The Great Humidity Mystery
#1
05-24-23, 11:20 PM
The Great Humidity Mystery
Hi all,
I live in an apartment and we have some really strange humidity problems. The humidity in the apartment tracks with the weather-- a few hours before it rains and for several hours to a few days afterward the humidity will spike into the 60s or 70s. Two years ago we had a moldageddon, and that's when we realized it.
The apartment management can't figure out what's going on and neither can we, so we have been running a dehumidifier. None of the other apartments have a problem. We found a leaky window using a flir and stopped it up, but the shifts are still dramatic when the weather changes. Any ideas for where we could look? When it isn't raining we don't have issues with cooking, dishes, etc. significantly adding to humidity -- it has to do with the weather but we can't figure out where it's coming in.
Thanks in advance!
I live in an apartment and we have some really strange humidity problems. The humidity in the apartment tracks with the weather-- a few hours before it rains and for several hours to a few days afterward the humidity will spike into the 60s or 70s. Two years ago we had a moldageddon, and that's when we realized it.
The apartment management can't figure out what's going on and neither can we, so we have been running a dehumidifier. None of the other apartments have a problem. We found a leaky window using a flir and stopped it up, but the shifts are still dramatic when the weather changes. Any ideas for where we could look? When it isn't raining we don't have issues with cooking, dishes, etc. significantly adding to humidity -- it has to do with the weather but we can't figure out where it's coming in.
Thanks in advance!
#2
05-25-23, 12:23 AM
Member
The humidity in the apartment tracks with the weather
That would seem to indicate an equipment issue.
#3
05-25-23, 12:32 AM
Thanks! Yes we have central air, and maintenance investigated the HVAC and it was normal. What's especially weird is that when it rains the humidity goes up, but often higher than outdoors? Before the dehumidifier, we literally had mold growing over all our shoes, books, etc and had to throw a number of things away. Even running the dehumidifier unit we struggle to keep the humidity down at residential levels. None of the other apartments in the building have issues with humidity. What sort of equipment issue might amplify outdoor humidity for one apartment?
#4
05-25-23, 04:49 AM
Group Moderator
When the air conditioning runs does it seem to run in short bursts or does it come on and run for a longer time with a long off period in between. Much of the time it should only run a few times an hour and maybe run for 10+ minutes. That allows it to run long enough to remove the moisture from the air. If the system is oversized it may only run for a few minutes which gets the home cool but doesn't allow enough time to remove the humidity.
