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Okay, so I know we can get a dehumidifier, which we'll definitely do - but what other ways are there to fight humidity/dampness in the house? Seems even the bedsheets are damp. It even wakes me up at night. Every surface feels sticky-icky. I saw the post suggesting two tons of rice - LOL - but short of that? I'd hate to close the windows at night, but what to do? We have some louvred rooms, too, and I know that doesn't help.
Finally, do you think carpeting makes it worse? We bought a fixer-upper with lots of the darn stuff —ugh— which we're tearing out asap, but are struggling with whether to replace with wood, laminate, or tile. Do you think that decision might help with humidity problems?
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You don't say where you live, which makes a HUGE difference here. Also, how old your house is and what materials it's made from. Once the humidity has taken hold in a house, it's hard to fight it.
I live in lower Puna, get 120-150 inches of rain a year. My house is on a slab and I have louvers starting a foot up from the floor. I have open-beam ceilings ranging from 12 ft. to 16 ft in height.
The smartest thing I ever did was to purchase a free-standing ceramic fireplace. There is more than 10 feet of chimney inside the house.
As a result, I just have the usual household mildew in the bathroom tub that I control with diluted bleach. No other mold problems or dampness inside the house (rust fungus on the trees and sidewalk, even some of the outside woodwork!)
It was my experience before getting the fireplace that carpeting makes dampness problems worse. Tile is beautiful, waterproof, and you can use throw rugs (just be sure to anchor them somehow). I also put in a beautiful hardwood teak tile floor in the living room and it has retained its beauty for 20 years now.
Good luck.
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2nd vote for ceramic tile and high ceilings. Add to that lots of windows and cross ventilation. Ditching the carpet and adding a few fans would be my first impulse
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I just used the forum 'search' function & entered "humidity dehumid" . There are a lot of threads that cover everything from best dehumidifier to art & mildew fighting.
Carpet seems to get funky here if it is not in air conditioned/dehumidified areas
air flow & ventilation seem to be best for keeping mold & mildew at bay
lighter/airier seems to get less damp than darker/heavier
keep spices, & other kitchen foods that can suffer in humidity, in the refrigerator
there are post & pier vs slab thoughts on which is best
we are on a slab, & do not have much problem with humidity, but we are still in the throws of remodel - we have upped the light & ventilation & removed most things that are humidity grabbers (inc. carpet, paneling, & added radiant heat barriers with insulation) & bumped the ceiling up & are installing ceiling fans in every room - be aware of fan blade droop... we were very cautious in choosing the fans
Even look at the plantings you have near the house - some may be moisture trappers & wind blockers.
ETA: Living in Lower HPP - carpet can be your nemesis. We rented near Beach & the fine salt spray would cause an additive effect on the humidity in the carpeting... making the flooring feel sticky & humid
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DT: I should probably wait until you answer Frankie's question, which is paramount, but fwiw, we use multiple heat rods (which we found at Kea'au Ace) of verying sizes all over the house. Two long 40" ones under the bookcase (open shelves front and back); 36" in the open walk-in clothes closet; 18" in the spice cabinet, the utensil cabinet, etc. Wherever we want dry, in other words. Three dehumidifiers work as needed. I monitor the ambient humidity and turn them on when meter indicates 75% or more. State Air Quality control guy said to use anytime above 60%, but that's too expensive and 70 seems to do the trick. Also put the heat rods on timers and this cut about $40/month off the HELCO bill.
Another big variable is air circulation. When we bought this house (also getting 120-160 inches/year) the previous owner (who was a bit paranoid, imho) had actually planted glory bush and waiwi all around the house so we had a solid wall that let no air in. Opening up the house to air circulation helped dampness as well.
We DO close the windows at night except around the bed, as the monitor never fails to show 91-95% outside humidity achieved during the night. When the outdoor humidity drops to 80 or below, then I open up.
Hope this helps--best of luck.
-dwajs
-dwajs
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Carpeting is totally unsuitable for this climate unless you want to climate control the whole building. Tile is easy to clean but if you have foot or leg troubles it can really aggravate them. I was amazed at how rapidly my extreme foot pain disappeared when we moved to a house with no concrete or tile floors. We have a mix of laminate and vinyl and they all clean up really well and we have minimal mold. If you are looking at bamboo, laminate, parquet, or wood veneer floors I recommend buying a few samples and throwing them in a garbage can full of water for a few weeks before you buy and install your floor. My brother in law is a contractor on Orcas Island in Washington (a very dark, cool and super humid place 9 months a year) and he does that before he installs any flooring. He says it has saved hm a small fortune over the years.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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I second the woodstove. We have one of those temp/humidity level gauges, and when we burn a fire up here in MT. View, the humidity levels drop dramatically. really helps in the thick of rainy winter. The ceiling fans help alot too, when it's not hot enough for a fire, but the floor feels damp, I turn the ceiling fans on high and after about an hour, they feel dry. For those wet cabinets, ie under bathroom sink and kitchen sink, I use the refillable damprid and empty once a week, no mold problems. We bought a dehumidifier before we got the wood stove and our electrical bills went up so high that we shut it off and never used it again. If it's a super rainy day, we close up all the windows and leave them only cracked, and when the sun comes back out, we open everything up. Angela
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Ventilate the attic! The more airflow you can get thru the attic space, the better.
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Good advice, all. We live in lower HPP on 3rd - the ceilings are all high, and they all have ceiling fans, which we keep on high almost all the time it seems. I DO have feet problems, but I know that some tiles actually feel good on them - "softer" tiles I guess I'd call them, like quarry tiles - ie. no hard finish like marble, which doesn't agree with me at all. I love that put-the-sample-in-a-bucket-of-water thing. Can't imagine a wood stove here but we have not lived through a winter here yet. And alas, no attic. Just cathedral(?) tongue-in-groove wood ceilings and then the roof. What is "damprid"?
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