I had some advice from my older father today, he suggested that I cannot raise our humidity due to open drywall. Makes sense, is this true? After we get the walls painted this summer next winter with 2 large humidifiers and an aquarium will tell I guess... What do you think, does unpainted sheetrock suck up humidity like a sponge?
I've had unfinished drywall in my basement for 2 years, and have no plans on priming or painting it. It still looks like the day I hung it. I guess if you plan on painting when the humidity is high it might trap some moisture and promote mold growth though. Might want to let it "dry out" for a few days before painting, but I wouldn't worry about a humidifier in the meantime.
^x2 I've painted customers garages (more humid than your interior will ever be) that went unfinished for over 20 years.
I think she's asking a different question than most are answering...she has issues with too low humidity, not too high like most of us here. I don't think that the unfinished sheet rock is a significant reason that you're having issues with humidity being too low. It might soak up some, but if your outdoor relative humidity is in the 10-20% range...unfinished sheet rock is a tiny, if at all a contribution. I have plenty of humidity, and would be happy to send you some. Let me know how much you want. I live in the bottom of the Great Black Swamp, and just happen to have a 150 gallon aquarium that certainly doesn't help the problem.
Spot on , thanks friend. I am still baffled with the low humidity in this new house. All I can come up with running the pellet stove here vs boiler & woodstove at my old place. I am thrilled to report I am up to 24% at the moment , but I appreciate the kind offer to send me some, let me know the shipping charges.
Ahhh, we were WAY off! I'd agree with mithesaint then, the drywall will only absorb so much before it's saturated enough that it won't take any more moisture. I'm able to keep my place around 40% with one humidifier putting out about 2 gallons a day, but I did notice by late January I was having trouble keeping the house at 20%. Turns out my cartridge filter was covered in dog fur, and a new filter fixed things right away.
Air infiltration kills indoor humidity. As the already dry winter air is heated, the relative humidity drops like a rock. Example- When outside air at 37F and 100% relative humidity, infiltrates your house and is heated to 86F, the relative humidity falls to 20%. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kinetic/relhum.html If the drywall is unfinished (taped and mudded) it exacerbate (my 50 cent word for today) air leaks. Will unpainted drywall suck up moisture? I don't know, makes sense.
We used to have constant dry/itchy skin problems during the winter. Kept water on the stove and scratched constantly. Built a new tight house on the same land- problem solved. Water on the stove not necessary. A new house isn't feasible just to correct relative humidity, but do all you can to stop the air leaks. As a bonus, it will make the house easier to heat and doesn't have to cost much.
1/2 the house is remodeled and quite tight. The other 1/2 is not, as I sit near the doorway to the dilapidated laundry room LOL. I would guess that room is 90% of the air infiltration. We were planning on demolishing it this summer and building a new one, but we might wait another year, I am tired of spending the $$$.
It will, but there's still a finite amount of water that it can absorb, especially through the air. If you keep putting moisture into the air with a humidifier, you'll reach (and pass) that limit of the drywall somewhat fast.
I know y'all are in the middle of an extensive remodel and that takes lots of time and $$$. As you tighten/finish, RH will get better. Your added moisture wont blow away. But I'm not in as dry a climate, you may still need the humidifier.
I did a one ton cleaning (thorough) on my pellet stove a few weeks ago I made quite a mess and was covered in soot dust. I had one humidifier on high speed next to the stove .... A day or two later after poor performance I checked the wick, the back was caked in pellet soot dust. And some dog hair too . I rinsed most of the soot off but ended up replacing it with a new one. After reading your message I just checked the wick in the second humidifier, not caked which is good, but it is sagging down ?? I bought both humidifiers about 5 months ago, would like to see a longer lifespan from the wicks but I am pretty desperate for moister air.
Mine seems to start sagging after only a few weeks or so. I'm unimpressed with the life of the filters as well, but it's worth it to not have bloody noses and get shocked every time I turn on a light!
