Daily activities such as cooking, showering, washing dishes, and even breathing can raise the moisture level in your home, making moisture intrusion unavoidable. If not properly addressed, moisture proliferation can damage the thermal efficiency, the indoor air quality, and the structural integrity of your home, jeopardizing your health and comfort year-round. Fortunately, there are solutions to successfully control and prevent moisture migration in your home.
The causes of moisture intrusion in your home
Moisture can be generated by indoor activities, but it can also result from water leaking into your home. Humid air entering through windows, open doors, or HVAC systems is also a threat. It can even be attributable to where you live: your home’s moisture level depends on your region’s climate zone.
An excessive amount of moisture can increase the humidity level in your home and influence how your home cools in the summer and warms in the winter.
Moisture issues in your wall cavity
Mold loves to hide in high humidity areas such as your attic, bathroom, laundry room, or kitchen. However, moisture in the wall cavity is almost inevitable. When moisture vapor gets trapped in the wall cavity, it can condense between the inside and outside walls and create damaging issues for your home and your health. Managing moisture can help your walls dry out and minimize the potential for mold and mildew growth.
Low humidity
Remains moisture-tight in the winter when humidity in the cavity is low
High humidity
Increases permeability in the summer to let moisture escape when needed.
Solutions to control moisture migration in your home
Here are the three main solutions to keep moisture out of your home and help you maintain a healthy indoor environment.
- Invest in insulation: The amount of moisture in your home is related to the temperature of your home, which means moisture level changes when your indoor temperature changes. When properly installed, mold-resistant fiberglass insulation like InsulPure™ will help slow humidity and moisture fluctuations by keeping your home at a consistent temperature throughout the year.
- Install a vapor retarder: Protect your home from water vapor accumulation and moisture migration by installing a vapor retarder. SMART Vapor Retarders with MoistureSense™ technology like Membrain™ Continuous Air Barrier & Smart Vapor Retarder provides superior moisture management. It temporarily increases your wall vapor permeance based on the changing conditions your wall is subject to year-round. Indeed, Membrain™ smart vapor retarder will block moisture from condensing in the wall cavity in the winter and allow excess moisture buildup to escape the cavity in summer. It prevents potentially damaging moisture vapor from entering and condensing in the wall cavity.
For optimal results, we recommend combining your smart vapor retarder with fiberglass insulation.
- Install an air barrier: As moisture vapor travels through the air, air leakage through open doors, windows, and floors (to list only a few) highly contributes to moisture problems in your home. Our CertaSeal air sealing solution can help minimize air leakage and control air movement through your walls and ceilings while helping you achieve air tightness requirements for residential buildings. A tightly-sealed home will reduce humidity and improve your home’s energy efficiency and durability, as well as your indoor comfort.
In addition to these moisture management solutions, we recommend incorporating the following everyday-use ideas to reduce moisture migration in your home:
- Regularly replace the air filters in your HVAC system to reduce dust and improve the air quality in your home.
- Install exhaust fans in your kitchen, bathroom, or attic to keep humidity levels down and pull excess moisture outside your home.
- Open your windows when showering or when cooking to get the air moving.
- Mold can grow anywhere, and especially in wet spaces. Make sure to regularly clean wet spots.
- Consider using a dehumidifier to remove excess moisture from the air and control the humidity level of your home.
CertainTeed’s Moisture Management library can help you understand moisture challenges and threats, serving as a valuable resource to help you control the damaging potential of moisture.
Not sure if you’re properly dealing with moisture? A licensed contractor can help you address mold- and weather-related issues within the context of your home.
We’re always available to assist you with any questions you may have. Please let us know what you need:
