Why are my interior doors suddenly sticking when it rains?

Wood doors act like sponges, and at 70% humidity, they are absorbing moisture from the air and expanding across the grain. You need to keep those doors **open** while the dehumidifier is running. If you close them, you're creating isolated pockets of high-pressure moisture, and the machine can't pull the water out of the wood fibers effectively if the air isn't circulating around all sides of the door leaf. I usally aim for a target of 45-50% humidity. Once you get it down to that range, you’ll notice the doors start to shrink back, though it won't happen overnight. It usually takes a few days of consistent dry air for the core of a solid or semi-solid door to release that trapped moisture. If you try to sand or plane the doors now while they’re swollen, you’re going to end up with massive, ugly gaps once winter hits and the air dries out naturally.

Placement is also a big deal. Don't shove the unit into a corner or right against a wall; it needs a couple of feet of clearance for the intake and exhaust to move air properly. Since your tank is filling up every six hours, you’re dealing with a massive moisture load. If the unit has a hose attachment, I’d highly recommend bypass-draining it into a floor drain or a shower so it can run 24/7 without shutting off when the tank is full. And definatly keep the windows shut. Running a dehumidifier with a window open is basically trying to dry out the entire neighborhood. If you have central air, make sure the fan is set to 'Auto' rather than 'On' so you aren't accidentally pulling in humid outdoor air during the cycles when the compressor isn't running.

Back in the day, we’d just rub an old candle stub on the strike side to get trough the muggy months. If those doors are sticking that bad, I'd bet my last nickel the installer never sealed the top and bottom rails. Most folks skip those beacuse you can't see 'em, but raw wood grain on the ends drinks up water like a thirsty mule. Once things dry out and they're closing right again, take 'em off the hinges and paint those ends. If you don't, you'll be fighting this every summer. Also, check your hinge screws—sometimes they just sag under that extra water weight.

Spot on about keeping the doors open. If you leave them cracked even halfway, you're only drying one side of the wood, which can actually cause the door to warp or 'cup' because the two faces are drying at different speeds. I've seen plenty of doors end up permanently bowed because people didn't let the air hit both sides evenly while bringing the humidity down. Make sure you've got a bit of a cross-breeze going if you can; it really speeds up the process for the core to stabilize.