I read that ideal domestic humidity is 30-50%. In this current weather I see folks reporting >50% in their homes.

Does it matter to those of you with record and CD collections and hi-fi?

In the days when British weather was more nondescript I just used to rely on common sense ventilation, heating (winter) and keeping kitchen and bathroom doors shut.

Last year I spent some time checking through records and changing protective sleeves on some of them. In doing so I became more aware - or possibly over-sensitive - about gradual effects of the environment such as covers sticking together. And I'm sure we've all seen what happens to card/paper when it has been slightly damp.

Yesterday as I sat bathed in a lather of sweat I thought I'd dig out our our old dehumidifier for a bit and turn it on in the spare room where my stuff is. When it switched on it reckoned humidity was 67% (and that was after an overnight thunderstorm) and 8 hours later it read as 39%. A few years ago I'd have thought this was taking it all a bit too seriously. But if we have a few weeks of this weather every year then maybe it's the way to go.

So - do you consciously do anything to manage humidity?