Topic
14 guides.
A nursery monitor is most useful for temperature, humidity and ventilation, with PM2.5 as a bonus. It does not replace a smoke or CO alarm. Here is what to track and what to buy.
Cool mist only, at least 3 feet from the crib, cleaned every few days, with distilled water and the humidity kept at 50% or below. Here is the guidance behind each rule.
Enter your basement's size and how damp it is. The calculator uses ENERGY STAR's sizing guide and rounds up, as ENERGY STAR advises, to a 25, 35 or 50-pint class.
Basements are damp, dusty and often open plan. A basement purifier needs real carbon for the musty smell and enough certified CADR for a big room, and it works best alongside a dehumidifier.
A purifier can catch mold spores in the air and soften a musty smell. It cannot stop mold growing. Here are the certified picks for the first job, and what to do about the second.
Air conditioning dries the air as a side effect of cooling. In damp basements and mild, muggy weather it does little; a dehumidifier does the job. In humid summers, many homes need both.
Mold grows in two places: inside a neglected humidifier and on damp surfaces in an over-humidified room. EPA's routine and a 50% ceiling prevent both.
No single gadget measures everything. Here is the order to do it in: a radon test, CO alarms, a monitor for the everyday readings, a moisture check, and a professional when the problem calls for one.
Many houseplants prefer 40 to 50% humidity, and winter homes can fall to 10 to 20%. A room humidifier works; misting does not. Here is how to help plants without harming the house.
Winter heating can drop indoor humidity to 10 to 20%. Here are the signs, how to confirm them with a hygrometer, and how to add moisture without crossing into mold territory.
A hygrometer above 60% confirms it. Condensation, musty smells and mold are the clues. Ventilation, a dehumidifier and fixing leaks are the cures, in that order of cost.
EPA's answer is below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. But mold grows where surfaces stay wet, so condensation and leaks matter as much as the room reading.
EPA's answer is 30 to 50%, never above 60%. In very cold weather, go to the low end to stop condensation. Here is the evidence and how to hit the range.
Dry air can irritate the nose and throat, and moister air can ease a stuffy nose. A clean cool mist humidifier at 40 to 50% helps; a dirty one or too much humidity makes things worse.
