The presence of plants and pets in the house is a factor that directly affects the amount of water vapor already present in our home, causing moisture problems related to condensation.
Animals and Plants : factors that increase humidity
As with the many occupants, humidity from pets is another factor that greatly influences the indoor air in a dwelling. This is because the animal's breathing is generally faster than that of a person. Also, they often stay indoors longer than we do, so both of these factors trigger much more humid indoor air.
In addition, depending on the temperature of the animal, its perspiration is very influential for humidity. Dogs, for example, perspire mainly through the pads of their legs and through their tongue. To a lesser extent, they also perspire through their face and ears. Knowing that dogs have to exercise about three times a day and that you can't always get them out of the house, you can already feel that the amount of water vapour they bring into the environment is important to increase indoor humidity. And if instead of one pet, we have two or three, we can get an idea.
As far as houseplants are concerned, it should be pointed out that this is also a factor that incorporates less water vapor into the environment. However, plants are one of the sources of moisture that is usually not taken into account but which produces steam through transpiration. In addition, all the water used to irrigate plants eventually evaporates.
We water the plants and the roots absorb the water, but only a small part of this water is used in photosynthesis because the plant eliminates the rest of the water by transpiration from its leaves. To this we must add the water we use when we water our plant. What was not absorbed by these roots and remained in the soil. Then it will be eliminated by direct evaporation. All transpiration and evaporation is known as evapotranspiration. In short, it is another element that increases the amount of moisture in our home.
How can I reduce the humidity myself ?
As far as pets are concerned, the only thing to do is to try to make a special space for them outside the house itself. This is to prevent them from being another factor that adds to the humidity inside. A garden or kennel outside is the best solution for this. But, if we live in an apartment without this possibility, the best idea is to limit their access to certain rooms. Specifically, the rooms are the last place our pets should go, because in these rooms we ourselves emit more steam every night. It's a pity, but it would be a very bad idea to let them sleep at the foot of our bed. Especially if we have a problem with humidity due to condensation.
Whenever we can train them, it's better. That way, we prevent them from exercising between our four walls and their breathing is accelerated by the emission of more steam. The alternative to minimizing steam emission is to fight against its excess without acting on the source (of course, less recommended). Why is this ? Because we will have no choice but to compensate for the excess vapor by paying more attention to ventilation. As we have already proposed in the case of heating.
As far as plants are concerned, the most important measure is not to turn our house into a plantation. A few plants in the living room will rarely be a real problem. But, having a plant garden in the house is reason enough to generate moisture condensation in a room. Otherwise, it is also highly recommended to know the needs and particularities of each species of plant.
Each plant will need different watering frequencies and quantities. Therefore, the water supply must be specific to each one. Extra watering that the plant does not need for photosynthesis will eventually evaporate the water into the atmosphere. This can lead to a problem of increased humidity.
And finally, if we are fanatics of the plant kingdom, we should allocate a specific room to our hobby. In this way, we can limit excess humidity in the atmosphere to one room and be aware of its control without the rest of the house suffering the consequences.
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