When it’s hot outside, humidity only makes it worse. You can escape the muggy outdoors by coming into your nicely air-conditioned home. Unfortunately, an air conditioner doesn’t always do an adequate job of removing moisture from the air. This can be for more than one reason. Let’s take a look at home humidity and ways of balancing it.
The Problems Excess Moisture Can Create
High humidity just makes you feel uncomfortable. The perspiration on your skin doesn’t have a chance to evaporate, and you feel hot. Perhaps more important, high humidity is conducive to mold growth, which can seriously undermine your indoor-air quality and put those who already have respiratory issues at risk. Particularly vulnerable are those with COPD. Further, mold can damage your home.
Balancing Humidity
An air conditioner, especially one that’s well maintained and sized correctly, can do a sufficient job of keeping your home at a comfortable humidity level. But if an A/C isn’t maintained well, or it’s aged, it can’t keep up with the demand. And if it’s too big for your home, it will cycle on and off too frequently, failing to remove the excess moisture. If a home has serious moisture issues, even good air conditioning may not be enough. You might need a dehumidifier, as well as the A/C. To best determine that, it’s a good idea to get in touch with your expert cooling and heating contractor. He can evaluate your home and your A/C and recommend a remedy. If he recommends a dehumidifier, you can opt for a portable unit or a whole-house system. While a portable unit might be OK for a homeowner who has a moisture issue just in his basement or another isolated area, the whole-house system is usually the better option. A whole-house system can do a comprehensive job of ensuring balanced humidity everywhere in your home.
Smaller but Important Tasks
- Look around your kitchen and bathrooms, and seal any water leaks that you find.
- Regularly check your air conditioner’s drainage system, and make sure it’s unplugged and free of mold.
- Wipe up spills promptly.
- Run the exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathrooms.
If your Tampa home has been a little too muggy lately, contact the experienced professionals at Senica Air Conditioning, Inc..We serve homeowners throughout the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater area.
