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How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
I recently purchased an AP 18 slot 1860 rack and the humidity is hovering right around 44% according to my accurite. Any tips on getting the humidity up another 10% or so? I currently only have 7 of the 18 spaces occupied, would it be worthwile to put water dishes in the 11 empty slots or would that not be enough to do anything? I don't have any holes in the tubs. I was told by the woman at AP (can't remember her name of the top of my head) not to bother with the air holes unless the humidity got too high. My largest female's eyes just started clouding over last night so I'd like to get this taken care of in the next day or so so she has a good shed.
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Also, I'm using Aspen currently, but I will probably be switching to kraft paper in the next month or so.
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
do you have the water dishes sitting on top of the heat? if not, thats the first thing I'd do
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
you could cover up some of the air holes with tape. Works very well for me ;)
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Festae
do you have the water dishes sitting on top of the heat? if not, thats the first thing I'd do
The water dishes are on the cool end. Should I move them closer to the warm end?
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Quote:
Originally Posted by worldcupkeeper
you could cover up some of the air holes with tape. Works very well for me ;)
I don't have any holes in the tubs.
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AK4900PA
The water dishes are on the cool end. Should I move them closer to the warm end?
I would, thats what I had to do to get the humidity up, I have mine sitting right over the heat, I also found that if I used anything but newspaper, it made it less humid, for example... when I tried to use paper towel, it just got soggy while the air stayed dry (it was too absorbent, it sucked the moisture right out of the air) I have never used kraft paper, if sitting right on the heat makes it too humid, move it further away, the warmer the water is, the more its going to condense into the air, also.. the lower the water level is in the water dish, the warmer the water will be, there fore more humidity is created
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Thanks, I'm going to go move them all a few inches towards the warm end and see if it helps. Do you think it would do anything if I put water dishes in the 11 empty containers or would it only affect those empty containers?
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
i would put a small humidifier right next to the rack. one for 15-20 bucks, should do the trick.
vaughn
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
I'm thinking here that Vaughn's idea is likely the way to go. Do you have a reading on the room the rack is in because no matter what you do you have to consider that part of the equation. I have an old Acu-Rite that accidentally lost it's probe stuck up on the wall of our BP room. It's really helpful to know what the room temps and humidity are as I figure you can only fight the ambient room temps/humidity so much till you have to start thinking about adjusting that first.
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
I moved the water dishes right next to the hot spot lastnight and this morning the humidity only went up to 45%. Guess I'll be getting a small humidifier.
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankykeno
I'm thinking here that Vaughn's idea is likely the way to go. Do you have a reading on the room the rack is in because no matter what you do you have to consider that part of the equation. I have an old Acu-Rite that accidentally lost it's probe stuck up on the wall of our BP room. It's really helpful to know what the room temps and humidity are as I figure you can only fight the ambient room temps/humidity so much till you have to start thinking about adjusting that first.
I dont think thats a good idea, maintaining a such a high level of humidity in a standard household room over an extended period of time is not a good Idea, its actually a health risk too, it actually carries alot of the dangers of a "marijuana grow house" and Im sure everyones read about the dangers of those in the news, that high a humidity level over a period of time, will lead to damaging the structural integrity of the walls (peeling paint, moist drywall that will change shape slightly) my biggest concern though is the possiblity of mould growing behind the baseboards. in the framing, in the insulation, mould is very harzardous to your health and can cause all sorts of problems, especially if you dont know that youre being exposed to it, because then you dont get rid of the problem, because you dont know you have the problem
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Perhaps I wasn't specific enough. You certainly wouldn't want a normal household room to be sitting at "high" levels of humidity constantly. What I meant is to know the room's ambients so you can know what you are working with as these tubs don't exist in a vacuum but rather inside a room's own environment. Since BP's only require 50-60% humidity except temporarily during shed cycles we aren't talking super high humidity levels.
As far as what is safe humidity wise for the average home....
EPA recommends no more than 60% humidity
CDC says no more than 40%
American Lung Association says 40-60%
It seems that you do need to be concerned with your home's humidity levels but more so with actual dampness that encourages mold spores to grow so that's still more about plumbing leaks, your roof, your bathroom, the seals around your windows, etc. Our daughter Beth became extremely sick due to mold growth in a home we once rented to the point of having seizures (long before we ever had snakes and thought about such things).
If your room is at 40% you are only working to bump your humidity a bit higher in the tubs but if you live in an extremely dry area of the country, then the careful use of a humidifier seems a very reasonable thing to me.
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Festae
I dont think thats a good idea, maintaining a such a high level of humidity in a standard household room over an extended period of time is not a good Idea, its actually a health risk too, it actually carries alot of the dangers of a "marijuana grow house" and Im sure everyones read about the dangers of those in the news, that high a humidity level over a period of time, will lead to damaging the structural integrity of the walls (peeling paint, moist drywall that will change shape slightly) my biggest concern though is the possiblity of mould growing behind the baseboards. in the framing, in the insulation, mould is very harzardous to your health and can cause all sorts of problems, especially if you dont know that youre being exposed to it, because then you dont get rid of the problem, because you dont know you have the problem
I dont think a small humididfier will get a room so moist it will mold. Think about it, he is probably going to have it set on low anyways. You would need like 80% or higher room humidity to even have a chance at mold starting.
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankykeno
Perhaps I wasn't specific enough. You certainly wouldn't want a normal household room to be sitting at "high" levels of humidity constantly. What I meant is to know the room's ambients so you can know what you are working with as these tubs don't exist in a vacuum but rather inside a room's own environment. Since BP's only require 50-60% humidity except temporarily during shed cycles we aren't talking super high humidity levels.
As far as what is safe humidity wise for the average home....
EPA recommends no more than 60% humidity
CDC says no more than 40%
American Lung Association says 40-60%
It seems that you do need to be concerned with your home's humidity levels but more so with actual dampness that encourages mold spores to grow so that's still more about plumbing leaks, your roof, your bathroom, the seals around your windows, etc. Our daughter Beth became extremely sick due to mold growth in a home we once rented to the point of having seizures (long before we ever had snakes and thought about such things).
If your room is at 40% you are only working to bump your humidity a bit higher in the tubs but if you live in an extremely dry area of the country, then the careful use of a humidifier seems a very reasonable thing to me.
sorry, I thought you were saying to keep the room at the humidity you would like to see in the tubs, I also basically wanted to warn people about the dangers of high humidity/mould, as I had a situation like you, were my cousin, was having crazy health problems and even developed asthma, and noone could figure out what was causing it, until it was discovered that mold was running rampant in the house due to multiple fish tanks creating all sorts of humidity...
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Quote:
Originally Posted by gmmuscle91
I dont think a small humididfier will get a room so moist it will mold. Think about it, he is probably going to have it set on low anyways. You would need like 80% or higher room humidity to even have a chance at mold starting.
definitely not trying to start a battle here, but...have you ever run a humidifier 24/7 for 5 years + in an enclosed room? let me know the results when you do ;)
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
rock on jo! good info you dug up.
i keep my room between 45-60% year round. i use small humidifiers that will run out around 12 hrs or so. the % does vary like go from 45-60%! going in/out of the room along with the hvac vent open, brings in enough air exchange also. imo, room humidifiers sized properly and allowed to vary a bit cause no problems.
vaughn
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Re: How do I raise the humidity in my rack?
Thanks Vaughn! With my Beth's reaction to mold I totally get your concern Festae about excessive humidity issues. My ex-husband (Beth's dad) just had to completely gut a bathroom due to mold in the floors and Beth getting sick headaches from it. It's pretty serious stuff so your warning is well taken that way.
I'm trying to find an article I read a few months back about us humans and our home's humidity levels. It was really interesting in that it said most of us live in homes well below what we need humidity-wise. I remember thinking geesh I worry about our snakes and never thought about what it does to people to live in an overly dry home. Darned but I forgot to save the link!
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