My apartment has a control knob on the wall called a Federal Pacific Humidity Control. What does it do?

Question:My landlord doesn't seem to know anything about it, and the company doesn't seem to exist anymore. Do you think it's safe to try and use it? My apartment has radiant heat, so, no vents and no air conditioning. It gets quite humid. Can anyone tell me what this is and how it works?

Answers:
Usually a humidity control is required for making sure that radiant heating systems (which are drier than most) do not dry out wood flooring, wooden structural components and other materials. I would not fool with it unless you can figure out exactly what it is connected to. For example, it may actually be hooked up to radiant heat in your floor in newer construction. That means no cold floors in winter. If you fiddle with the controls, your floor boards could crack.

If your room is too humid, you could try the following:

Small dehumidifiers are available at most department stores. Just know how many square feet you want to dehumifdify and you should be able to pick an inexpensive model. Another way to reduce humidity is to increase the number of plants in your apartment, because they will suck the water right out of the air. Your local plant stores can recommend some particular tropical and subtropical plants ideal for this purpose.

In addition, one way to reduce the heat and humidity in your apartment is to keep your curtains and blinds drawn except in the evenings, or to place heat reflective material on the windows, especially the Southern exposures in your apartment. As for cooling down at night, try placing a pillow case or two in the freezer for bedtimes. Just make sure they are in a plastic bag so they don't get wet.