One of the main reasons people choose a tiny home over a traditional RV or park model home is that tiny homes feel like true houses.
When you step inside a Mint tiny home, we know you’ll feel the difference in frequency. Go ahead, smack your hand on the wall of a Mint tiny house. You’ll feel that thing is solid.
Our intent in building tiny homes was to construct a well-insulated and tightly sealed structure. And after ten years in business, we know we’ve achieved what we set out to do. With a tight building envelope, though, comes the risk of excess moisture, so if you own or are planning to buy a tiny house, keep reading.
This is your guide to managing moisture in a tiny home.
Just because you live in a small space, doesn’t mean you use any less water.
If you think about it, you’ll probably take the same number of showers, brush your teeth just as often, and use the bathroom the same number of times per day, right?
All of these things involve water, and they aren’t the only way moisture gets into tiny homes. We also have to consider plants, essential oil diffusers, the number of people and pets breathing in the home, and the steam from our tiny house kitchens!
If left unchecked, moisture can lead to mold (just like in a traditional house!), so you’ll want to take a few precautions to keep tiny home humidity in check.
Here are a few things you can do.
Step one of mitigating moisture is to choose a good tiny house builder.
More specifically, you’ll want to choose one that understands thermal bridging, and how to properly insulate a tiny house trailer.
Inexperienced builders often get this crucial step wrong when building tiny homes.
Many great builders are used to building on concrete foundations, but not metal trailers. So when they don’t properly address thermal bridging concerns, they accidentally build a tiny house that gets regular condensation issues. This leads to moisture, which can lead to mold problems.
After ten years of building tiny homes, our team at Mint has learned a thing or two about thermal bridging. Our efforts don’t mean you’ll never have to lift a finger when it comes to managing moisture in a tiny house, but rest assured that we will set you up for success!
This one will sound obvious, but we’ll say it because people often forget!
Please remember to open windows and use your tiny house vents.
Remember when your parents would nag you to use the fan in the bathroom when taking a shower? Well, they were on to something!
Showers create a lot of steam, so whether you are in a traditional house or a tiny house, it pays to crack a window and turn on the bathroom fan.
At Mint, we put vents in all of our bathrooms as well as over stove tops to capture the moisture from bathroom and kitchen activities.
But while we can put them in, we can’t make you use them.
Promise us you will, though?
There is nothing dreamier than a tiny house loft. For many of us, a tiny house with a loft bedroom is the opportunity to live out our treehouse dreams as adults.
However, one way to turn this whimsical dream into a nightmare is to get mold under the mattress in your tiny house loft!
Fortunately, this scenario is easy to prevent.
All you have to do is put something under your mattress that allows airflow. Many people use a coconut coir mattress pad for this purpose, but whatever you choose, just make sure your mattress can breathe!
Calcium chloride is a non-toxic, inorganic mineral salt that soaks up moisture from the air. You can buy it in packets, canisters, or any number of ways from different brands.
These crystals will soak up moisture until they become a sort of jelly, at which point you dispose of the blob and get yourself more crystals.
Calcium chloride canisters are great because they can be hidden around your tiny house in places like under the bathroom vanity, inside a decorative basket, or within your storage couch.
Wherever you put them, these magical crystals are a great way to manage moisture in a tiny house!
If you live in a wet climate, it could be a good idea to get a dehumidifier for your tiny house.
Tiny homes have tight building envelopes, remember? And while this is a good thing, it also means that the air’s natural moisture in a wet climate can overpower a tiny home.
So, if you live somewhere where it rains, well, a lot, you’ll definitely want to purchase one to protect your tiny house.
Oh, and we’d recommend that you buy the quietest one you can find. You will only use it if you can stand the sound of it!
If you live in a wet climate and plan to go on a vacation for more than three weeks, it’s worth having someone come over to check on your tiny home.
In a wet climate, you’ll need someone to empty that dehumidifier, and in any climate, it’s helpful to have regular bouts of fresh air circulating throughout your tiny house.
Don’t overthink it- your house will be fine- but it’s always good to remember that houses like to breathe!
We wanted to address tiny house moisture because, at Mint, we will always tell it to you like it is.
That being said, don’t let this tiny house blog post make you overly concerned. With a few thoughtful precautions, it’s easy to keep tiny home moisture in check.
And now that you’re an expert on mitigating tiny house moisture, let’s get you a tiny home!
Here’s a link to our gallery where you can browse inventory models- those are tiny homes for sale that are ready to go today! Don’t see the perfect one? No worries. You can use our quote calculator to build your dream tiny home and find out what it will cost.
Once you have a general idea of the style of tiny home you’re looking for, click here to book your free tiny home consultation.
Thanks for reading our tiny house blog; we can’t wait to meet you!
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