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4 Tips Against Humidity in Your Home: What Tenants Should Know

Humidity in the home can lead to mold and health problems. As a tenant, you're obligated to prevent mold growth in your home – but sometimes the moisture lies in the building fabric itself. We explain how to reduce humidity, prevent mold, and prove that you've fulfilled your duty to prevent mold.

Collage of the air-Q monitor and a window with condensation running down it
Undine Jaehne

In this article, you'll find the following:

Causes of excess humidity in the home & tips for prevention

Humidity levels in living spaces affect both our general well-being and the preservation of the building fabric. An appropriate level of humidity is essential for a comfortable and healthy indoor climate. However, excessive humidity indoors can not only cause discomfort but also lead to a range of problems. Below, we show how this unwanted moisture buildup occurs.

#1 Ventilating & airing

The main cause of elevated humidity in rooms is that moisture accumulates in the air. This is caused by activities that produce water vapor, such as cooking, bathing, showering, or drying laundry. Moisture also enters the room through breathing, as humidity increases with exhaled breath. That's why damp rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom are particularly affected, but so are the bedroom or living room (if you hang laundry there). Humidity rises wherever many people spend time. You can learn how the number of people in a room affects humidity in our practical test on humidity.

The solution: ventilate regularly, especially after showering or cooking. Burst ventilation is ideal for effective air exchange. Open the windows wide instead of just tilting them, so that humid air is carried outside and dry air comes in. In winter, we recommend burst-ventilating for 5 to 10 minutes with the heating turned off. It's important to include all rooms and enable cross-ventilation. Open windows on opposite sides of the home to ensure a fast air exchange.

Reading tip: In our separate article "Ventilating Correctly: The Best Tips", you can learn how to ventilate properly.

Window tilted open air-Q humidity in the home
Instead of just tilting the window, you should burst-ventilate regularly

#2 Controlling room temperature & humidity

Unheated rooms can encourage condensation, since cold surfaces cause moisture in the air to condense. That's why you should maintain a constant temperature even in unused rooms like the bedroom, and heat and ventilate them occasionally. In other rooms too, it's important to maintain an adequate temperature to avoid cold bridges.

Damp walls or surfaces are often caused by restricted air circulation. Lack of clearance between large pieces of furniture such as wardrobes or sofas prevents air exchange between the furniture and the wall: stagnant moisture builds up and can dry out only slowly, if at all.

To know how high the temperature and humidity in a room actually are, an air measurement is helpful. With an air quality monitor like the air-Q, you can detect the relevant readings and get a warning if they exceed threshold values. This lets you ventilate on an as-needed basis and save on heating energy, since you only exchange the room air when it's actually necessary.

Stay well informed, for your healthy life

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Air quality monitor air-Q for checking humidity in homes
Use the air-Q air quality monitor to detect humidity in your home

#3 Using dehumidifiers

Humidity levels tend to rise especially in fall and winter due to weather conditions and increased rainfall. Use dehumidifiers as needed to keep the humidity in your home within an acceptable range. This is particularly useful in basements or bathrooms, where stagnant moisture occurs more often. Ideally, connect the dehumidifier to the air-Q via a smart home system. That way you can activate the dehumidifier only when the measurement actually calls for it, saving energy. You can find out which smart home standards the air-Q integrates with here. 

If you'd rather not use a dehumidifier, you can also set out a small bowl of granulate that absorbs moisture from the surrounding air. Just make sure to replace or dry it out once it's saturated. Besides calcium chloride desiccant granules, salt as well as rice or moisture-absorber pouches also work well.

#4 Choosing the right houseplants

Some houseplants need a lot of water, so you water them more often. While the plants absorb this water, they release it again through evaporation from their leaves. This moisture then re-enters the room. That's why, for rooms that already have high humidity, we recommend plants that need less watering. Plants like snake plant, aloe vera, or succulents are ideal here. 

Humidity in the home: tenants' obligations for mold prevention

Preventing mold in rental apartments matters not just for preserving the building fabric, but also for the health and well-being of residents. After all, mold can cause health problems such as respiratory illnesses and allergies, significantly reducing quality of living. That's why tenants in many countries are legally required to take certain measures to prevent mold. As a tenant, you should make sure you comply with the rules and requirements for mold prevention and remediation set out in your lease. These typically include:

No excessive moisture sources

Avoid unnecessary moisture-generating activities, such as drying laundry indoors without adequate ventilation.

Ventilation

Humidity should be kept low through regular ventilation.

Reporting damage

As a tenant, you're required to inform your landlord about potential water damage or mold problems so they can be resolved.

Regular cleaning

Tenants should keep the apartment clean, especially in rooms where moisture tends to accumulate, such as bathrooms or kitchens.

Mold despite heating & ventilating? Here's how to protect yourself against your landlord!

Are you complying with your obligations to prevent mold and heating and ventilating correctly? Then the cause of the elevated humidity may lie in the building fabric itself, for example if new buildings weren't sufficiently dried out before move-in, or if the house simply has poor insulation. In these cases, you can use the air-Q air quality monitor to prove that you've fulfilled your obligations. The device continuously records the air analysis, documents it in the Web App, and provides you with the data in charts. This allows you to demonstrate that you've maintained the temperature and ventilation intervals for individual rooms specified in your lease.

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Summary

What can I do about humidity in my home?
To reduce humidity in your home, regular ventilation is key. Open the windows several times a day for a few minutes to let in fresh air and carry moisture outside. Use dehumidifiers, especially in damp rooms like bathrooms or basements, to draw excess moisture out of the air. Make sure to keep the room temperature constant to avoid condensation, and don't place furniture directly against exterior walls, to ensure good air circulation. Minimize moisture sources by putting lids on pots while cooking and using the extractor hood. Dry laundry outdoors whenever possible, or use a tumble dryer vented to the outside. Check windows and doors for leaks and seal them. If you've already discovered mold, clean the affected areas thoroughly with a specialized mold remover. Reduce the number of houseplants, as they can contribute to humidity. If problems persist, structural defects could be the cause; in that case, it's advisable to consult a professional. These measures help create a healthy indoor climate and effectively control humidity.
What's the best way to ventilate?
Effective ventilation is crucial for a healthy indoor climate and for preventing humidity. The best method is burst ventilation: open the windows fully several times a day, ideally for 5 to 10 minutes. This quickly exchanges stale, humid air for fresh outdoor air without letting the walls cool down. This method is more efficient than permanently tilted windows, which barely exchange any air and waste energy. Cross-ventilation enhances the effect: open windows or doors on opposite sides to create a draft that speeds up air circulation. It's especially important to ventilate after showering, cooking, or doing laundry, to quickly carry away the resulting moisture. Make sure to ventilate regularly in winter too, to prevent mold growth. Keep the heating off while ventilating to save energy and increase efficiency. In rooms with high humidity, such as the bathroom or kitchen, additional ventilation systems or exhaust fans can be useful. These measures help create a pleasant and healthy living environment.
When is a room too humid?
A room is considered too humid when relative humidity is permanently above 60%. Such conditions can encourage mold growth and create an unpleasant indoor climate. Typical signs of excessive humidity include fogged-up windows, a musty smell, and visible moisture on walls or ceilings. Ideal humidity is between 40% and 60%. You can use a hygrometer to measure humidity. If humidity remains high over time, it's important to identify and address the causes to avoid damage to the building fabric and health risks.
What can I do about moisture on windows?
To reduce moisture on windows, ventilate regularly using burst ventilation to carry the humid air outside. Keep the room temperature constant and avoid large temperature differences between indoor and outdoor air. Make sure radiators aren't blocked by curtains or furniture so heat can circulate. Reduce moisture sources by using the extractor hood while cooking and drying laundry outdoors. A dehumidifier can also help lower humidity. Also check window seals for damage and replace them if needed to minimize condensation.
What draws moisture out of the air?
Dehumidifiers are effective at drawing moisture out of the air. Electric models work by drawing in air, cooling it, and collecting the condensed water. Alternatively, natural desiccants such as salt or silica gel can also be used to absorb moisture. Houseplants like ivy or sword fern also help regulate humidity. Regular ventilation likewise reduces humidity by replacing humid indoor air with dry outdoor air. Finally, heating also helps lower humidity, since it warms the air and increases its capacity to hold moisture.