How to remove humidity in an apartment: causes and consequences. Methods of dealing with high air humidity in an apartment (house)

home

Video recorders

Cellar owners often complain about the humidity in them. Usually this problem is associated with violations committed during construction. How to reduce humidity in the cellar is a question that worries many Russians who store their vegetables in cellars and basements.

Excessive humidity often appears in basements and cellars. If you don’t start taking measures to eliminate it in time, fungus will appear, and then mold.

For obvious reasons, moisture and dampness are unacceptable in cellars and basements. Indoors with moist air mold and mildew appear. It is impossible to store vegetables in such a basement, and if the damp room is in ground floor, this may negatively affect the integrity of the entire structure.

One of the reasons for humidity and dampness is moisture penetrating into the room through the walls and subsequently accumulating on the floor. During its evaporation, air humidity increases many times over.

If the cellar or basement is located in a private house, the cause of dampness may be insufficient insulation of the building. At low temperatures water penetrates into the basement through the joints in the walls of the house.

Groundwater may also be the cause of the increase. This is possible if the floor waterproofing is unsatisfactory.

Moisture removal methods

Reduce humidity in basement Can different ways. But first, check the condition of the basement waterproofing. If it does not cope with the task, then it needs to be remade. This is often not a very cheap option.

Most inexpensive way, at which moisture in the cellar can be removed is as follows:

purchase plastic film, you can use the old one, the main thing is that it is intact. You will also need a shovel, trowel and clay. If the floor of your cellar is clay, then use it;
remove a 5 cm layer of clay floor, level and compact the resulting surface. Carefully lay two layers of polyethylene on top of it. Pour a layer of clay on it and tamp it down thoroughly. This must be done carefully so that the film layer does not move. The clay will begin to dry out and the air in the cellar will become drier. Instead of a clay floor, you can make it out of concrete.

Return to contents

Additional Causes of Humidity

Moisture often appears in cellars during the snow melting season and after precipitation. Place a layer of sand at the bottom of the cellar and 10 cm of fine gravel on top. The dampness should disappear. If this does not happen within a year, then make the gravel layer thicker by another 10 cm. Ground water will fall to a lower level, and from there will no longer be able to rise to the level of the basement or cellar floor.
The humidity in the basement is significantly affected by condensation that appears on the walls. You can combat it using special waterproofing plaster. Plaster the basement walls with it and they will begin to breathe. The condensation will disappear along with the dampness. Ready-made waterproofing mixtures are sold in stores. You can cook it yourself. Add a waterproofing additive to dry plaster.
Use a special solution to remove fungus and mold from the walls and apply plaster to the wall.
Moisture in cellars appears where they have thin and cold floors. Make a double floor, in the middle of which lay a layer of roofing material. Air humidity will decrease.
You can combat moisture in the basement with the help of potassium chloride, which quickly absorbs excess moisture. Pour the powder of this substance into jars and place it in the corners of the cellar. This method works well if you have a small cellar.

Return to contents

What to do if nothing helps

If all these simple ways cannot reduce the humidity in the cellar, then additional waterproofing must be created.

You start with waterproofing the floor. Cover it with several layers of bitumen. Warm it up construction hairdryer and lay two layers of roofing material on top. Instead, you can lay waterproofing; it is not subject to rot and is resistant to mold.
At the second stage of waterproofing, build additional half-brick walls. Install a waterproofing layer between them. On top of the cellar you make concrete screed at 10 cm.

Has moisture started to appear on the floors and walls in the basement? What needs to be done to make it dry and suitable for storing vegetables?

The first thing you need to do is to regularly ventilate the basement by opening it every day. Check ventilation.
If moisture appears on the walls and floor in the basement in the spring, they need to be repaired. Make a screed on the floor using waterproof cement. Carefully inspect the walls, if there are cracks on them, repair them, and then plaster the walls.
If possible, dig out the outside of the basement walls. Seal any cracks found cement mortar. Cover the walls with a layer of bitumen or roofing felt, this will enhance the waterproofing of the basement. You can make a clay castle around its perimeter. Place clay in the trench around the basement in 20 cm layers, tamping thoroughly. Such a lock will completely block the flow of groundwater and rainwater to the basement walls.
Additionally, along the outer perimeter of the basement, in a trench dug to the depth of the foundation, you can lay drainage pipes, through which water will be drained to drain hole or septic tank.

Is groundwater flooding the basement floor? Dig a pit below the basement floor level. Make a gravel cushion in it and place a container on it with holes drilled in the side walls.

The container must be wrapped in a cloth that allows water to pass through well; it will prevent the holes in the container from silting up. Place a pump with a float in it. Water fills the container, the float rises and turns on the pump. The water is pumped out, the float is lowered, and the pump is turned off. This device will allow you to effectively deal with water and humidity in the basement.

Tsugunov Anton Valerievich

Reading time: 4 minutes

The microclimate in an apartment has a significant impact on the health and well-being of its inhabitants. Weakness, loss of performance, increased susceptibility to viral and colds, skin diseases, allergies - this is what dampness in an apartment can threaten. In addition, wooden and leather products, books deteriorate, and the finishing quickly becomes unusable, so to maintain health and home comfort combating dampness is absolutely necessary.

How do you know if the humidity in an apartment is above normal?

You can recognize high humidity in a room by the following signs:

Fogging of glass surfaces (windows, glass doors, mirrors).
Wet spots on the walls of the apartment.
Wet towels, bed linen, clothes in closets.
The smell of dampness and mustiness.

Causes of high humidity in the apartment

To properly combat dampness in an apartment, it is important to find out the reasons for its occurrence. These include:

Availability of sources of moisture.
Incorrect insulation.
Insufficient heating.
Ventilation problems.

Let's look at these reasons and methods for eliminating them in order.

Availability of sources of additional moisture

They can serve as:

Leaking plumbing or pipes. The solution is to check, repair or replace everything you can.
Flowers. Tropical plants that require frequent watering should be removed from the apartment, giving preference unpretentious species, which will not evaporate a lot of moisture.
Aquariums in the apartment. If the humidity problem is serious, you will have to give up this hobby and remove the aquarium.

Large amount of water on the lower floor. This could be a basement, a swimming pool, etc. It’s difficult to do anything here; appeals to the housing office with a request to improve the microclimate of the basement are ineffective, and you can’t get rid of the pool, all that remains is to change your place of residence or install a powerful dehumidifier in the apartment.
Unscrupulous upstairs neighbors who periodically flood your apartment or have leaking taps. The last factor makes your pipes “sweat” and “cry”. The resulting condensation increases the humidity in the apartment. You can get rid of the problem by calling a mechanic from the housing and communal services; in extreme cases, you can resort to using polyurethane casings by wrapping them around a wet pipe.

You can find out where moisture is coming into your apartment using a piece of glass. Place it against the wall for a few minutes. If the side that was pressed against the wall becomes damp, dampness enters the apartment from the street due to defects in the building's design.

Insufficient heating

If you have an apartment with individual heating, then the problem high humidity It's easy to solve. In winter, you can regulate the heat supply yourself, reducing or increasing it as needed, but without sharp changes, which will aggravate the situation. In damp and humid weather, you need to turn on the heating to dry.

What to do if central heating Is the apartment not warm enough and because of this the humidity rises?

Cold pipes may be the result of a lack of heat supply by boiler houses or the initiative of neighbors who decided to remove bypasses. The solution is to contact utility services.
Installed decorative grilles on radiators, heat transfer is reduced by a quarter. It's better to give them up completely.
Paint on batteries can also reduce heat transfer by 10%; to avoid this, it is necessary to remove the previous layer before painting.

Ventilation

Ventilation in the apartment is mainly ensured by the presence of ventilation shafts. Ventilation holes and ventilation ducts leading to common shafts are located in places with high humidity: in the bathroom and kitchen. If you have checked the ventilation and found that the draft is weak or absent, one of the following reasons occurs:

The channel may be clogged with debris. You can get rid of the blockage by using it.
One of the neighbors, when remodeling or improperly installing the hood in the kitchen, blocked the exhaust shaft. Solving the problem can take a lot of time and effort, if the neighbors do not make contact, there is no need to fight with them, it is better to immediately contact the utility companies first, and then go to court.

In addition to individual methods for eliminating humidity in an apartment, specific to each individual case, there are also general ones.

Regular ventilation of the room. It has long been known that humidity is afraid of fresh air.
Buying a dehumidifier. The more powerful the equipment, the greater the effect of its work, the faster you will be able to get rid of high humidity.

The best option is a dehumidifier with a humidity sensor that responds to the percentage of moisture in the room air. Automatic mode will help avoid over-drying and save energy.

Air humidity is one of the most important factors affecting human well-being. Well known fact: when does it start? heating season, which leads to deterioration in the health of the people living there.

But the other extreme - high moisture content - is fraught with serious troubles: on surfaces where condensation accumulates, fungus develops and deteriorates. Decoration Materials, books, clothing and furniture appears bad smell, people suffer from headaches, joint diseases, and respiratory problems.

Dampness is especially dangerous for young children, whose immunity is weakened, and diseases often become chronic, intractable forms.

Most often, residents of private houses encounter problems with excess moisture. Dampness is a frequent guest in housing located near bodies of water. A swimming pool located on the ground floor of the cottage certainly increases the attractiveness of the house, and at the same time because of it.

The problem is typical not only for private houses; dampness is a common occurrence in apartments on the first floors of multi-storey buildings, since basements are flooded during service outages.

Residents of those apartments located above suffer from unsealed interpanel seams through which water leaks, and corner rooms Often they are not properly insulated, which is why mold and mildew form on the walls after a short period of time.

The design of the ventilation system is of great importance - its poor functioning has the most negative impact on the microclimate of residential premises. Modern plastic windows, equipped with airtight gaskets - we make our home impenetrable from the inside, and the inevitable fumes simply have nowhere to go.

There can be many reasons for excess moisture. In an effective way to combat it is to use special device– an air dryer that can be used in combination with ventilation systems, and independently.

Devices are divided into:

industrial;
household.

The main difference is in the productivity of the systems, which is measured in liters per day. For household units, low or medium power and productivity from 12 to 300 l/day are sufficient. Also, the device is intended for use at home, mobile, compact, lighter and more attractive in appearance. There are subspecies, living rooms, highly efficient models for stable maintenance of humidity levels in a small pool or home sauna.

Industrial-type devices are usually stationary; they cope with large volumes of moisture over a long period of time.

With such dehumidifiers wide scope applications. They are used in warehouses, pharmaceutical production, freezers, water parks, public swimming pools, ice arenas, in the manufacture hygroscopic materials, carrying out construction and

Designers are limited in the choice of materials for such a device: due to constant contact with water, only waterproof options can be used - plastic, galvanized and stainless metals and alloys. Dehumidifiers differ in design: that is, how moisture will be collected and removed.

assimilation type. It has low efficiency and is considered the least efficient, not suitable for use in conditions of constant very high humidity, in addition, its performance is affected by temperature. The operating principle is based on one of the laws of physics, according to which warm air, unlike cold air, is saturated with a large amount of water vapor. Moisture from warm air it is forcibly removed outside the building, and cold and dry air comes from the street;

condensation type. This dehumidifier is based on: water vapor in the condensation chamber cools down, moisture is converted into condensate. A fan is used to force air saturated with moisture through the chamber. This type of climate control equipment has a high coefficient useful action, but the lower the air temperature, the lower its performance. Application at negative temperatures is irrational;
absorption type. The principle of operation is as follows: the air passes through a rotor with an absorbent (this is a substance that absorbs moisture), where it is dried. During the dehumidification process one air flow(dry) is sent into the room, the other - hot and absorbing the moisture of the absorbent - is taken out. This type is considered the most effective.

Because household dehumidifier must function in residential premises on a permanent basis, one of the most important criteria for its selection is. If it is over 45 decibels, continuous operation of the device will cause serious inconvenience.

Dryer Installation

The mobile compact model can be easily and simply moved from place to place; it is convenient where temporary dehumidification is required - for example, in the basement or during renovation work.

The stationary version has a higher efficiency, such technical solution implies a supply electric cable from the meter, drainage, in hidden systems(when the device itself, which produces a lot of noise, is mounted not in a drying room, but in a separate technical or utility room) air ducts are installed.

floor;
wall;
universal (with the possibility of installation on the floor and mounting on the wall);
hidden installation.

Work Productivity

The dehumidifier is selected in accordance with the size of the room, and the main requirement for any type is high performance, that is, for the air to acquire the desired parameters in an extremely short time.

Important here golden mean- a powerful device that can reduce humidity levels in a short time, and is very noisy. Unit low power in turn, will work non-stop, at the limit of its capabilities, to cope with the task, which will shorten its service life.

Electronic control makes it easy to set operating parameters.

IN Lately Almost all manufacturers of climate control equipment strive to equip their dehumidifiers with a hygrostat. This is an extremely useful element: it automatically turns on the device if the humidity levels exceed the norm, and turns off if the air is dry enough.

It is also possible to turn it on using a built-in timer, which, after a specified time, will turn off the device, thereby saving energy.

The dehumidifier may also have: given the amount of pathogenic microbes accumulated in a humid, warm room, this function is very relevant.

The “auto-restart” function will be useful in places where there are power outages.

Since a home with an excessive level of moisture is not a favorable place for a person to live, how to remove humidity in an apartment becomes more relevant.

The modern lifestyle of almost all people contributes to an increase in the level of humidity indoors in which they live.

To understand this, it is enough to give a simple example: previously people took a bath approximately once every 5-7 days.

Today, daily showering is the norm for the common person.

Some people play sports or go to the gym, as a result of which they constantly sweat.

In addition to the developed habit of taking a shower or shower every day, you also have to wash clothes, and some even have to take care of pets.

The main sources of humidity in the room include:

respiratory process of the human body
daily bath procedures
laundry care, including drying, washing and ironing
influence of the external atmosphere
cooking in the kitchen

In any case, all these everyday moments cannot be avoided, so you will have to deal with excessive humidity in.

Possible consequences of dampness

The most favorable place for the proliferation of microflora is a room with high air humidity. This could be a bathroom or a basement. Humidity in a room often contributes to the appearance of chronic disease in a person who lives here.

Most often, children suffer, since the child’s body is not yet formed and the immune system is not fully strengthened. Old people also suffer from living in such premises, since the protective and other functions of the body weaken with age.

Residents of houses made of brick most often complain about the problem of high humidity in the room. In turn, residents of panel buildings complain about the lack required level moisture inside. Dry air also negatively affects human health, as a result of which he can get sick.

If the room has high levels of humidity, you should immediately address the problem, since replacing a few household items is much cheaper than spending financial resources for treatment.

In addition to possible harm to human health, increased humidity levels create an uncomfortable state of being inside.

Often, due to an excessive level of dampness, an unpleasant odor and a feeling of coolness form inside the home or any other room. In damp room Food spoils quickly, including even vegetables and fruits.

In such rooms mold and harmful microflora often form. Dampness is one of the most unpleasant phenomena that can ruin the entire comfort of living or being inside a building. If this problem is detected, you should immediately take measures to eliminate the dampness.

Reasons for dampness in an apartment

Before you begin the process of eliminating the problem, it is worth identifying the main cause of the accumulation damp air inside .

The main reasons for the accumulation of dampness inside a building include:

Lack of room ventilation. Even if ventilation is present, its functionality and quality of operation should be checked.
Moisture may appear due to flooding of the apartment by neighbors above. Often this problem is difficult to identify, since a neighbor who lives above an apartment with high humidity may not be aware of the breakdown of his plumbing. It is always necessary to check whether this is not the main cause of orphanage in the home.
If the building has unsealed seams between the walls, moisture may also appear inside the building.
If the basement multi-storey building flooded, moisture will rise upward, resulting in dampness. Before removing moisture from a ground-floor apartment, you should make sure whether a flooded basement is the main source of moisture.
Wrong location kitchen appliances may influence the appearance of dampness.

To eliminate the problem, you always need to find the source of the dampness. The easiest way to identify higher level moisture - lean a mirror or piece of glass against the surface.

If after a few minutes drops of water appear on the surface of the glass or mirror, it means separate room or the whole room has an increased level of dampness. If the glass turns out to be clean, you should not rejoice ahead of time, since moisture can only be stored in the walls of the building.

How to get rid of dampness

As mentioned above, if a problem is discovered, it should be eliminated immediately, since the influence of a humid environment can negatively affect the human body.

The most common methods for eliminating indoor humidity include:

Installation of an air dehumidifier, which can be purchased at any electronic and electronics supermarket household appliances. The price of a dehumidifier directly depends on its model and power. In any case, to fix the problem you need to purchase a similar unit. When purchasing, it is worth considering the fact that the greater the power of the device, the faster dampness in a particular building will be eliminated. The market for similar products offers devices with built-in dampness control sensors. If the moisture level on the dehumidifier sensor drops, the device automatically changes the heating temperature. Thus, the device will not dry out the air, but will maintain a stable temperature and humidity level inside the room or building. Note that such models consume more electricity than standard, simple dehumidifiers that do not have a control sensor.
Installing a radiator if there is none. If there are radiators in the building, then it is worth using them. A damp room needs to be warmed up from time to time. When radiators emit heat, all of the unfavorable microflora, including fungi, can disappear, and the apartment can dry out well. Based on the advice of experts, the room should be heated not strongly, but often.

How to Prevent Excessive Humidity

Houseplants absorb moisture. This is why it’s worth getting plants if you don’t already have them. Flowers on the windowsill, in addition to their aesthetic function, perfectly absorb the dampness that is in the building.

Indoor flowers or other plants minimize any chance of increased moisture levels. For example, tropical plants absorb huge amounts of water, so placing such a plant in the bathroom or bedroom would be the right decision.

Cacti are the most “powerful” plants in terms of absorption capacity.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that these plants are not very decorative, many do not want to place them at home.

When choosing a plant for a room, kitchen or bathroom, you should first study the characteristics of various plants.

If the problem described above is identified, the main source of the emitted moisture should be urgently identified. And only after identifying a problem, the owner of the house should choose a method that is ideal for him personally to regulate the microclimate and, accordingly, reduce the level of moisture inside the building.

How to get rid of dampness in an apartment or house - in the video:

For comfortable stay A healthy microclimate is necessary in an apartment or house. It directly depends on humidity indicators. If they are too low or high, this will lead to a number of problems. Especially often, apartment residents and owners of premises (commercial, warehouse or other) are faced with increased air humidity. As a result, the walls become covered with mold, which spoils even durable materials.

Also excess moisture causes condensation to form on the ceiling. An unpleasant odor appears in the house and various microbes multiply. They, in turn, can cause allergic reactions in people indoors. Reducing humidity must be taken seriously, because ignoring this indicator will affect people’s health and the condition of the house. How you can reduce indoor humidity will be discussed below.

First you need to find out the reason for the appearance of excess moisture. It can be rooted both inside the house and depend on home conditions, and outside, and is a consequence of street temperature and humidity indicators. The most common internal causes of high humidity are:

Poorly organized ventilation - if the owner of the house installed it himself, it is recommended to call a technician to check the correct connection and operation of the equipment.
Frequent drying of washed clothes - in some apartments with old layouts, the bathroom is not separated from the kitchen. In such cases, dampness from things spreads throughout all rooms. But even if the bath is located separately, some apartment owners often leave the door to the bathroom open. And again the moisture evaporates beyond the boundaries of one room.
The location of the windows on the north side means less sun penetrates into the room and, as a result, the humidity of the microclimate increases.
The presence of an aquarium - water evaporates from it, absorbing into the walls and ceiling of the house.
A large number of residents - do not forget that moisture evaporates when people breathe. If there are a lot of them in the apartment, and the room itself is small, there is a high probability of microclimate failure.

There are also external conditions, affecting the level of humidity in the room. Among them it is worth noting:

Climatic features of the region - in some cities there is high humidity all year round.
During rain, snowfall and thaw, there is a general increase in the moisture content in the air.
An important point is the presence of salt in the concrete - if the house was built in winter, then there is a possibility that the builders added salt to the concrete. This method is used to increase the strength of the material. However, salt has big drawback– the walls become damp because of it. This goes away over the years, but the first 3-5 years of high humidity cannot be avoided.
Errors during construction - these include poor-quality waterproofing of walls from the foundation and a flimsy, often leaking roof. It is almost impossible to correct such defects, since flaws were made during the construction of the building. You can only mitigate the problem by selecting additional equipment for dehumidifying the air.

Sections