Dangers of Excess Moisture In Your Home

If you don’t use moisture control practices in your home, you could have mold hiding under wallpaper, baseboards and other trim. You create humidity in your home by cooking, showering, doing dishes, using an unvented clothes dryer and using a humidifier. When water gets in through the basement or crawlspace because of poor drainage, the humidity increases, which could cause mold to form.

Too much moisture in the home could cause health problems, mold, attract bugs, damage electronics and cause wood to deform and decay.

Symptoms of High Humidity in Home

Managing the humidity in home helps to decrease the problems excess water brings. The effects of high humidity in home cause mold and mildew growth, which in turn causes health problems and increased levels of indoor air pollutants. Your home probably has building materials with formaldehyde and other chemicals. Humidity makes many of these chemicals emit fumes in the form of gasses. The only way you can tell is if you start feeling overly tired or if you start having more respiratory issues.

Using air purifiers and air filters, and changing the filters for your HVAC system every 30 days helps remove air pollutants and dust from your home. Your HVAC system works harder if there is excess water in the air, too. If you have a lot of humidity, you might have your thermostat set at 70 but it might feel like 75. If you turn the temperature down, it might help you feel a little more comfortable, but it won’t get the humidity out of the house – and it will increase your electric bill.

How to Reduce Moisture and Humidity in Your Home

You can get rid of a lot of the excess moisture in your home by taking at least one of several steps. If you have a huge problem with excess water getting into your basement or crawlspace, you’ll have to take more steps to stop the humidity.

• Add waterproofing to basement and crawlspace walls;

• Add a moisture barrier under the floor of your house;

• Dig a French drain to divert water away from your basement or crawlspace walls; or

• Install a whole-home dehumidifier.

If you have a basement where water seeps in all the time, you might need more than waterproofing on the outside. In some cases, you might not be able to add waterproofing on the outside. In these cases, we can waterproof from the inside, and while it does cut down on moisture, it’s not as effective of having the waterproofing on the outside.

If your foundation has cracks in it, you will need to repair the cracks. Once repaired, you need to take steps that prevent water from further degrading the basement or crawlspace walls. Water diversion and waterproofing are two methods that help keep your foundation in good condition. Sometimes, you might have to add drainage and a sump pump to the basement. Our experienced technicians will go over the best options for your home.

Contact H&H Pest Control and Waterproofing

If you find that your home has excess moisture or you need us to check for mold and mildew and then create a plan to help keep the excess water out of your home, contact H&H Pest Control and Waterproofing to set up an appointment.