# Levels of humidity at home



## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Hi All, I hope you can help us.

Last year we bought a house and we did it all up and it is all nice and cosy here. 

However, I have noticed recently that on entering the master bedroom, sometimes I do smell dump, we had 3 bags of clothes inside, under the bed, and when I opened them, the clothes were damp and smelling of mold, and dirty.

We were told that the house had no damp problems, it is very well insulated apparently, walls,ceilings,floors, etc, but we do live near a marjal, rice fields, rivers, etc and the place around is very humid all of the time, summer and winter, right now, if I go outside, everything is wet as if it had been raining non stop for hours.

However, we have no condensation at home, i.e. windows, etc, everything is pretty dry? 

I bought one of those little machines that tells you the weather inside and outside, the time, relative humidity, etc and right now at 19.47 pm it says the temp inside is 22.9 and the relative humidity is 63%, it was 66% an hour ago when the temp was 19 degrees, we have lit up the fireplace in the last hour and the temp has gone up and the humidity is going down. 

Now, anyone knows what is the % we should have inside the house? All walls inside the house seems to be ok,no patches or mold, etc, apart from the toilet's ceiling but that is because there might be a leak.

Should I open the windows to ventilate the house all day long or should I keep them close all of the time, especially in winter with the great humidity we have in the area? 

I am not familiar with all this and I am getting worried, should we buy a humidificator to lower the % or is 60-65% the norm for winter months?

Anyone understand about these things? 

Ta much!


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola

I run dehumidifiers from October until April to reduce the humidity to 65. my weather station (chiclana weather station meteo tiempo forcast) quite often shows humidity above 80. 

warm air can contain more moisture than cold air which is why you get condensation as air cools - so ventilation tends to counteract the problem 

Davexf


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I would definitely try a small dehumidifier. They don't cost much to buy nor to run and they also give out a small amount of heat as a bonus.

By the way...



> entering the master bedroom, sometimes I do smell dump


... I hope that you meant damp. ainkiller:


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

damp damp damp damp!!!!!!!


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

lol

Normally I would say ventilation would be the best way but at the moment the humidity levels outside have reached upwards of 90% so there is little point in letting that in the house.
Maybe it will drop off inside the house when the levels return to normal outside?


A dehumidifier seems like the most sensible approach.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I think it's important to ventilate the house - humidity doesn't only come from outside. Humans produce it by breathing, cooking, showering etc. Bottled gas heaters also produce a lot of moisture. You can't do much about breathing, but use an extractor fan in the bathroom and try not to boil food on the stove unless you have a good extractor hood.

If you are still getting mould, kill the spores by wiping surfaces with a dilute bleach solution as soon as it begins to form. That will help stop it spreading. 

If you store clothes, bedding etc in bags, make sure they are thoroughly dry when you put them away and use the special vacuum-sealed storage bags. Beware of unventilated cupboards - open the doors now and again. My friend once left some leather riding boots in a wooden chest and they turned green over the winter!


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Ventilation*



Alcalaina said:


> I think it's important to ventilate the house - humidity doesn't only come from outside. Humans produce it by breathing, cooking, showering etc. Bottled gas heaters also produce a lot of moisture. You can't do much about breathing, but use an extractor fan in the bathroom and try not to boil food on the stove unless you have a good extractor hood.
> 
> If you are still getting mould, kill the spores by wiping surfaces with a dilute bleach solution as soon as it begins to form. That will help stop it spreading.
> 
> If you store clothes, bedding etc in bags, make sure they are thoroughly dry when you put them away and use the special vacuum-sealed storage bags. Beware of unventilated cupboards - open the doors now and again. My friend once left some leather riding boots in a wooden chest and they turned green over the winter!


It does seem strange the way houses are built here. We built a house in Mexico up a mountain in one of the coldest and wettest parts outside the city, but never ever had damp in the house. I can't remember now how deep the foundations were cos it was co structed on a hill but never damp. However, where I live now, while all was shining white when we moved in, I can see the lower part of the walls grow greener by the day.
I keep various windows slightly open, not sure if that helps.
,


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Thats the thing, I dunno whether to leave windows opened or closed tight... so confusing!

Maybe I leave them opened during the day when it is sunny and warmish and close them when it gets dark and humid??? 

Anyone knows?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Lolito said:


> Thats the thing, I dunno whether to leave windows opened or closed tight... so confusing!
> 
> Maybe I leave them opened during the day when it is sunny and warmish and close them when it gets dark and humid???
> 
> Anyone knows?


That is what we do as a matter of course - in the winter all our upstairs windows are left wide open, not just a bit open, from 10/11 am until 6 pm at the latest, when they are closed. The back door stays open all the time when we are at home during the day, as well. We use a gas heater but have no problem with damp or things going mouldy in cupboards. Our understairs cupboard, where we hang coats and also store things like sofa throws, has a small diamond shaped hole in the wall above the door, which keeps it ventilated.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lolito said:


> Thats the thing, I dunno whether to leave windows opened or closed tight... so confusing!
> 
> Maybe I leave them opened during the day when it is sunny and warmish and close them when it gets dark and humid???
> 
> Anyone knows?


That's what we do. And if it's really damp outside, we turn on the dehumidifier. It's amazing how quickly the tank fills up, so get one with at least 5 litre capacity.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Looked at them yesterday at Leroy Merlin, do you need to put it every room in the house? Like, one hour in each room or if you open all the doors will it be ok to put it in the living room? Don't know how these things work.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Lolito said:


> Looked at them yesterday at Leroy Merlin, do you need to put it every room in the house? Like, one hour in each room or if you open all the doors will it be ok to put it in the living room? Don't know how these things work.


Hola

I have one in the lounge where I have a gas fire, and one in the bathroom (where the mirrors steam up). I perhaps should have one in the bedroom, but the two dehumidifiers seem to cope 

Davexf


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