When the weather is cold outside, many people cannot wait for the warmer weather to arrive. This is when our air conditioning systems are needed to deal with the hotter summer heat, and this is often accompanied by high humidity. An HVAC system isn’t simply a heating or cooling unit; it’s actually a dehumidifier as well. As the heat is removed from the home, a certain level of humidity is removed along with it. In this article, we will take a closer look at indoor humidity levels, explore why high humidity is bad for your home and how you can deal with this problem.
What is the Ideal Indoor Humidity Level?
When it comes to indoor humidity, there is quite a broad range of comfort for people. If you have an indoor humidity of 30-60%, this is considered to be comfortable, but different people react to humidity in differing ways. So, your exact level of comfortable humidity may be slightly different from others, and you may need to make compromises. In some parts of the country, the indoor humidity at the height of summer can hit 90º plus in the morning.
Why is High Humidity Bad for Our Homes?
The discomfort experienced when the humidity is too high is the primary concern for most people. This is understandable, but there are other more far reaching consequences for your home if the indoor humidity is too high. As the humidity level rises, the air conditioning system has a harder time trying to remove the excess moisture from the air. The AC system can become overworked; this can lead to failures, repairs, and even a reduced lifespan.
Allergy sufferers will also have a harder time, pollen, and other airborne contaminants can cling to a droplet of moisture in the indoor air. This can expose people to these contaminants in greater amounts leading to allergic reactions and breathing difficulties for people with pre-existing respiratory issues. High humidity also creates the ideal breeding ground for mold, and inhaling mold spores can damage your health. If you want to get the indoor humidity under control, it’s important to monitor the levels with a humidistat and take appropriate action.
7 Ways to Reduce Indoor Humidity
The best method to reduce the indoor humidity in your home is to install a whole house dehumidifying system. This can supplement the dehumidifying properties of your air conditioning system and prevent the cooling equipment from being overworked. But, if you don’t have the budget for a whole house dehumidifier, here are seven other ways to reduce the indoor humidity in your home.
- Supplement with Fans
Once they install an air conditioning system, many people place their standing fans in the attic or basement and turn their ceiling fans off for good. This is a mistake; a fan can be very helpful when the weather is humid because it produces some air movement indoors. When the air is circulating more, it can make the rooms feel a little cooler, and a fan is cheaper to run when compared to turning down the AC system a few more degrees.
- Reduce Cooking Steam
If the home feels humid, the last thing that you need is to introduce hot heated steam into those spaces. When you use the stovetop for cooking, make sure the pans all have lids place firmly on top. Turn on the extractor fan if you have one and if you don’t crack open a window to allow the steam to leave.
- Avoid Using the Dryer
If the weather is hot during the day, it’s a great time to dry your clothes outside on a washing line. Drying your clothes indoors in the dryer will introduce more heat and moisture into your home.
- Bathroom Fans
If you don’t have bathroom fans, it’s a great idea to install them in your home. This is the best way to get the steam produced by showering and bathing out of your home. Of course, you can always open a bathroom window, but an appropriately sized fan will do a better job at making your home drier.
- Short Colder Showers
During the rest of the year, many of us enjoy a long hot shower to unwind after a hard day at work. But, during a humid summer, this is not necessary, and we may find that we would prefer to cool down instead. When the humidity is high, it’s a good idea to take shorter and cooler showers more frequently.
- House Plants
During the hotter summer months, many people have a tendency to over water their house plants. This is a mistake; these plants can release a great deal of moisture naturally over the course of a day. This moisture is added to the indoor air to increase the humidity even further, and if you have a lot of plants, this could be significant. It may be a better idea to move the plants outside for a couple of months in a suitable location.
- Keep Drains Clear
It’s essential to keep your gutters and downspouts clear during the high humidity months. They need to be draining water away from the house as much as possible to keep the indoor spaces dry.
All of these tips will help you to keep your home drier and less prone to allergies during the hottest summer months. Even if you have a whole house dehumidifier in your home, adopting one or more of these tips into your routine will help.
A Whole House Dehumifier
Installing a whole house dehumidifer in your home will have a huge impact on the levels of indoor humidity. This appliance is designed to extract the moisture in your home to reduce discomfort, mold, and mildew. This will improve the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), which is great news for any allergy sufferers in the home. If you want to learn more about a whole house dehumidifer system for your home, contact your local HVAC specialist for expert help and advice.