Improving your Indoor Environment in the Winter Months

Proper Indoor Climate Control Is Healthy for You and Your Wooden Furnishings

Winter is just around the corner. Right about now you are probably finishing up work on the outside of your home – removing leaves, making any repairs, and checking your snowblower. Inside we often change batteries on smoke alarms, service our chimneys and heaters, and make sure our storm doors are in place.

But one thing that is often overlooked is adjusting our climate control and humidity levels.

Over the winter you may start to see changes in your home. You notice wider gaps in your wood floors and maybe panels on wooden doors appeared to shrink and wooden drawers appear loose. You might see some unfinished wood or finishing lines in cabinetry and furniture. You are wondering – what happened?

The wooden products in your home are adjusting to the humidity
level in the atmosphere. During the winter months the air is “dry”
because cold air retains less moisture and when we heat the air the relative humidity becomes lower. When you have “dry air” moisture is actually being drawn out of the wooden furniture in your home until an equilibrium state is reached. That is why you will see gaps in your wood floors, doors, cabinets and why doors and drawers aren’t quite as tight.  In more severe situations you might even be experiencing splits and cracks in your wooden furniture. The opposite happens when humid spring and summer air moves in – the wood absorbs that moisture and can expand.

To control the expansion and contraction of wood, you want to establish moisture/humidity control in your home.  Moisture is controlled in homes with proper ventilation, control of air infiltration, heating, cooling and controlling humidity with either a dehumidifier or a humidifier, which adds moisture to a home. With an inexpensive thermometer and hygrometer you can measure the temperature and humidity level in your home. You can consult a qualified specialist to help you design an indoor environmental control system that is appropriate for your home.

The environmental protection agency recommends that homes maintain a relative humidity level between 30% and 50%. The EPA recommends normal indoor temperatures for winter to range between 67.5 F and 75.5 F and summer indoor temperatures range between 73 F and 80 F. If you really want to maintain pristine environmental climate control you can look at museum quality
standards. Generally you can think of museum quality climate control as keeping  the temperature at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the relative humidity at 50% (Rh%). Ideally, these two conditions do not change or do not change more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit and 10%Rh within 24 hours. Whether you target EPA guidelines or museum quality standards one of the important points here is to try to maintain the stability of the temperature and relative humidity in your home. Remember that the moisture content in your wood is trying to reach equilibrium. Keeping a consistent temperature and relative humidity level will allow the wood’s moisture content to be stable and therefore your wood will be stable – no more (or a lot less) expansion and contraction.

If you prefer interior wood details that remain constant between seasons, then keeping a stable indoor climate will increase your enjoyment of your wooden home furnishings and interior wood elements. But, keep in mind, you don’t need a sophisticated moisture control system in your home to enjoy beautiful floors, cabinets and other interior wood elements, as long you understand that wood is a natural product and will respond to the loss of or introduction of moisture from season to season.

Easy Solution Tips:

• Buy an inexpensive monitor to measure indoor temperatures and relative humidity.
• Keep your indoor temperature stable and don’t allow indoor temperatures to  fluctuate more than 10 degrees F within 24 hours.
• Programmable thermostats are a great way to control the temperature in your home and save money.
• Maintain relative humidity levels between 30% and 50%.
• If you need to raise the relative humidity levels simply place an open container of water in a room and allow it evaporate.
• House plants and aquariums can also introduce moisture into a home, which might be appropriate in the winter time, but unwanted in the humid summer months. Monitoring your indoor temperature and  relative humidity will let you know if house plants and aquariums introduce too much moisture.

Implementing these indoor climate guidelines will certainly create a sound environment for your wooden home furnishings, but more importantly they will also create a healthier living environment for your family.