What is the Humidity Guideline?

Do you know that the air around you carries a considerable amount of invisible water particles most of the time? This airborne water affects everything from your comfort and health to the longevity of your expensive furniture and electronic appliances.

Ideally, the humidity guideline suggests maintaining humidity levels between 30% to 50% for optimal results. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is to use a high-quality dehumidifier.

Remember, managing indoor humidity is not only about your comfort. It’s also about protecting your health, home structural integrity, and valuable goods. So, Controlling humidity levels can make a huge difference whether you are handling summer moisture or dry winter. 

Let’s explore important guidelines for humidity control across different indoor environments and why they matter for your daily life. 

What is the Humidity Guideline?

What is humidity and why it matters? Simply put, humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air around you. It matters because your comfort and health heavily depend on balanced moisture levels. Whether in your home or workplace, proper humidity levels help you breathe easier and feel more comfortable.

When humidity is low, you might experience issues such as dry skin and respiratory problems. On the other hand, high moisture levels in your air might lead to mold buildup and trigger allergic reactions. Therefore, you should have a proper dehumidification system to maintain proper indoor humidity levels all the time.

1. Humidity Guidelines for Homes

Typically, your home humidity level should fall between 40% to 60 percent for a comfortable and healthy indoor environment. However, you need to adjust it based on the outdoor temperature. Keep your indoor humidity level at 45% or less when the outdoor temperature is more than °F.

If your indoor temperature is between 25-50°F, you should aim for a maximum humidity level of 40%. Maintain humidity of 30-40% during colder weather. In extreme conditions below -20°F, you even need to reduce your indoor humidity level to 15-20 percent.

You should constantly monitor your indoor humidity levels. Your daily activities such as showering, cooking, and doing dishes can increase moisture levels in your indoor air. Therefore, you should consider installing a portable dehumidifier in areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. For better results, you can opt for a whole-home dehumidifier. This helps maintain perfect humidity levels throughout your home.

2. Humidity Guidelines for Workplaces

Maintaining optimal humidty levels in your workplace is important for both comfort and productivity.  According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the perfect relative humidity should fall between 40-60% in office and industrial settings.

When humidity is too high in your office, your employees might experience health issues such as dry skin, allergic reactions, and respiratory problems. Besides causing health risks and discomfort, high humidity also affects electronic equipment. So, you need to address this issue promptly.

Commercial spaces often need large-scale solutions to manage humidty issues fast and effectively. So, you might need a heavy-duty dehumidifier to maintain proper humidity levels in your office building, warehouse, or manufacturing unit. 

If you are dealing with commercial areas with specific humidity control needs, a portable commercial dehumidifier offers targeted solutions. You just need to place it in problem areas such as server spaces, print rooms, or areas with a high number of employees to create ideal working conditions.

3. Humidity Guideline for Storage Areas

For proper preservation, different materials need specific moisture levels. For example, wooden materials require 40-60% relative humidity to prevent cracking and warping. Electronic products work best when the humidity levels are low. For important documents, you need to maintain moisture levels between 30-50% to protect from mold growth and deterioration.

To protect your valuable belongings, you need to maintain consistent humidity control in your storage area. If you don’t manage your indoor humidity properly, you risk potential damage to your goods, inventory, appliances, and other archived materials. Therefore, spaces such as large warehouses often require heavy-duty dehumidification solutions to maintain stable moisture levels throughout the facility.

So, if you are dealing with humidity issues in any storage area, choose the right solution based on your storage needs. A dessicant dehumidifier offers effective humidty control for sensitive goods and cold storage rooms. For smaller storage areas, you can go with a standard portable dehumidifier. You can install multiple units in different zones to ensure proper humidity levels throughout your space.

What Happens When H[umidity Levels Go Wrong?

Incorrect moisture levels seriously damage your health, comfort, and valuable goods. If your indoor humidity remains consistently high, your wooden floor and furniture start to warp. High humidity also causes your paint to peel and your windows to collect condensation.

Moreover, excessive humidity even damages your structural integrity over time. Consistent high humidity and basements and crawl spaces weaken your building foundation. Also, improper humidity levels seriously affect your health and personal comfort. If this is your case, you need a proper dehumidification solution that best suits your indoor moisture problems.

Issues with Low Humidity

When the humidity in your home drops too low, you will experience variable uncomfortable symptoms. Your skin feels itchy due to dryness. Also, you feel irritation in your eyes and your throat feels scratchy. 

Moreover, too low moisture levels can trigger respiratory problems and you become more susceptible to colds and flu. It also causes wood to shrink and crack. This will damage your furniture and other wooden artifacts. Low humidity increases static electricity which damages your expensive electronic appliances.

Furthermore, textile goods can lose moisture which makes them brittle and prone to tear and wear. Books, documents, and artwork may also become brittle and prone to tearing. To prevent such potential damages, you need to use proper humidification solutions such as a humidifier.

Problems with High Humidity

High humidity seriously hampers your comfort. It makes your home stuffy and unforgettable even at normal temperatures. And you feel muggy and sticky. Since your indoor air is already moist, it can't absorb your sweat. This increases the burden on your HVAC system and air conditioner. 

Moreover, too much humidity in your indoor air creates ideal conditions for mildew and mold growth. This leads to allergic reactions and asthma problems. You feel difficulty when breathing particularly if you have asthma or other breathing-related issues. 

Therefore, you should constantly monitor your indoor humidity levels. Look for high humidity steps such as stains on your walls to take immediate steps to deal with it promptly. Also, it’s recommended to use a hygrometer. The best practice is to use a modern dehumidifier with a built-in hygrometer.

Read this blog to find out how to food fresh in high humidty.

Conclusion

Maintaining correct moisture levels protects your valuable belongings, significantly improves comfort, and preserves the structural integrity of your home or workspace. So, you should follow the humidity guideline, typically between 30-50%. By following this guideline, you can effectively prevent issues such as static electricity, mildew, mold buildup, and potential damage to expensive metallic and wooden goods.

So, you need to use the right solutions. Your existing heating and cooling system works well in certain conditions. However, in severe conditions, you must use a large dehumidifier or humidifier to control indoor humidity challenges.

Looking for a proper dehumidification solution for your home or workspace? You can explore our website and contact our support at any time. At Aloraircommercial, we help you find the best solution that suits your space size and conditions.