It’s important to make sure your garage doesn’t have a humidity problem. Sadly, a garage is a part of the home that makes it quite difficult to fight wet floors.
Although not a lot of homeowners are aware of it, eliminating garage humidity can turn into a safety and health hazard. Wet floors and wet walls create a damp environment that no one wants to be in.
But are you aware that your garage has a humidity problem? If not, then these are the signs to look out for. With all that said, let’s start.
1. Garage Door Window Condensation
The first and probably most common sign that you have a humidity problem in your garage is noticing window condensation. Not every homeowner puts windows on the garage door, but that doesn’t make it uncommon.
Luckily for those that do, if you notice water beading on a window, then that’s a clear sign of too much moisture. The reason why you’d hate to face this issue is that too much humidity can rot the wooden parts of your garage.
If the door is made out of wood, then too much humidity can cause a significant problem.
2. Mold Sports
No doubt one of the easiest signs to look for is mold spots. Mold occurs as a direct side effect of a humid environment. Garages with too much humidity are significantly prone to mold spots.
The parts of the garage where mold will most likely occur are the ceiling or corners of the walls. Many believe that mold only occurs in the bathroom. But if humidity levels are too big, then the garage and even attic are prone to it.
You should actively work to avoid mold becoming a problem as it can spread pretty fast, pretty quick.
3. Bad Smell
Yet another quite clear sign of garage humidity is a musty smell and bad odor. Make no mistake about it, if you thought that being present in a humid environment was bad, wait until you see how awful the musty smell is.
We should clarify that a bad smell is actually a sign of mold. But since mold is a sign of too much humidity in the garage, we can safely assume that a bad and musky smell equals humidity.
Naturally, you should actively work to eliminate the issue as mold can turn into a health hazard. This is especially the case with people that are severely prone to allergic reactions. If you happened to keep laundry equipment in your garage, then make sure to install proper ventilation otherwise you’re inviting the mold inside.
There are all kinds of ways to eliminate garage humidity; all you need to do is do your research. Luckily, we’ve done it for you so if you’re interested in that, make sure to visit hvacguides101.com.
Why Humidity Is Bad For Your Garage?
If you’re not sold on the idea that humidity is indeed bad for your garage space, here are a few reasons what will most likely do that.
· It’s Bad For Your Tools
Make no mistake about it humidity is absolutely 100% bad for your tools. If you know anything about tools and whatnot, then it’s probably the fact that water doesn’t go well with metal.
If your tools are left in the open and there’s quite a lot of water in the air, then it’s only a matter of time before corrosion does its thing. Tool stores like to brag about how stainless steel is the best possible metal that will last for ages. But they don’t tell you that stainless steel is quite prone to acquiring rust.
Even more so, not every tool in your toolbox is made from stainless steel. Stainless steel is one of the more resistant metals, so imagine what humidity does to other tools.
If the circumstances are right, even the hardest of metal tools will eventually rust due to the presence of water in the air.
· It’s Bad For Electronics
No doubt you’re keeping some electronics in your garage. This could be an old personal computer, old phone, or any other gadget or consumer electronic that has a circuit board or wiring.
But want to know another thing that has circuit boards and wires in? Power tools. The last thing you want is to keep power tools in a humid environment.
Considering that garages are quite prone to it, and that’s the place where we keep our power tools, it’s a recipe for disaster. Not every power tool or consumer electronic is made to be water-resistant. In most cases, they never will be.
So that creates a unique problem that homeowners hate facing. Power tools can be quite expensive to purchase, so the last thing you want is for them to go bust due to high humidity levels in the garage.
· It’s Bad For Lubrication
We keep tools and power tools in our garages. One more thing that we also like to keep there is our lawnmower.
Humidity is bad for lawnmowers and similar engine-based tools. The reason why is because water vapor can break down oil the moment it comes in contact with.
When water vapors, it turns into liquid water and that presents a huge problem for oil. Considering that your lawnmower uses some form of oil to get the engine running, it will effectively put it out of commission once the water gets in contact with the oil.
Machinery such as lawnmowers or compressors requires oil to run properly. Once liquid vapor gets in contact with it, it’s only a matter of time before the machinery reaches the end of its lifespan.
Finishing Thoughts
Watch out for our 3 signs of garage humidity. Simply acknowledging that you have a humidity problem isn’t enough. You have to make sure to eliminate the problem before it turns into an uncontrollable issue. If you do ignore it too much, you’ll pay a costly price. Not only will your tools, power tools, and machinery go bust, but you’ll also have to hire professionals to take care of the issue.
