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Update: My landlord served me a 3 day notice to cure violation or move out over keeping my window open. It's not on my lease. It's not a violation. (lemmy.ml)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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[–] 16 points 4 months ago (11 children)

High humidity causes mold and physically damages indoor surfaces. You may not see it until it's too late. That's a big deal, especially if you don't own the house and have go deal with the repercussions. We're talking very expensive and timely repairs.

I believe both parties are handling this poorly or OP escalated it to what it is now.

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  • [–] -2 points 4 months ago (10 children)

    High humidity causes mold and physically damages indoor surfaces. You may not see it until it’s too late. That’s a big deal, especially if you don’t own the house and have go deal with the repercussions. We’re talking very expensive and timely repairs.

    You are assuming that OP's room gets humid with the vents open and blowing into it...

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  • [–] 11 points 4 months ago (9 children)

    When hot and cold air mix, moisture starts accumulating on the surfaces. After that, mold will start taking root and then it's nearly too late.

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  • [–] -2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (8 children)

    Did you consider asking OP if moisture was accumulating before accusing them of negligence?

    I am definitely a layman, but the pressure differential would likely be pushing out if air was blowing into the room. Exception would be in high wind outdoor conditions.

    If there is no obvious moisture buildup or, as I put it earlier, evidence of humidity damage, there is no problem.

    If OP wants the window open and vents blocked, they can run a dehumidifier when they close their window during higher humidity periods of the night/day (to prevent any damage). You could've inquired about what the vents looked like and gave that advice in addition to helping them, if necessary, to provide solutions to block the vent or otherwise help them to keep their window open and minimize damage. OP lives in a fairly dry climate, River Side county, CA, I argue damage is unlikely to occur from having the window open.

    Take the feedback. You were not sensitive to somebody seeking support.

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  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    Dehumidifier and AC is a massive waste of power and generally doesnt do anything, and the hot/cold difference creates a vortex pulling in hot and expelling cold.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago* (2 children)

    Dehumidifier and AC is a massive waste of power and generally doesnt do anything

    If there is any humidity built up in the room, running it could be a defense if damage is argued by their landlord.

    Also, I highly doubt even if the intake vent were open that it would successfully pull a significant amount of hot air in and cause humidity damage at any meaningful rate in OP's climate in California.

    I'm on the side of letting people keep their windows open, as long as there isn't damage. If the landlord is afraid of damage, they can raise their concerns and work with OP to formulate solutions instead of physically shutting their window from the outside and escalating this the way they did.

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  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I'm the last person to support landlords, but a dehumidifier is essentially a heat pump, whereas an ac is a heat pump in reverse - both arent 100% efficient though, and so are using power to remove heat, then power to create heat is at best wasted power.

    That being said I can't imagine op would even be able to survive with a heat pump warming their place in this weather anyways.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

    Sucks for the landlord's power bill, but the people who commented here can do better. Sorry to lump you in with them. I wouldn't want a landlord micromanaging my window use by shutting it themselves and demanding I keep it shut, especially if I had some valid reasons.

    I suggested a dehumidifier because damage/mold was brought up, definitely wouldn't be very viable as you suggest (especially in regards to temperature). Thanks for keeping it grounded and fair, and you are right that hot air would be pulled in, but I'm not too sure about that having a major effect to the point of very expensive damage or major effects on power, especially if OP's door is shut and considering other factors, such as climate, room size, and it being a single window.

    Some of the arguments here in the larger thread do make sense, pulling in hot air and another commenter suggesting that it would cause an effect across the house, pulling outside air from other cracks and openings and increasing humidity/temp throughout the building, but I feel that the effect on the house/system is minimal if it's a single window in a small room.

    I have a weather app (Breezy Weather) that shows me a humidity graph, that could be helpful for OP if they are reading this.

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  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago* (3 children)

    What magic pressure differential are you referring to? A/C recirculates indoor air and has slightly positive rooms and slightly negative rooms, but will always be net ~1ATM of pressure. If his room has slightly positive pressure and he opens the window, then guess what, hot humid air is being pulling into the house in other people's rooms, hallways, bathrooms. This would also explain why he doesn't experience the issues it would cause.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

    It seems like they are living in a closet-sized room. Do you know for a fact there is even an intake vent and that OP doesn't block it? You have no idea what the situation is. I live in a significantly more humid climate and A/Cs are never installed or maintained properly, even in some schools. Hot and humid air will only be true at some points of the day for OP, who lives in California.

    The only reason we are even talking about humidity damage is because the person who responded to OP immediately took the landlord's side and loosely accused OP of feeling that everyone is against them right off the bat.

    They want their window open, we should tell them their rights, help them understand the risks and potential mitigation strategies, help them formulate a defense... most people have zero issues doing what they want as long as they aren't causing damage. Opening a window is reasonable because the A/C is too cold for them.

    If you look at OP's previous thread, their landlord seems fairly unreasonable, even considering we are getting a one-sided account of events.

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  • [–] -2 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I don't have to know a single one of those details, because I know for a fact that AC does not create a magic pressure differential within a house relative to the outside that could possibly negate hot humid air intrusion. That is your assumption, not mine. When the window is open the temperature differential across the opening with cause convention (mixing of the air). If his room actually is positively pressured enough relative to other rooms, then he is causing hot humid air to be pulling interior at other locations around the house.

    I have sympathy for OP, but in 90F, that sucks for whoever is paying for the AC.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

    So, now the argument is shifting, we care about the landlord's power bill. We care about the landlord's rights, we care about the landlord's property like it's our job (worrying about potential, speculative damage), but the second it comes time to care for OP in a thread where they are seeking support? That doesn't seem to be what happened, based on the responses here.

    A/Cs do take care of humidity, I doubt very expensive damage could be caused from a small, closet-sized room from a single window - especially if OP closed the window for periods of high humidity conditions.. OP could agree to be held responsible for damage, they might have already done so in their rental agreement/etc.

    Let me put OP and their landlord on separate sides of a scale, do I care more about the person struggling who just wants to keep their window open for fresh air (and a number of other valid reasons) or the person who could easily just tolerate a tenant having a single window being open in a small room for most of the day in California? The answer is easily the person in distress, who should be able to own and afford their own home and live a dignified life.

    You said it yourself, you sympathize with OP. Feeling bad for them isn't the same as caring for them and understanding that they experienced trauma from their landlord's actions. The people in this thread added to that trauma.

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