Containing humidity

[Vivienne]

Spring is trying to make a stand in Colorado. We have had a few nice days where you just can't help but open up the windows. But doing so has caused some dramatic drops in the humidity level in the atrium. Note: the atrium has no windows, but it does have a big 6ft wide archway leading to the rest of the house. One day, when the budget allows, I will put in french doors, but in the meantime, I need to get something up to help contain the humidity.

My plans are to put up a simple curtain rod and then hang sheers or shower curtain or something. Does anyone think that a plain old window sheer will do the trick? Much more asthetic in my opinion... but will it contain humidity?? Or would a clear shower curtain be more effective?

Here's a shot of the archway to be protected...


WOW - I really need to update my pictures!

[janice]

Viv, I am not so sure that a sheer would help much......maybe a little but the shower curtain would be better. I am trying to think of something other than shower curtains....At our Walmart you can buy "plastic material" in the fabric dept. that is "lacey" looking....It has some holes in it but might hold the humidity in the room more so than the sheers. Do you rely on the light from the other part of the house?? Another idea would be plastic/picnic type table cloths???

[Vivienne]

Thanks Janice. My head is stuck on a clear plastic shower curtain on one side with a sheer on the other, but I'll definitely check out the plastic material you mentioned.

The only light in the atrium is through 3 very large skylights. Well the only natural light. Then I have a 6 light track of halogen lights and some T5 shelves.

[tom499]

I find the best way to raise humidity indoors is to move my plants closer together.

This may mean buying more to fill the gaps in though...

[Vivienne]

LOL - I couldn't agree more. But it doesn't stop that humidity from escaping like last week.
All windows closed in house = 60% humidity in atrium.
1 Window open halfway in house = 40% humidity in atrium = not good

Can't wait to see how high the humidity goes if I contain it a little bit!! I might get to turn off a humidifier!!

[Tobi]

Hi Vivienne,
I'm not sure if sheers would keep the humidity level up to where you would like it. A
plastic curtain would probably be better, although it may not look as good. I had a
pocket door put on the 4 season sun room when we had it built 2 years ago. That
really works great. A little inconvenient when you travel back and forth, but it keeps
the humidity in.

[Vivienne]

Thanks Tobi. What is a pocket door?

[Tobi]

A pocket door is one that slides into the wall when not in use. It has a little flange that
you can grasp when you want to open it up. I'll try and post a pic later today when
I get back from my errands.

[arleneg]

Viv,

A tabbed, colored fabric curtain will help. Our masterbath doesn't have a door. So I bought a pair of dark red curtains to hang in the "doorway".

There are two types: fabric only and fabric with thermal backing. I got the fabric one.

Here's a link to show you what I'm talking about.

JCPenney department

[PhalPal]

Vivienne I want to monitor this thread because I am having the same problem with keeping humidity at 50%. Our weather in summer is very similiar to yours in terms of temp and low humidity. My orchid room is 18 X 19 feet with no door; the opening is double the size a normal bedroom door would be. I have all orchids on humidity trays with small rocks. I also have a Target 'cool mist' humidifier that runs all day, plus two small fans. It is supposed to humidify a large room. We have our windows open all over the house 80%+ of the time throughout the year.

Even on a very rainy day my humidity does not get above 52% with the window cracked open. That is the max! We are starting a medium re-model of our house and I would love to put french doors on this room, but my orchids share it with the kitty litter box so the door can't be closed all the time.

We are getting to the time of year where humidity won't get above 30% until fall, so my problem will only get worse. We will have NO rain until October. All my orchids are doing fine NOW in an average humidity of 40%, but when summer hits it's going to drop much lower and that is my concern, especially since this will be my first summer under lights.

Any suggestions??? Help??

[Sharyn]

Viv: I've been having the same problem all winter and our normal Chicago humidity is much higher than yours.

For the past several months, I've had two humidifiers running and can barely keep 52-55% humidity. Afraid of trying much more for fear of mold issues.

I tried some heavy clear plastic and also some bubble wrap rolls (the ones for packing) on three sides of my metal shelving. It's helped quite a bit, about 60% humidity, but then I had to purchase a couple small fans to keep the air moving. I got the extra humidity, but then had to deal with the cold and fungal problems. I'll follow this thread and interested to see what the rest of you are doing.

[made4engineering]

I keep my orchids in my bedroom, and have thus devoted 1/3 of my bedroom space to my orchids. There is a white painted white cloth that reflects most of the light from the window and lights back onto the orchids, and a plastic liner parallel to that. This walls off 1/3 of my room, and there is a slit for entry/exit. A humidifier sucks fresh air into the area.

[Vivienne]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Haven't had a chance to get to the store just yet. Yesterday I did hang up a sheet over the archway for about 2-3 hours (before the cats tore it down). Noticed a 4 point increase in the humidity (52% went to 56%). Having the sheet up made me realize... I'm going with the clear plastic shower curtains. I missed being able to view my plants. LOL

[sandra]

Not necessarily ideal Vivienne but plastic would definitely work better than sheers. The problem is getting the humidity high enough though and, I would think you'd need the orchids surrounded more, possibly? I've seen some really, very pretty shower curtains at Bed Bath & Beyond in the jungle prints in browns and blacks which looks like it might go nicely with your furniture and which probably would go well with the subject here....

Your atrium looks sensational.

[Vivienne]

Thanks Sandra.

I'm quite happy with the humidity levels in the atrium... until I open the windows in the house for fresh air. Then it all gets sucked out. Won't happen today though as it's supposed to snow... again.

[sandra]

Originally Posted by Vivienne

Thanks Sandra.

I'm quite happy with the humidity levels in the atrium... until I open the windows in the house for fresh air. Then it all gets sucked out. Won't happen today though as it's supposed to snow... again.

Bummer about the snow but gottcha on the dilemma now. Go for the plastic then until you get your french doors.

[theovercollector]

Just a quick thought for PhapPal and anyone else it might be relevant to... When you do install the doors you can always have a nice cat door installed! They run from the inexpensive flaps to the expensive locking variety.. Just a thought. Vivienne- The clear vinyl shower curtains will allow you to still see your plants and a less expensive short term investment is a bamboo stake that you can get at your garden center(instead of curtain rod) Doesn't look that bad either...

[Vivienne]

Oh I like that idea about the bamboo stake. Thanks!

Good thought on the cat door. I'll need to do that when I finally have doors installed. The cat litter box is in the atrium like Connie's is.

[Vivienne]

Okay - the clear vinyl curtains are up (on a metal shower rod). We're starting out with the following humidity levels.

Closest to the archway - 30%
East wall - 55% and 57%
West wall - 55%

Will update the levels in the morning (when they are usually higher anyways) and again tomorrow night. After that it will be time to test the levels when a window gets opened. Stay tuned! I'll add pics tomorrow too!

[Vivienne]

Very happy with the results thus far. This mornings humidity levels put a smile on my face.

Closest to the archway - 54% YEAH!! (this is 20' from the closest humidifer)
East wall - 54% and 66%
West wall - 63%

Today is watering day... so I would expect the levels to increase even more. Definitely