house too humid?

[mik]

we live in the northeast & this is the 5th winter since we had our aprilaire humidifier installed on the forced air furnace. No problems until now: we haven't even turned it on for the winter yet and the insides of some of :confused: our windows are fogged up every morning. our digital barometer puts the humidity in the house @ about 41-45%, but we haven't turned the humidifier on yet. any idea why our windows have condensation each morning?

[majakdragon]

Here is a link you might find interesting. Noticed that it claims YOUR humidity is ideal. Click on or copy and paste the link below. Hope it helps. Post back and watch this post for different Pro's input. Good luck.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/2004-02-01-home-humidity_x.htm

[mik]

thanks for the link. It was interesting and tells us our humidity is apparently at the ideal level, but it didn't help explain why we have window condensation every morning. (which is starting to grow black mold on the window areas of our 6 year old house!)

[okl62]

What is outside/inside temperatures and what kind of windows you have in terms of insulation?
Vic

[majakdragon]

Went to some other websites and one stated that the humidity may have to be lowered as the temperature drops. Even mentioned the window sweating problem. My not being an expert on this subject, you may want to try turning down the humidifier for a day and see what happens. I always thought you needed to make up humidity that the furnace dried up. Good luck. Maybe a more knowledgable Pro will step in here with an answer, so watch this post.

[twelvepole]

Usually condensation is no fault of the windows unless they are not well-sealed or seals are failing. Although you indicate your humidity level is within normal limits, you may need to improve ventilation around windows by leaving shutters or draperies open. Condensation is formed when warm, humid air settles on cool surfaces. Humidity will tend to vary from room to room. Run your kitchen and bath exhausts for about 30 minutes after bathing and cooking to eliminate excess moisture. Make sure vents are vented to outdoors. Make sure attic and crawl space are well-ventilated. If you have a fireplace, leave damper open to allow humid air to escape.

Humidity levels are measured by a hygrometer. These are sold where they sell humidifiers. Barometers measure atmospheric pressure. Some of those wall instruments include a barometer, thermometer, and a hygrometer and may be more decorative than accurate.

[mik]

Thank you all for the advice. I have experimented w/all of your suggestions since my last post, and found success with slightly lowering & raising the humidity on the humidifier to mirror the outside temperature fluctuations.

[Ed Imeduc]

Might check I dont know if it will work on your unit . It ties the humidifier to a humidity control and a out side control.

ED ;)