Moisture in the Home
Posted on Apr 2nd, 2009 by Doug Marsh VP, CR, CAPS, GBP | 0 Comments
Moisture in Your Home
As we continue to build and live in tighter houses we must be more aware of the moisture that we naturally generate within our homes and alleviate it. Cooking, bathing, and laundry actions all create moisture that must be relieved. Nothing like the little bath vent fan that you can’t stand to turn on because of the ensuing racket it creates. We put in very low sone (quiet rating) fans as a standard in our projects because we know the importance of the operation of those units. When it’s whisper quiet you can turn it on when you step into the shower and then leave it on while you are dressing to allow venting the bathroom. This is important regardless of the type of attic you may have: vented or unvented. Laundry rooms must have, by Code, a ventilation fan to remove the moisture generated by washing and drying clothes in the house. It’s important to have the vent fan over your cooking surface properly vented out of the living space as well as your attic regardless of the type. So each room that tends to have moisture: baths, kitchen, laundry all have the proper unit in them to ventilate those spaces adequately. A further useful step is to tie the bath vent fans to a humidifier controlled switch that automatically starts the fan when the humidity in the room reaches a certain level or use a 2 speed fan that is motion activated. The low cfm setting is on full time and when someone enters the room the unit kicks up to the higher cfm setting.
Another revolutionary concept is to open your windows! We are blessed with 6+ months where we can open our windows up and aerate our homes. This does remove moisture but, more importantly, spruces up the indoor air quality in your house. Most of our homes (unless we have just completed your Green remodel) have a lot of products that affect your indoor air quality: carpet, plywood, plastics, flooring, and paint. Open your windows when it’s not humid out and change your air and help create healthy indoor air quality.
Comments