10 Solutions for a Damp, Humid Bathroom

We love almost everything about our new apartment, but the windowless bathroom became so hot and humid in the summer that we started calling it Swamplandia. A little effort on our part conquered the humidity problem, and I thought I'd share my advice with anyone else who is looking for a solution to a damp, humid bathroom. Read on for ten tips to dry out a damp bathroom:

Photo above by West Elm (not our bathroom, sadly).

1. Get an exhaust fan installed. In our case, the bathroom had an existing exhaust fan that needed to be repaired. A working exhaust fan made a huge difference, but the exhaust fan alone was not enough to solve our humidity problem.

2. Invest in a small fan. We got a small clip fan for additional air circulation in the room, which seems to really help keep the air dry.

3. Squeegee after every shower. Wicking the water off of the shower walls with a squeegee means the water goes down the drain, not into the air.

4. Stretch the shower curtain taut after you shower. The water droplets on the curtain will evaporate more readily if the curtain is stretched out than if it's bunched up.

5. Try Damp Rid. Researching solutions for a damp bathroom, I came across DampRid. I can't say for sure how effective it is, but we can definitely see that the DampRid Super System is drawing moisture from the air, so it's doing something. It's also cheap enough that it couldn't hurt to try, if you have a really damp bathroom.

6. Shower with the door open. If you don't have guests, showering with the door open will keep the moisture from building up in a windowless bathroom.

7. Shake yourself dry before toweling off. If you do this, your towel will not get as wet and therefor harbor less humidity.

8. Take shorter showers. The shorter the shower, the less moisture you're putting into the air.

9. Declutter your bathroom. If there's a ton of bottles of shampoo and the like hanging around your bathroom, there are more surfaces for water to cling to. Avoid any textiles other than towels that you use daily in the bathroom.

10. Hang your towels outside of the bathroom. If you still have a dampness issue, you could try hanging your bath towels to dry outside of the bathroom.