Humidity levels in the house.
 

I checked the mini weather station we have in the kitchen before leaving the house this morning. It stated that the outside temperature was -29 and the inside temperature was 18 with only 10% humidity.

I have a feeling that only 10% inside humidity is not good.

What should it be?

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Whatever feels comfortable for you. We have our`s between 35-45%

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Humidity is a complicated one as relative humidity and absolute humidity are not the same thing, so a low relative humidity can still be OK

10 is on the low side for a normal room temperature, but on the other hand you are best to avoid it reaching a point where condensation becomes an issue too, and that depends on the inside and outside temp, as well as how well insulated your windows are. 30-40 is usually OK for normal room temps, unless its really brass monkeys outside.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

35-40 usually works for me, you need a humidifier. I remember a couple of years ago I got home from a vacation to Florida and the hygrometer read 0%, I couldn't believe it, as soon as I leaned forward to look at it, it jumped to 8%.

If you get a humidifier, don't get the cool mist ones, they're useless imo, I think they're really designed for warm arid environments. Get one of the steam ones, they work like a big electric kettle. Also put it reasonably close to where you sit in the house.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Or get one built into your heating air duct system and do the whole house. They are cheap and work pretty well. Hundred bucks or so at Canadian tire.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

I was recently looking for this info and found the table below online, can't remember the site. Originally it was in Fahrenheit, I converted it to Celsius.

Relative Humidity in relation to outside air temps.High humidity inside when it's very cold outside will usually result in ice build up on the lower edges of your windows.

The above table goes out the window if you have hardwood floors. If you do they don't recommend allowing the humidity to drop below 30%

Hope this helps.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

The newer flow through types which I believe Iain is referring to are much better than the old drum style ones.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Was that out of the article you read? I've had windows completely covered with a sheet of ice. I'd rather that than have all my skin flake off.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

I couldnt tell you what it is to be honest... It has a foam drum that rotates in a puddle of water and some of the warm air from the hot side of the furnace is diverted through it and into the cold side.

Took some tin snips and about ten minutes to install.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Doesnt make any difference, once its condensing out as ice you can push as much water into the air as you like, but it will just turn to more ice as the absolute (not relative) humidity in the air is typically 100% saturated at that point.

That ice in turn can cause its own issues like rot of the frames or mold issues.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

That's the old style then you should check the drum at least every six months and replace the foam pad annually I think. If you have hard water you can get a build up around the edges of the water container, the float assembly and on the foam pad.

The newer flow through ones apparently are supposed better and require less maintenance.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

What he said ^^^^^^

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Good to know. For the money it does the job, Hard water isnt a problem for us. We do have to be careful to remember to turn the water off and dry everything in the summer to prevent it getting horribly soupy:(:eek:

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Assuming you can absolutely precisely measure the saturation point at any given moment and have very precise control over the humidifier. Try doing that with the way the weather fluctuates in Calgary! One problem I have had is with ice build up then melting which has buggered up the sealant around the window frame, but it's plastic so it just looks a mess.

Re: Humidity levels in the house.
 

Thats the whole point of the data Steve P posted.

Some fancy humidifiers have outside temp sensors that adjust the cut off level automatically, but in my case I look at the forecast or the outside temp and manually adjust the humidifier dial accordingly. I have wooden window sills;)