The effect of air humidity on human health: what dangers are too high or low humidity

Such an indicator as air humidity is of great importance for human health. Given that any living organism consists of water, it is difficult to exaggerate the effect of air humidity on human health.

Agree, after all, you also repeatedly noticed a deterioration in well-being in a room too wet or too dry? A long stay in rooms with high / low humidity can even lead to serious diseases.

Next, we will tell you how to adjust the humidity level in the rooms to the optimal level for life and health.

Humidity increase - good or bad

Optimal humidity level in the room, it is considered an indicator in the range of 30-60%. Deviation from the norm becomes the cause of poor health and generally brings discomfort to everyone who is in the room.

You can measure air humidity using special appliances. It will be difficult to draw conclusions about the level of humidity based on purely your own feelings.

High humidity is dangerous not only for humans. The furniture, books, clothes and shoes that are in the apartment suffer. For storage of household items, humidity is considered normal within 50%, and for most indoor plants, humidity of 60% is ideal.

A moisture indicator is considered dangerous, reaching a mark of 70%. With this level of moisture, furniture becomes unusable, and boots left in the closet until next season may lose their soles.

But the worst thing is when mold and various fungi appear in the room, for which a humid environment is just perfect

Thus, it becomes dangerous to breathe indoors, since the ingress of mold spores into the lungs can cause the appearance of chronic colds or lead to pneumonia.

High humidity is especially dangerous for children and the elderly.So, if the moisture level in the apartment is not respected, the children will frighten their parents with constant illnesses. In older people, excessive humidity leads to the development of rheumatism.

We talked about how to deal with mold in an apartment in detail. this stuff.

Reasons for increased humidity

The humidity level in the room may increase temporarily.

This is usually due to such factors:

• placement in an open aquarium room;
• frequent spraying or watering of indoor plants;
• continuous drying of large quantities of laundry after washing directly in the room;
• cooking for a big family without use hoods.

All of these factors can actually increase humidity, but not for long, or just a few tenths of a percent.

If the moisture level is steadily increasing or remains constantly high, despite the elimination of temporary factors, it is worth looking for more global reasons.

Reason 1 - malfunction of the roof or walls in the house

Identify this factor is the easiest. If water pours from walls or ceilings or wet spots are visible on the finish, then the reason is directly in the building.

Cracks in the wall of the house can cause not only increased humidity, but also the appearance of mold. It is difficult to fix this problem - a major overhaul will be required, which will cost quite expensive

After completing the repair of the walls and the roof, it will be necessary to do interior decoration, since all the walls inside the apartment are already affected by mold. To completely get rid of it before finishing, you will need to process the walls special solutions.

Reason 2 - thermal balance is upset

Identifying this reason is quite simple - if condensation constantly appears on the windows, then there is a clear temperature difference on the face. The window may “cry” even with a temporary temperature difference, but if such a phenomenon is noted systematically, then it is time to pay attention to the problem.

This problem is related to a physical concept such as Dew point.

The dew point directly depends on the air temperature and the humidity level in the room. The warmer the temperature and the higher the humidity, the higher the dew point

First you need to identify those walls of the apartment that are the coldest. Perhaps a crack appeared on them that can be quickly repaired.

However, if the wall does not have any visible deformations, an error may have occurred during design or construction — for example, too thin ceilings. In this case, you will need to insulate the wall, and the problem will resolve itself.

Reason 3 - malfunctioning ventilation

Regardless of when the apartment was commissioned, it probably has ventilation openings, which are usually located under the ceiling. They are rectangles closed by a grid and serve for the outflow of air, while the influx occurs through open windows, doors.

The supply and exhaust ventilation system of the room in the apartment allows you to ventilate them even without installing additional equipment

In the event that one or both channels are clogged, stuffiness and high humidity appear in the room. Broken foliage, dirt, branches, etc. can become the cause of inoperative ventilation. caught in the duct. Owners of private houses often face this problem.

To eliminate the blockage, you will need to call specialists to the house who will clean the ventilation, or fix the problem yourself.

In apartment buildings, owners often close ventilation openings, cover them with household appliances or furniture, completely without thinking that the air exchange in the room will be disturbed.

Do not block the ventilation openings. And for more efficient air exchange, you can install an exhaust fan, which is mounted directly into the ventilation shaft and accelerates the movement of air flows.

Additional remedies in the fight for dryness

Knowing that such a high humidity and what it threatens for households, I want to quickly say goodbye to this scourge.

Having eliminated the cause of the appearance of dampness, the owner of the apartment may be faced with the fact that the humidity level has not decreased.

In order to eliminate dampness in the apartment, you can use special means - dehumidifiers and air absorbers or water-absorbing tablets

However, it should be borne in mind that these funds work only if the owners of the apartment managed to eliminate the cause of the increased humidity.

Is dry air good for humans?

It would seem that so much effort has been put into “drying” the air, and here is a new problem. He got too dry. This can also happen if no dampening devices have been used. To determine too dry air is very simple - it will become difficult for households to breathe, and indoor flowers will dry out, despite heavy watering.

Typically, this phenomenon manifests itself in the winter, because cold air cannot hold such an amount of moisture as warm, and the work of radiators exacerbates the situation.

Regardless of what causes the drought, low humidity often leads to the following consequences:

• drying of the mucous membrane of the throat, nose, which is fraught with frequent respiratory diseases;
• palpable dry nose, irritation of the mucous membrane;
• dry skin of the body, peeling and redness;
• statistical electricity accumulates in the apartment;
• cracks appear on wooden furniture and interior items.

Raising low humidity is much easier than eliminating dampness. The first step is to check the ventilation.

Regular airing can optimize the humidity level, but if this is not enough, you should use other methods.

Dry air is very dangerous for children, because it leads to their frequent illnesses, and also greatly dries the baby’s skin, which can provoke allergies or skin diseases.

The first group of tools that will help cope with low humidity is completely free. They were used by our grandmothers. So, try putting water bowls near the radiators. A similar method is to put wet towels or sheets on radiators. The essence of this method is that water, gradually evaporating, will saturate the air.

The next option - do not use electric clothes dryers and hang it exclusively on radiators. It is advisable to squeeze the wash at low speeds so that things are as wet as possible.

The fastest method to increase humidity is to spray the room with a spray gun, paying particular attention to the curtains. Use this method with extreme caution, without damaging the wallpaper and without getting on the furniture.

If possible, you can purchase a professional humidifierwhich will maintain an optimal moisture balance around the clock.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

In this video, we will talk about how to maintain the optimal level of humidity in the room:

Thus, any deviations of the air humidity level from the established norm, adversely affect human health. High humidity leads to the appearance and development of mold on walls and furniture.

Too dry air can cause chronic diseases - allergies, bronchitis. Therefore, as soon as such a problem is detected, it is worth immediately proceeding to its elimination, identifying the root cause.

And how do you normalize the humidity level in the room? You may be aware of other ways to deal with excessively dry / wet indoor air. Share them with our readers. Leave your comments in the box below.