Humidity fluctuation question
 

My question to you all out there is about fluctuating humidity. I had posted a few weeks ago how I put a large pot of water on the stove and have a small fan blowing on it and it humidifies the rooms perfectly. But this only happens when I am home. Here in Vermont the nights are now down to lower 40s and I keep my temperatures in my house around 65. The humidity when I am not doing the pot and water thing is around 45 percent in general. Now as I'm typing this it is 75. So will this fluctuation and humidity be harmful to the plants? Should I stop doing this?

---------- Post added at 06:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:17 PM ----------

I plan on getting several cool mist humidifiers, but until then am I doing harm to my plants?

I think 75% inside your home might be good for sone orchids (not all) but it is not healthy for you.
Even those orchids that need higher HR tolerate something around 60%, which is ok for humans.
The variation by itself is not harmfull.

It's also not good for your house to keep the humidity constantly that high. 45-55% is the level that is healthiest for you and the structure. Sustained high levels can cause health problems for you and mold issues within the house structure.

I hesitated to say the same thing, Katrina. I battle mold on my windows at humidity lower than that. Ruins my windows.

I think below 40% isn't good - for you and your plants.
Ultimately relative humidity directly impacts how often you need to water your plants. In your example you need to weigh that against the pot and fan rigmarole.

I doubt the fluctuating humidity does much harm but for plants that come from rain forests, it helps to have at least 50% at all times. I have always needed humid air to breathe and I have found that plants work best. The more leaves I have transpiring, the more humidity. The plants do not seem to cause the issues with the mold that other options I tried in the past did. I have also recently added two oil diffusers to my life. One goes without oil and is for the orchids (if only they had neem essential oil) and the one is for me. :)

Thank you all for your responses. It makes sense. If the fluctuation it's self isn't harmful, I 'll keep the humidity levels closer to 45-50%.

Windows are another story. I suspect you get condensation on the windows...the worst being in the winter. Right? That can happen even in very low humidity. Before we got new windows a few years back, we had the same problem. It doesn't mean you'll have mold problems elsewhere. New windows will solve your problem! With consistent high humidity in an entire house, that's where one should start to worry about mold development (even wood rot) in the structure.

They're pretty new, Katrina. If I ever build again, I'll get them clad.

I ran a similar setup,in my old house, except that the woodstove was the sole heat. Humidity would vary from 35% up to 75%, but mostly because of fluctuating temps. When I came in to a 60°F house after a long day the humidity might be 75%, but as the house warmed up naturally the humidity would drop even with a pot of water on the stove. I'm loving my new place. Half of my basement is a dirt floor which provides stable humidity in the low 60s on the first floor of the house. Plus almost all of the windows are new. The exceptions are the main windows front and rear, but I'm loathe to do anything to change them. The glass is obviously original to the house, and looking out particularly the front window is like having an acid flashback because of the way the glass has flowed over the decades.