Humidity - Something You Need to Know in Wet May

• What is humidity?
• What's the difference between absolute and relative humidity?
• What you need to know about home humidity?

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. Too much or too little humidity can be dangerous. For example, high humidity combined with hot temperatures is a combination that can be a health risk, especially for the very young and the very old.

Humidity plays an important role in our daily weather. Without water vapor in the air, our weather might be like the weather on Mars. Could you imagine life without clouds, rain, snow, thunder, or lightning?

When you hear weather forecasters talk about humidity, you may hear them talk about two different terms: absolute humidity and relative humidity. Absolute humidity is the amount of water vapor divided by the amount of dry air in a certain volume of air at a particular temperature. The hotter the air is, the more water vapor it can hold.

Relative humidity is the ratio of the current absolute humidity to the highest possible absolute humidity, which will depend upon the current air temperature. Relative humidity is the term weather forecasters use most often.

A relative humidity of 100% means that the air can't hold any more water vapor. It's totally saturated. When this occurs, it can rain. In fact, the relative humidity must be 100% where clouds are forming for it to rain. However, at ground level where the rain lands, the relative humidity can be less than 100%.

So how does humidity affect us on a hot day? Humans are sensitive to changes in humidity, because our skin uses the air around us to get rid of moisture in the form of sweat. If the relative humidity is very high, the air is already saturated with water vapor and our sweat won't evaporate. When this happens, we feel hotter than the actual temperature.

Likewise, very low humidity can make us feel cooler than the actual temperature. This happens because the dry air helps sweat evaporate more quickly than usual.

If the temperature outside is 75° F (23.8° C), humidity can make it feel warmer or cooler. A relative humidity of 0% would make it feel like it's only 69° F (20.5° C). On the other hand, a relative humidity of 100% would make it feel like it's 80° F (26.6° C).

So what's a comfortable humidity level 

The ideal relative humidity level for the inside of your home is between 30 and 50 percent. This is important because the level of humidity in your home can impact your overall health and comfort and potentially affect the cost of heating or cooling your home.
If humidity levels are too high you run the risk of:

• Growing mold and bacteria
• Stuffy conditions
• Overall discomfort

If humidity levels are too low you run the risk of:

• Catching a cold or infection
• Dry and itchy skin
• Damaging the wood, paint or siding of your house

How to deal with indoor humidity

You have a number of options to improve the quality of air if it is too dry. You can:

• Use a humidifier or vaporizer
• Boil water on your stove
• Place bowls of water in various locations in your home
• Take a shower and create a steam bath

There are also many ways to lower home humidity:

• Ventilate – Ventilation will increase air flow and help to reduce humidity.
• Check for leaking pipes – Fix any leaks so there is no moisture coming in that way. This includes condensation from hot or cold water pipes. 
• Cover exposed soil in house plants – The water will evaporate if not covered, increasing humidity and causing you to need to water more often.
• Air conditioning – Set your AC to a “dry” setting to remove moisture but not cool.
• Fans – Fans will help move the air and help with evaporation.
• Run your wood stove or fire place – If it’s not too warm, this will help to dry the house.
• Take shorter showers – Long showers produce excess steam which increases humidity.
• Use a dehumidifier

Why a digital hygrometer is important

It is important to monitor the results. Its very easy to over humidify, which increases the risk of mold, dust mites and other dangerous allergens. The humidistat and hygrometers built into humidifiers generally are not very accurate. They are too close to the humidifier to be able to accurately sense the overall condition of the room.

Ecowitt WH0280 Indoor Outdoor Thermometer Digital Hygrometer accurately monitors and tracks the ambient conditions around your home, letting you finally achieve comfort and peace of mind. It is a simple, compact device created with high quality sensing technology. It displays temperature and humidity with large numbers and easy to read at a glance. Ecowitt WH0280 updates data once per minute and you can check the high/low record since last reset. You'll always have the full picture of conditions within your home.

Once you get Ecowitt WH0280, the pairing process takes just a moment. Then just place it wherever you like. Ecowitt WH0280 will let you effortlessly monitor the temperature and humidity in your house. Without having to worry about the quality of air in your home, you can relax in comfort and improved health and enjoy the time spent with your family.

Try Ecowitt WH0280 today!