There are many different ways to tell how humid it is within your home. You can purchase a hygrometer, perform a calculation, or try to measure the dew point. However, some methods are much more effective than others. If you want to learn how to measure humidity, keep reading.
1. Use a Hygrometer
A hygrometer is a tool that tells you exactly how much humidity is in the air by a percentage. It’s the best and the most accurate way to tell how humid your home is. However, you might not always have access to a hygrometer, so it’s essential to keep in mind these other techniques.
2. Measure Dew Point
You can measure the dew point in your home by filling a metal can with water. Make sure that the can have a shiny surface to reflect light and heat away. Fill the can 2/3s of the way full with water.
Add ice cubes to the can and stir continuously until condensation forms. Add ice cubes a few at a time and stir until they’ve melted. Keep doing this until the can begins to condensate.
Put a thermometer in the water and read the temperature. This is the dew point. The higher the dew point is, the more humid it is.
3. Use a Calculation
You can use a calculation to determine how humid it is in your apartment or outside. The best way to do this is to use an online calculator or formula to input the numbers to determine humidity.
4. Wet and Dry Bulb Test
To perform the wet and dry bulb test, you’ll need to have two thermometers. Bring them to the room that you want to measure the humidity levels in. Make sure that that room has a fan.
Leave one thermometer as is and use a piece of cloth or cotton ball for the other. You’ll want to make sure that the cloth is damp before taping it to the end of the other thermometer. Place them in a spot where the fan blows on them and check the temperatures after 5 minutes.
Subtract the wet-bulb temperature from the dry-bulb temperature from the dry-bulb temperature and use a chart to figure out what the humidity is like in your home.
5. Ice Cube Test
The ice cube test will help you find a measurement of the relative humidity in your home. Take a glass and put five ice cubes in it. Check after 5 to 10 minutes. If the glass has condensation on it, your home is humid. If there’s no condensation, your home isn’t humid enough.
6. Hair Hygrometer
You can make your hygrometer using a strand of your hair and a piece of paper. Use your homemade hair hygrometer to check the humidity levels in your home. It’s not as accurate as a regular hygrometer, but it can give you an idea of how humid your home is.
7. Check Your Skin
If your skin is dry and cracked, it may be a sign that your home isn’t very humid. Keep an eye on your skin’s dryness throughout the seasons’ changes to see if you may need to purchase a humidifier.
8. Weather Stations
Weather stations, devices that show you the weather, will often have built-in hygrometers, so you’ll be able to see how humid it is in whichever room your weather station is in.
9. Advanced Thermostats
Some thermostats have hygrometers in them. Not only will they tell you the temperature of your home, but also how humid it is!
10. Humidifiers
Depending on the humidifier you have, it might produce a readout of the humidity level while you’re using it. You can use that number to determine how long you should run your humidifier.
