Here’s all you need to know about maintaining your home’s optimal humidity level and how a dehumidifier can help when the seasons change.
Humidity control can have you feeling a bit like Goldilocks. Too much or too little humidity can be uncomfortable for you and unhealthy for your home. Here’s how to get humidity right-even when the weather gets hot.
So, What Is Humidity?
Humidity measures the amount of water vapor in the air. The higher the humidity, the wetter and stickier the air around you might feel. While some humidity is good and necessary for human function, too much or too little can cause problems.
Humidity in the air around us changes as the seasons change. Warm air can hold more moisture, making excess humidity more of an issue during the summer here in the Midwest.
What Is The Right Amount Of Humidity?**
Humidity is blamed for a lot of indoor air quality issues (and bad hair days). Humidity levels that are too high can create ideal conditions for mold, mildew, pests, and allergens to negatively impact your home’s health. Meanwhile, if your air is too dry you might experience chapped lips, dry skin, and sinus problems. Extremely dry air can wreak havoc on your furniture and even the building materials in your home.
The right amount of indoor humidity is around 40%-60%. You can tell if your home has too much or too little moisture in the air simply by taking note of a few environmental signs:
- Sleep Quality: too much or too little moisture can impact how well you’re sleeping. Dry air can irritate your nose and throat while too much humidity can cause you to overheat and keep you awake.
- Dust Bunnies and Odor: If dust seems to accumulate too quickly and cake surfaces of your home, it might be moisture to blame, not your cleaning habits. Excess moisture is oftentimes responsible for musty odors in your home.
- Difficulty Breathing: Too much or too little moisture can aggravate allergy and asthma symptoms. If you or a family member have respiratory conditions, monitoring humidity can help reduce their suffering.
- Condensation: You may notice condensation on your windows or other surfaces caused by excess moisture in the air.
You can see why it’s important to monitor and maintain your home’s humidity level. So, how can you keep your humidity within the optimal range?
How Can I Control Humidity At Home?
Did you know daily activities like showering, cleaning or cooking can add up to 25 pints of moisture to your indoor air? Controlling indoor air humidity can become a sticky situation, particularly during warmer months, but a few minor changes can get the problem under control:
- Let Fresh Air In: Sometimes, your house may feel more humid than the air outside. Open the windows and help circulate fresh air to reduce the amount of moisture inside.
- Fan It Out: Turn on ceiling fans or standing fans to help circulate moist, indoor air. Use your bathroom fans to help remove moisture after showering.
- Turn Up Your AC: Air conditioners pull moisture out of the air as they cool. Try turning your AC down a degree or two to help alleviate the excess moisture.
- Check Your Air Filters: If your filters are dirty then your system isn’t functioning optimally. Be sure you change your filters every 90 days to extend the life of your HVAC system and keep your indoor air healthy and comfortable.
- Get Smart: Consider upgrading to a smart thermostat, which can give you an accurate measurement of your home’s humidity levels.
- Get A Dehumidifier: In some instances, a portable dehumidifier can help alleviate excess moisture from certain areas of your home (like your basement). However, a whole-home dehumidifier is a great option for combating humid conditions and preventing adverse effects on your health and home.
Getting Humidity Right
Getting the moisture levels in your home right can be a bit of a balancing act-especially when seasons change frequently as they do in the Midwest. The Comfort Pros at Legacy recommend whole-home dehumidifiers from Aprilaire to combat moist conditions.
A whole-home dehumidifier can:
- Protect & Defend: Dehumidifiers prevent the unhealthy and dangerous conditions too much moisture can cause inside your home.
- Inhibit Unhealthy Conditions: Prevent mold and mildew growth, stop allergens from harming your health, and make pests feel less welcome.Increase Comfort: Stop that musty, damp, clammy feeling that moist air can cause.
Aprilaire dehumidifiers are both affordable and efficient, which is why we highly recommend them to our customers. They’re built in the USA, come backed with a 5-year warranty, are corrosion-resistant, and are Energy-Star rated Most Efficient in 2022 making them a smart investment.
Call The Comfort Pros
Is moisture causing issues in your home? Let our techs guide you through getting your comfort under control. If other air quality issues have got you concerned, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about your home’s IAQ here or here.
You can schedule an appointment with one of our trusted technicians online today.
