Kitchens & Humidity
Kitchens go hand in hand with warmth and moisture. We all understand that the warmth and moisture a kitchen contains can create an elevated level of kitchen humidity in your South Jersey home. The variety of appliances, cooking, and sink usage make your kitchen a hotspot for humidity. Mold also happens to love these warm, humid environments. You want to ensure that your kitchen is properly equipped to keep this warmth and moisture at bay. A few simple adjustments can go a long way to keep humidity at bay and prevent your kitchen from becoming a breeding ground for mold.
Controlling Kitchen Humidity
With all the different components going on in your kitchen, it is easy for humidity build-up to go unnoticed. Cooking can have a variety of effects that cause excess kitchen humidity. When using the oven, your kitchen tends to get very warm. Cooking on the stove can also cause the kitchen to get pretty hot as well. If you are boiling water, the evaporation and steam coming from that may become trapped in your kitchen if it has no way to exit the area. The same goes for dishwashers, they let out a lot of steam so that steam needs to have a passageway out of the kitchen. There are plenty of ways to control the humidity in your kitchen, you just need to follow a few basic guidelines.
Manage & Minimize Kitchen Moisture
- A major key in preventing kitchen humidity is keeping the moisture under control. Ensure that you wipe up any excess water that may have spilled.
- Aside from spills, you also want to wipe away any condensation that may occur in your kitchen while cooking or doing dishes.
- While you are cleaning your kitchen or doing the dishes, ensure that all surfaces are thoroughly dried when you are finished so that the moisture doesn’t seep into any small cracks.
- When cleaning the floor, make sure that you check areas that may be easily forgotten. These areas include: under the sink & stove, behind cabinets, and underneath the refrigerator. Water easily seeps into these nooks and crannies and can cause issues such as excess kitchen humidity & mold, among other things.
- Leftover food and excess debris in the sink & trashcan creates a breeding ground for moisture, along with the potential for mold growth. Not to mention it could cause a pretty unpleasant odor. Do your best to keep up with emptying the trash, and cleaning up after yourself (doing dishes, cleaning appliances, etc.)
Proper Kitchen Ventilation Is A Must
- You must always keep your exhaust fans running while you cook. Exhaust fans aid in the transfer of moist, hot air to the outdoors, and more importantly, out of your kitchen.
- Keeping a window open while cooking is helpful to keep a steady flow of air into the kitchen. Cooking creates a warm, and oftentimes moist environment that promotes excess kitchen humidity. The goal is to minimize heat and moisture by stimulating air flow and proper ventilation. This not only keeps humidity out of the kitchen, but also improves the indoor air quality in your South Jersey home overall.
Maintaining Water Sources & Appliances
With all the water sources in your kitchen, it can be very prone to leakage. The sink, refrigerator & ice maker, dishwasher, and other various plumbing all have the potential to cause leaks in your kitchen. In the event that one of these water sources becomes compromised, that could mean bad news for your kitchen. The kitchen can easily suffer major water buildup that can create not only a humid environment, but also make your kitchen vastly more prone to mold. Keep your eye on these water sources and catch any potential leaks in their early stages, to avoid serious damage.
Cleaning and maintaining your appliances regularly helps keep your kitchen in healthy condition. Each appliance makes up a piece of your kitchen as a whole. If one little thing is off, it will throw off the entire atmosphere. Ensure that you clean your refrigerator regularly, and check that it is in good working order. Wipe down the shelves and get rid of all excess moisture. If your refrigerator has a water and ice dispenser, ensure that these are running smoothly. Address any issues immediately, because these malfunctions can cause unwanted moisture to occur.
With all the heat and water sources that kitchens possess, it’s no wonder that they are the perfect breeding ground for excess moisture and kitchen humidity. Following these simple tips can make a huge difference in the air quality and the well-being of your kitchen & home.
