What is the normal air humidity in the apartment?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

An annoying dry cough, persistent colds and itchy irritated skin can all be a reaction to inappropriate moisture levels.

What is humidity and what does it depend on

Humidity Humidifiers: Air moisture eases skin, breathing symptoms are, without going into details, the amount of water vapor in the air. At 100% humidity, there is so much steam that the air cannot hold the water and it rains. Or begins to condense and settle on surfaces (if you've ever heard What is Humidity? Definition, Measurements & Effects, this is it).

When we talk about relative humidity, for example 50%, we mean that the ambient air contains exactly 50% of the maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold.

Moisture levels are influenced by many factors:

• Season. In summer, humidity is generally higher (warmer air can hold more water vapor), in winter it is lower.
• Place of residence. The relative humidity is higher near water bodies than in drier areas. In the tropics it is higher than in the northern latitudes.
• Indoor climatic conditions. For example, heating devices inside closed apartments "dry out" the room: heated air is able to retain more moisture, but the amount of water vapor in the room does not increase, so the relative humidity drops. Humidifiers, on the other hand, increase the amount of water vapor in the air - and the relative humidity rises.

What humidity should be in the apartment

If we talk about well-being, scientists are unequivocal Indoor humidity and your family’s health: people feel best at a relative humidity in the range of 30-60%.

But from the point of view of health, the boundaries are somewhat narrowing.

To minimize most of the potential adverse health effects, indoor humidity should be maintained at 40-60% Indirect health effects of relative humidity in indoor environments. …

How air humidity affects health

The relationship between relative humidity and health can take unexpected forms. For example, there is data from Wellbuilt for wellbeing: Controlling relative humidity in the workplace matters for our health that people may be able to tolerate stress more easily if the humidity level is between 42% and 48%. When humidity rises or falls, the stress response becomes more acute.

People who spend more than half of their time at a relative humidity of 30-60% have an average of 25% less stress than those who breathe drier air.

However, the relationship between climatic conditions and the state of the psyche has not yet been sufficiently studied. There are also patterns more understandable to physiologists. Here are the most common ones.

Why high humidity is dangerous

1. The risk of allergic reactions increases

Dust mites and fungi (molds) that cause allergies begin to multiply especially actively when the relative humidity reaches 80%. Allergy symptoms are very diverse: it can be an obsessive cough, and chronic rhinitis (runny nose), and itching, and skin irritation.

Tick populations decrease rapidly when relative humidity is below 50%. Most mushroom species stop growing if the level falls below 60%.

2. Increased risk of inhalation of toxic fumes

The higher the humidity, the more active the toxic gas, formaldehyde, is emitted from internal building materials (chipboard, plywood, fibreboard, laminate, some insulation materials).

The body can react to an increased concentration of this substance with a sharp and burning sensation in the eyes, a sore throat, coughing, nausea, and the appearance of irritated areas on the skin.

3. You can get heatstroke

This moment is important for those who are actively involved in sports or other physical activities. Sweat is part of the thermoregulatory system: we sweat to lower the temperature of the body warmed up by heat or activity.

If the air around you is saturated with water vapor, sweat cannot evaporate efficiently (it simply has nowhere to go). And this can lead to overheating and even death.

Why low humidity is dangerous

1. The mucous membranes of the eyes and nose dry out

Dryness in the nasopharynx reduces Rhinitis sicca, dry nose and atrophic rhinitis: a review of the literature local immunity and increases the risk of catching a respiratory infection. Dry eyes can cause Dry eyes to develop dry eye syndrome.

2. The risk of getting SARS increases

And not only because of the drying out of the mucous membranes mentioned above. The study of airborne infectious bacteria and viruses showed Indirect health effects of relative humidity in indoor environments: their concentration drops to a minimum at a relative humidity of 40% to 70%.

In addition, dry air makes viruses and bacteria more mobile. Influenza virus transmission is dependent on relative humidity and temperature, that is, it simplifies their transmission.

3. The skin becomes dehydrated

Dryness makes itself felt by scaly areas on open parts of the body (hands, cheeks, nose), irritation, uneven complexion.

4. The condition worsens with colds, allergies, asthma

Drying out of the mucous membranes leads to a sore throat, which means that coughing at low humidity becomes more active and tiring.

How to bring the air humidity in the apartment to normal

First, you need to understand what exactly is wrong: the air in the room is dry or, on the contrary, waterlogged. The easiest way is to use a hygrometer. This device allows you to accurately set the relative humidity. If it shows values in the range from 40% to 60%, then everything is in order.

What to do if the air is too dry

Buy a household humidifier. This device saturates the surrounding air with water vapor and helps to quickly raise the relative humidity in the room.

If for some reason the device is unavailable, just place open containers with water around the house or apartment, start “moisturizing” indoor plants (for example, hibiscus, ficus, dracaena have such a talent) or use any of our other life hacks - we are talking about them wrote in detail here.

What to do if the air humidity is high

Here are some simple tricks.

• Use a desiccant. This is a device that draws excess moisture from the air. Such devices are often installed, for example, in basements to keep them dry.
• Turn on the air conditioner. It also dries the air, eliminating excess moisture.
• Ventilate and ventilate the room often. It is a cheap and effective way to reduce excess moisture.