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10/01/10, 11:05 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 8,266
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Our house is too humid
How in the world do you get rid of humidity in a house? Who would you have out to check things? Our house is on a crawl space. There's no water in the crawl space. It's wonderfully dry. It is humid in the house. I've never had such a problem. Heck, the inside of our toilet lid gets mildew on it. I've never seen that before.
Ideas? I figure we need to get someone out here to fix whatever is going on.... I just don't know who to call out here.
__________________
Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD
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10/02/10, 12:43 AM
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Perpetually curious!
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: North Central Michigan
Posts: 2,747
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Do you run a dehumidifer? Definitely do that.
The only time I've seen your problem is with relatives who've bought good quality modular homes.
The house is sealed SO tight that there isn't any natural ventilation.
But ulitimately I know nothing about nothing when it comes to such things. Other then running a dehumidifer. 
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10/02/10, 12:59 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 10,943
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Ruining a dehumidifier is great and will take it away. Also open some windows and let the humid air out run a fan to get the outside air in. Your insulation is the cause. The colder the air is outside the dryer it is. It is a common error to keep the outside air out when is dryer than the inside air. It only gets worse as winter comes on.
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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.
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10/02/10, 01:02 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Arizona - Zone 5, 5b, 6
Posts: 1,195
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do you have any plumbing leaks? Leaky roof? Wet walls, foundation areas?
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10/02/10, 03:42 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Illinois
Posts: 9,898
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We've had excess humidity in the house this year, as well, though I attribute the problem to the earlier rainy season and humid summer, both of which have passed, for us.
I ran the wood stove when the humidity got the worst.The house was hot during, though the humidity was licked with just a couple heatings a few weeks apart during the worst of it.
__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III
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10/02/10, 07:39 AM
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Wasza polska matka
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: zone 4b-5a
Posts: 6,912
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Is your house vented?? DH insists homes need to "breathe" (he is a carpenter)
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I'd rather have one Chewbacca than an entire clone army.
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10/02/10, 07:48 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 500
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Vapor barrier.
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10/02/10, 07:57 AM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 2,141
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I agree with Missy put down a plastic vapor barrier. We know of a place that had mildew problems and smelled musty but after putting down the barrier it was a wonderful change. Even if your crawlspace seems dry it could be emitting moisture.
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10/02/10, 08:18 AM
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Zone 7
Posts: 10,560
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If you use a clothes dryer check the vent. The vent must go to the outside. After making certain you are not having a moisture source in the house do as stated and install a vapor barrier over the crawl space. Simple covering the soil of the crawl space with a heavy black plastic will do wonders. I realize you stated the crawl space was dry but ground moisture still will rise through the soil. PS...if the home has air conditioning make certain the drain on the evaporator portion is working.
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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!
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10/02/10, 05:13 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 8,266
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House was built during the 50s but placed on this foundation less than 5 years ago. Crawl space is dry. Vapor barrier is in place. They did not add exhaust fans in the bathrooms. We plan to add them and then add additional insulation in the attic, especially in the eaves. House felt damp all summer. We ran air all summer so it removed a lot of humidity. Clothes dryer if vented to the outside. We had that checked (and fixed) months ago.
We don't have any wet walls or any known plumbing or other leaks. I guess maybe we need to have a plumber check to see if there's a leak we don't see. Argh!
__________________
Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD
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10/02/10, 06:02 PM
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Zone 7
Posts: 10,560
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please describe the vapor barrier. There should not be any insulation in the eves. Is this a brick veneer home? It is essential to have a vent for the baths. Showers create a lot of moisture. If anyone is taking long showers then cease the habit. Store wet towels elsewhere, not in the non vent bathroom. Are you positive the AC is draining the moisture it extracts from the house air. Is there a duct for the HVAC in the bathroom? I know this is a lot of questions but that is how to recognize where the problem is arising.
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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!
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10/02/10, 06:39 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Ouachitas, AR
Posts: 6,049
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I would definitely invest in a dehumidifier.
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10/02/10, 06:45 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Austin-ish, Texas
Posts: 5,000
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Our state is too humid! Anyone got advice on how to solve THAT problem? lol
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"Perhaps I'll have them string a clothesline from the hearse I am in, with my underwear waving in the breeze, as we drive to the cemetary. People worry about the dumbest things!"
by Wendy
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10/02/10, 06:48 PM
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Voice of Reason
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 33,719
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joshie
House was built during the 50s but placed on this foundation less than 5 years ago. Crawl space is dry. Vapor barrier is in place. They did not add exhaust fans in the bathrooms. We plan to add them and then add additional insulation in the attic, especially in the eaves. House felt damp all summer. We ran air all summer so it removed a lot of humidity. Clothes dryer if vented to the outside. We had that checked (and fixed) months ago.
We don't have any wet walls or any known plumbing or other leaks. I guess maybe we need to have a plumber check to see if there's a leak we don't see. Argh!
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Do you have air conditioning?
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10/03/10, 09:49 AM
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Fair to adequate Mod
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Between Crosslake and Emily Minnesota
Posts: 13,728
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I would suggest a whole house air exchanger. This is standard equipment is almost all home construction nowadays.
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This is the government the Founding Fathers warned us about.....
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10/03/10, 10:14 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 543
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my house was built in 1936. The floor planks go across the floor beams with no other flooring & it had no insulation at all. Humidity here is so high we need gills to breath on most days. The house does best (& that ain't really "best") when the windows are open & it breathes, but that's hard to do in deep summer & a few weeks in winter. So, I have buckets of Damp Rid in all closets & the bathroom(which is built on the original back porch). This summer was so hot I had to run the 110 window ac at night. This caused the floor boards to buckle up & made a hump in the floor so high I'd trip on it during the night. Today, those boards have now gone down about 50%. My pantry is the place I had the most trouble with condensation/humidity; the sweat would roll down the walls & any food products, like pasta, that came in a cardboard box, would get damp & flaccid. So, I put took the small window out & put in a very small 110 ac, which I run all summer. It takes the water out & it drips outside. In the winter I run a dehummidifier, which has to be emptied every day. This is how I survive in the swamp.
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10/03/10, 04:47 PM
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"Slick"
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Moving from NM to TX, & back to NM.
Posts: 2,341
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Buy a dehumidifier. More efficient or at least less expensive than running the AC.
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We will meet in the golden city, called the New Jerusalem,
All our pain and all our tears will be no more.....
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10/03/10, 04:57 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 8,266
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We have a brand new high efficiency propane furnace and electric heat pump. Air is on when heat is not.
House is very small and there's hardly enough room to hang towels in the bathrooms let alone anywhere else.
__________________
Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD
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10/03/10, 06:41 PM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Mountains of Vermont, Zone 3
Posts: 8,878
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Ventilation.
Wood heat.
Stop water from coming in. (e.g., roof)
Stop water vapor (e.g., basement)
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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids
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10/03/10, 11:27 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 8,266
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Wood heat is not an option nor is it desired. DH is in his 70s and I'm disabled. We're going to have someone put in bathroom fans and look at putting more attic ventilation and kind of go from there.
__________________
Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD
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