Effects of Humidity Indoors

4/17/2018 (Permalink)

Leaving water in your building can have undesired consequences.

There are several factors why controlling indoor humidity is important. In the South Daytona / Port Orange area the outdoor humidity is higher than most places U.S., making the use of A/C for controlling the indoor humidity extremely important. In our local a RH (relative humidity) of 60% or lower is what a building should maintain to prevent mold amplification which in turn can lead to mold damage or as some people refer to it as “black toxic mold". Controlling the indoor humidity can be especially important if a structure has been recently affected by water damage. In this situation after the water removal, the process would be to get the lower the humidity inside down below 60%. Usually this is done by using commercial dehumidifiers to remove the moisture from the air thus reducing the humidity.

When elevated humidity and/or water damage is not addressed in a timely and proper manner a building will typically suffer from additional damage by causing cracking, swelling or warping. When a structure becomes wet soon after the evaporation process begins and the humidity rises and secondary damage will result from the migration of the moisture from the affected materials to the unaffected materials until equilibrium is achieved. This will lead to a repair process will become more extensive resulting in previously unneeded repairs and increased costs as well as potentially hazardous microbial growth. It’s always a good idea to call an expert like SERVPRO of South Daytona Beach / Port Orange for assistance when dealing with water damage, fire damage and mold removal. For further information please visit.http://www.IICRC.org/https://www.epa.gov/mold