|
|
|
|
Low Indoor Humidity
Fri Jan 31, 2003
Listen in RealAudio 
Does winter leave you scratching? Do your floors and furniture creak and moan? Do you get
painful static zaps when touching your friends? If so, your home may be suffering from low
humidity. Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton, and this is The Weather Notebook.
Humidity is simply water vapor present in the air, and relative humidity, the percentage of
humidity relative to its saturation point.
During winter, dominant arctic air masses are very dry. Even when arctic air has high relative
humidity, it has low water vapor content. Bringing that air indoors can drop its relative
humidity below 10%.
For example, if outside air temperature is 0 F with relative humidity 75%, warming it indoors
to 70 degrees reduces its relative humidity to 4%. For comparison, Sahara Desert relative
humidity averages 25%.
Winter dryness often brings cracked, itchy skin, chapped lips, parched throats, and annoying
dry coughs. Throw in static electricity that makes clothes cling and hair go frizzy, and it
becomes obvious why homeowners consider "dry air in the house" their fourth-ranked pet
peeve.
Very dry air can even increase your heating bill. When air humidity is low, skin moisture
evaporates, thus making you feel colder. In response, you raise the thermostat, burning more
fuel.
Dry air can also seriously damage woodwork and home furnishings, and also harm
houseplants.
To determine if the humidity is too low, try this test. Drop three ice cubes into a glass
container, add water and stir. If, after three minutes, moisture does not form on the glass's
exterior, your air is too dry.
Thanks to our contributing writer, meteorologist Keith Heidorn. The Weather Notebook gets
support from Subaru of America, and The National Science Foundation.
Today's Links
USA Today: Heaters can lead to dry skin and throats
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wdryout.htm
The Weather Channel: Use humidity to feel warmer this winter
http://www.weather.com/newscenter/topstories/homeandgarden/home/020222xhomxindoorhumidity.html
|
|
