How to Measure Humidity in Home without Hygrometer
Indoor humidity is an important factor. It should neither be too high nor too low. The ideal range should fall between 50%-60%.
If the humidity level is too high, then it can lead to the growth of molds and mildews in your house-which can ruin the paint on your walls or damage wooden furniture like bookcases, tables, etc.
If humidity levels are higher than the recommended range, then you should keep a dehumidifier in your house. For low humidity, you should use humidifiers.
If you want to measure the humidity of your house, but don’t know how to measure humidity correctly, this is the right page for you. We will be sharing the exact working methods, and also share methods on how to measure humidity without a hygrometer.
How do you measure humidity without a hygrometer?
There are several ways to measure humidity-which depend on how much money you want to spend and how accurate you want your readings to be.
If you can’t afford to buy a hygrometer, you can follow any of the below-mentioned DIY methods to measure humidity in your house.
1. Make use of an oven
You can make use of an oven to measure how much moisture is in the air. For using this method, take two plates and place them one over the other with a gap of about 2 inches. Bake the plates for around 15 minutes.
After that, let the plates cool down to room temperature. Now place the first plate over the second one and cover it with another plate or other object (like a mug). Make sure that this covering is airtight (covering both top and bottom). Keep this set up in your house for about 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, check how much moisture has accumulated on the top plate (at the location of the mug). If there is no moisture accumulation, then you don’t need to take any further measures.
However, if there is some moisture accumulation at that location (i.e., under the mug), then it means that your humidity levels are low.
2. Make use of a paper towel roll
This method is similar to the above-mentioned method. Take a paper towel roll and place it upright in your house.
Now, take another paper towel roll or another cylindrical object that has about half an inch diameter (so that you can insert the first tube inside). Now, cut the first tube at an equal height from both ends.
After that, insert the smaller tube inside of the larger one and make sure that it is tight enough to not fall out. Now place this roll in your house (you can put it on a table) for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, check how much moisture has accumulated on the smaller tube. There will be moisture accumulation if humidity levels are low in your house.
3. Make use of a bowl or container filled with water
This method is similar to how you make use of an oven to measure how much moisture is in the air (mentioned above). For this, take a wide bowl and fill it up halfway.
Now, place a quarter or a coin in the bowl. You can also put a few drops of food coloring in the water if you don’t want it to be transparent.
Now keep this bowl at a location where there is low humidity and no sunlight (or other lights)-so that the water doesn’t evaporate too quickly.
After 10 minutes, remove the quarter or a coin from the bowl and check how much water has evaporated.
4. Make use of a bottle filled with cold water
This is a very common method, and as kids, we always used to do this little science experiment. If you failed to recall how to do this, just take out a chilled bottle, or fill a glass of cold water, keep it outside, and you will notice droplets of water on the glass.
Although this process is called condensation, it also helps you to determine how humid your house is from the inside. You can even check the glass windows of your house and if any of them feels wet, it is a clear indicator that your house is humid.
5. Make use of a nail polish container
This method is similar to how you make use of an oven to measure how much moisture is in the air (mentioned above).
For this method, take an empty nail polish container and fill it with water until the level is about 1/4th of its height.
Now, cover this container with aluminum foil (you can also use plastic wrap) and make sure that it is airtight. Make a small hole (with a pin or any other sharp object) in the center of the aluminum foil.
Now place this container in a location where there is low humidity for about 10 minutes or more until it dries up completely. After that, remove the cap from the nail polish container and check how much water has evaporated.
6. Make use of an incense stick
This is another effective method you can follow to measure how much moisture is in your house without electricity at home.
For this, take an incense stick and light it up. Now place the burning part of the incense stick inside a glass or any other open container so that it doesn’t combust completely.
Place this glass or container somewhere where there is low humidity. After about 10 minutes, check how much smoke has accumulated inside the glass or container that is why it looks dark in color.
If all the smoke has disappeared, then there are no moisture levels in your house.
Is there an app that measures indoor humidity?
If you want to quickly find out the humidity levels of your location, the weather app is all you need. But since it only determines the humidity level of the entire city, not your home, you can use apps to measure indoor humidity.
One app which I personally use to measure humidity inside my room is Humidity Checker, which can show the exact humidity levels, and even the sunrise and sunset time. You can download it from the Google play store directly.
Conclusion
According to this article, the best way how to measure humidity in a house is by taking an empty bottle and filling it with water. If the level of the water decreases then there are low humidity levels in your house.
You can also use a bowl filled with water or even make use of a nail polish container which will help you determine how much moisture is in your home without electricity at home.
An oven, tube roll, and incense stick help you measure how much moisture is in air-but we recommend using an empty bottle instead since it gives consistent results and takes less time than how you measure using an oven.
Also, if you want an app that measures indoor humidity levels too, then just download the weather app! It’s simple to use.