Your Home?
Depending on the design, insulation and ventilation of your home, you may suffer from too much humidity inside your home.
The biggest factor is going to be the climate and temperature of where you live. If you live in the south, you will suffer the most from humid and hot weather.
When to Call an HVAC Technician
If you suspect that your air conditioning system isn’t able to produce cold air or that it’s not working as well as it used to, then you should call an HVAC technician to take a look.
Instead of suffering this summer from high humidity, you can bring the indoor humidity level back in check with a working air conditioning system.
