Lowering Home Humidity Levels

If you live in Florida, then there’s no doubt you and your family have experienced high humidity. Indoor humidity is made worse by the outdoor relative humidity, as it’s known to reach 90 percent or higher. The good news is that there are things you can do and steps you can take to lower and stabilize indoor humidity levels in just about every area of your home. Changes need to be made, but you should avoid making drastic changes until you have a better idea of humidity and the ideal level for home comfort.

Keep your humidity in check! Here’s what you need to know about humidity and lowering home humidity levels in Tampa, FL.

Facts about high humidity

Having high humidity inside your home will undoubtedly create some discomfort, as it messes with indoor air quality. High humidity can also results in damage and higher-than-normal heating and cooling bills:

• High humidity is uncomfortable: Your body sweats to cool your body, which can’t happen until the sweat begins to evaporate off your skin. Spraying yourself with mists of water and waiting to air dry helps you cool off. However, when the air is too humid, it’s already saturated with water and won’t be able to hold much more. This is why humid air can’t evaporate the water from your skin quickly. A hot, muggy feeling comes over you, making you feel a lot warmer than if the air had a lower relative humidity.
• It degrades air quality: High indoor humidity can cause some cool surfaces to accumulate condensation, like windows and glass doors. Condensation feeds mold growth, which creates mold spores and causes allergy symptoms.
• Leads to damage: Excess moisture can cause damage to drywall, wood, paint, musical instruments and other metal surfaces. Affected items may rot, warp or grow mold. Replacing damaged possessions can be costly.
• Ideal humidity level: The ideal indoor humidity level should be between 40 and 60 percent in the summer and less than 50 percent in the winter. Measuring your indoor humidity is easy with a hydrometer (available at your local home improvement store).

How to lower the humidity in your home

The only way to maintain a comfortable home interior is to keep the humidity in check. Here are some tips to help you do just that:

• Increase air movement: Do this by running indoor ceiling fans. The air will circulate and dry up standing moisture while keeping you cool and comfortable.
• Use exhaust fans: Bathroom and kitchen activities create a lot of humidity. Always turn on the exhaust fans when using the shower or cooking.
• Windows: Open windows when outdoor humidity levels are low. The outdoor air blowing in can help even out the humidity level. On the other hand, close windows when humidity is higher than 30 to 40 percent.
• Get a dehumidifier: Using a whole-house dehumidifier to lower humidity works better than using the AC. Just be sure you’re using the machine correctly.

Lowering home humidity levels in Tampa, FL is the key to indoor comfort. Call Kenny’s Air Conditioning & Heating Services, Inc. if you suspect your HVAC system is the culprit!

Categorised in: Humidity