I have recently moved to a new apartment (in a newly built house), and
I have the impression that the humidity in the rooms is way too high.
Each morning, lots of water condenses on the windows (so much water
that it runs down the window panes and drops on the floor). Also,
condensation water drops down from the transom window to the furniture
and floor (it's an attic apartment).

The room temperature usually is between 20 and 23 degrees celsius; the
outdoor night temperatures currently are between -10 and 0 degrees
celsius (if that matters).

My first question is: what can I do to reduce the humidity? Does it
help to turn up the heating? Does wiping the condensation water off
of the window panes reduce the humidity significantly, or is the
amount of condensation water neglectable with respect to the entire
amount of water in the air? Or do I have to ventilate the rooms by
opening all windows for extended periods of time?

Seconds, I'm wondering if a too high room humidity is harmful to
humans. My (tropical) plants seem to like it, but do I have to worry
about my health? I have heard that it can be harmful to the health
if the humidity is too low for longer periods, but what about an
increased humidity?

"Giga" wrote in message
.. .
I have recently moved to a new apartment (in a newly built house), and
I have the impression that the humidity in the rooms is way too high.
Each morning, lots of water condenses on the windows (so much water
that it runs down the window panes and drops on the floor). Also,
condensation water drops down from the transom window to the furniture
and floor (it's an attic apartment).

The room temperature usually is between 20 and 23 degrees celsius; the
outdoor night temperatures currently are between -10 and 0 degrees
celsius (if that matters).

My first question is: what can I do to reduce the humidity? Does it
help to turn up the heating? Does wiping the condensation water off
of the window panes reduce the humidity significantly, or is the
amount of condensation water neglectable with respect to the entire
amount of water in the air? Or do I have to ventilate the rooms by
opening all windows for extended periods of time?

Seconds, I'm wondering if a too high room humidity is harmful to
humans. My (tropical) plants seem to like it, but do I have to worry
about my health? I have heard that it can be harmful to the health
if the humidity is too low for longer periods, but what about an
increased humidity?

sounds like it might be too airtight? houses need to breathe, but in
the interest of conserving energy, many new houses are too airtight.

get a dehumidifier. running the a/c will also help. btw, i have
no idea of F equiv of C.

In article ,
Giga wrote:

I have recently moved to a new apartment (in a newly built house), and
I have the impression that the humidity in the rooms is way too high.
Each morning, lots of water condenses on the windows (so much water
that it runs down the window panes and drops on the floor). Also,
condensation water drops down from the transom window to the furniture
and floor (it's an attic apartment).

Modern housing is built tight enough that it almost always
needs active air exchange. Ask your landlord how they do
that. You likely have an air-to-air heat exchanger built
into your HVAC system, and you may have a switch somewhere
to turn it on. You would run it all the time on low, and
crank it up to high if you have people over, are taking
showers, or creating steam in the kitchen. Your HVAC system
might require you to keep the furnace fan running to do this.

Anytime you shower, you need to turn the vent fan on. Leave
it running at least 15 minutes after the last shower. That
is a big way that moisture builds up.

Barring these solutions, you might have to run a dehumidifier.
Anything over 55% is iffy in that it could promote the growth
of mold. The mold could be harmful, make you sick, and could
be fatal to both pets and humans in some circumstances.

The very first thing to do is buy a humidity meter so you
know for sure what you are dealing with.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

Thanks for replies. I don't have a humidity gage or a dehumidifier. I
will try to buy a gage this weekend.

One more question. Should I open my windows if its snowing out side? The
weather channel says its 95-100% humidity when it snows. Will that
humidity come into my apartment if I open windows?

"Modern housing is built tight enough that it almost always
needs active air exchange. "

That;s just plain silly. Unless a new house is specifically built at
additional cost to be airtight, it gets plenty of air exchange to avoid
dripping windows without the need for active air exchange. How many of
the millions of homes built each year have active air exchange?
Certainly a very small percentage. Yet there is no widespread problem,
is there?

In article . com,
wrote:

"Modern housing is built tight enough that it almost always
needs active air exchange. "

That;s just plain silly. Unless a new house is specifically built at
additional cost to be airtight, it gets plenty of air exchange to avoid
dripping windows without the need for active air exchange. How many of
the millions of homes built each year have active air exchange?
Certainly a very small percentage. Yet there is no widespread problem,
is there?

Here in the midwest, it is the law. All new residential units
have to meet strict energy guidelines set up by the states.
And yes, mold is a widespread problem.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

"Giga" wrote in message
.. .

One more question. Should I open my windows if its snowing out side? The
weather channel says its 95-100% humidity when it snows. Will that
humidity come into my apartment if I open windows?

1. You never said where you live so we cannot guess
whether you should open the windows while it is snowing.

2. Your weather channel appears misleading. "Humidity"
is usually measured by the degree of saturation (with
water vapour) of the ambient air. We had 10 inches of
snow yesterday in temperatures of about -10 Celsius;
the humidity was then about 50 per cent (high for winter.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Don Phillipson wrote:
"Giga" wrote in message
.. .


One more question. Should I open my windows if its snowing out side? The
weather channel says its 95-100% humidity when it snows. Will that
humidity come into my apartment if I open windows?


1. You never said where you live so we cannot guess
whether you should open the windows while it is snowing.

2. Your weather channel appears misleading. "Humidity"
is usually measured by the degree of saturation (with
water vapour) of the ambient air. We had 10 inches of
snow yesterday in temperatures of about -10 Celsius;
the humidity was then about 50 per cent (high for winter.)

Ontario Canada.

"TKM" wrote in message
...

I left the humidistat too high during a cold snap last winter, moisture
condensed on the skylight frames and started dripping on the floor. In
another house I've had mold, wet walls and other moisture problems when
the humidity got too high.

I would think a new house in a cold climate would be relatively tight if
built to modern codes -- and that's probably the reason for the excessive
moisture. Opening windows and running vents will solve the problem; but
also lead to higher energy use. A dehumidifier will work; but a better
solution is a an energy recovery ventilator.
See:
http://www.aprilaire.com/category.as...D14F348EB3FF1e
The reason the ventilator is the best choice is that you could do with
some fresh air. If moisture is trapped inside, so are pollutants
particularly in a new building where wood, building panels, fabrics,
carpets and paint are still outgassing -- some nasty stuff can build up.

I think Minnesota code now requires these air-air heat exchangers on new
construction. Wish I had put one in when I replaced my furnace 5 years ago,
but my house is older and looser so it wasn't a requirement, just a nice way
to get fresh air.

I almost installed a permanent, furnace-mounted humidifier last year but
backed out over the "too much humidity" problem in addition to some
sheetmetal work that went beyond my abilities.

I did notice that Honeywell makes a "smart" humidistat for their permanent
install humidifiers that monitors return air temperatures and furnace run
times and apparently can map these to approximate outdoor temperatures, so
your humidifier would require no adjustment at all to keep up with changing
outdoor temperatures. It wasn't easily available retail, another reason I
decided to just add a portable room humidifier.