Summer Humidity

6/26/2019 (Permalink)

It’s that time of year when you will hear your local meteorologist talk about dew points and relative humidity.  Simply stated humidity is the amount of water vapor (the gaseous state of water) in the air.  Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor the air is holding as a percentage of what it could be holding if it were saturated.  For example, if the relative humidity is 30%, the air contains 30% of the water vapor it could hold at that temperature.  Higher temperatures have the capacity to hold more water vapor than lower temperatures.  So as temperatures rise in the summer months, so too does the capacity for water vapor in the air.  And too much water vapor in the air makes us feel uncomfortable and can damage our homes. 

When our body temperature rises, we begin to sweat.  As the water in our sweat evaporates, it cools our skin. When the relative humidity is high, the air around us has less capacity to take in our evaporating sweat, making it more difficult for us to cool off, and making us feel uncomfortable. 

In our homes, high humidity can cause condensation on walls and windows and it can cause mold.  As discussed in earlier blog posts, mold is bad for our homes because it feeds on and decomposes any organic material.  Organic materials are any type of materials that are found in nature or are made from items that are found in nature.  Examples of organic materials in our homes and businesses include wood, textiles and paper.     

It’s important during these summer months when humidity levels outdoors can spike, to reduce humidity in our homes and businesses to keep us comfortable and prevent damage.  In general relative humidity levels below 50 are considered comfortable and will help prevent mold growth.  The two easiest ways to do this are to run air conditioning or a dehumidifier.