How Can I Control the Humidity in My Home?
When it comes to the climate in Houston, Texas, one word often comes to mind: humid. The sweltering summers and mild winters of this southern city create an environment where humidity is a constant companion for much of the year. While Houston’s climate may be great for lush greenery and thriving ecosystems, it can also pose challenges when it comes to maintaining comfort and indoor air quality in your home. Fortunately, understanding the role of your HVAC system and other factors influencing humidity levels can help you regain control over your indoor environment. The Houston Humidity Dilemma Houston’s subtropical climate brings hot and humid conditions to the region. With average relative humidity levels ranging from 70% to 90% during the summer months, it’s no wonder Houstonians often feel like they’re living in a steam bath. The high humidity can lead to a host of issues, including discomfort, mold growth, and decreased indoor air quality. Fortunately, your HVAC system plays a crucial role in addressing these challenges. The Role of HVAC in Humidity Control Your home’s HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system is not just about temperature control; it also plays a significant role in managing humidity levels indoors. Here’s how it works: Dehumidification: In hot and humid climates like Houston, modern HVAC systems are designed with dehumidification capabilities. The cooling process naturally reduces humidity because cold air holds less moisture. When warm, moist air from the outdoors enters your HVAC system, it is cooled down, causing the moisture to condense into water droplets that are then drained away. This process not only cools the air but also reduces indoor humidity. Humidification: Conversely, during the winter months when humidity levels drop, HVAC systems can add moisture to the indoor air to maintain a comfortable and healthy […]
Humidity Control in Your Home
Excessive humidity in your home can lead to a wide range of issues for your space. Maintaining your heating and cooling system can help to remove moisture from the air indoors which can help you to keep your space comfortable and safe from moisture damage. If you are looking for solutions to control moisture in your home, reach out to us today. Why Is My Home So Humid? The climate affects the humidity level in your home. Climate can contribute to high humidity in a house. If it’s exceptionally humid outside, chances are it’s going to be muggy inside a home. The changing seasons and temperature can be significant factors for rising indoor humidity levels and the main culprit for an uncomfortable environment. Everyday activities like cooking, washing, and showering can contribute to humidity levels. Humidity levels can be affected by simple activities you do every day. These tasks can naturally add more moisture to the air. Cooking and running the dishwasher can add more water vapor to the air in the kitchen. Long, hot showers add a lot of moisture to the bathroom. Keeping areas ventilated by opening a window or installing an exhaust fan can lower humidity levels. A professional can direct certain appliances, such as clothes dryers and stoves, to vent outside of the home. Leaks coming through cracks in the plumbing system may be the culprit. An interior plumbing leak from a bathroom or kitchen sink can cause increased moisture in the air. It’s important to check pipes often for cracks and corrosion; finding a leak in the early stages could help prevent water damage, musty smells, and potential mold growth. While some leaks can be easy to spot, others are not. Look for wall discoloration, bubbling paint or wallpaper, a dripping sound, or a musty […]
How Can I Reduce Humidity in My Home?
Are you experiencing trapped moisture in your home after showering or running warm water? This can not only be uncomfortable for home and business owners, it also can lead to severe damage for your space. You may notice peeling paint, wet spots on your ceiling, warped wood, and more. These are warning signs that you have too much moisture trapped inside, which when left untreated, can cause mold and mildew to develop. United States Environmental Protection Agency shares these ways to control moisture in your home: Fix leaks and seepage. If water is entering the house from the outside, your options range from simple landscaping to extensive excavation and waterproofing. (The ground should slope away from the house.) Water in the basement can result from the lack of gutters or a water flow toward the house. Water leaks in pipes or around tubs and sinks can provide a place for biological pollutants to grow. Put a plastic cover over dirt in crawlspaces to prevent moisture from coming in from the ground. Be sure crawlspaces are well-ventilated. Use exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens to remove moisture to the outside (not into the attic). Vent your clothes dryer to the outside. Turn off certain appliances (such as humidifiers or kerosene heaters) if you notice moisture on windows and other surfaces. Use dehumidifiers and air conditioners, especially in hot, humid climates, to reduce moisture in the air, but be sure that the appliances themselves don’t become sources of biological pollutants. Raise the temperature of cold surfaces where moisture condenses. Use insulation or storm windows. (A storm window installed on the inside works better than one installed on the outside.) Open doors between rooms (especially doors to closets which may be colder than the rooms) to increase circulation. Circulation carries heat to the […]
Why Is My House Humid?
For homeowners, living with excessive humidity is not comfortable or healthy. The higher the levels of humidity rise in your home the higher the risks become to your belongings and your health, making it important to address the humidity levels in your home as soon as you recognize that there is an issue. Higher humidity and moisture levels pose threat to your property, including the structure, surfaces, and condition. The excessive moisture that finds its way into your home is capable of damaging wood, paint, insulation, and siding. Additionally, warm and moist conditions lead to more allergens and pollutants such as dust mites, mold, and mildew. All of those things can lead to health problems that affect your lungs, even more so if you suffer from allergies, asthma, or have an existing respiratory problem. We rely on our air conditioning systems to help us monitor the amount of moisture coming into our homes and properly filtering the water vapor out, in order to leave us with a comfortable and safe climate indoors. Listed below are three of the main reasons you may be experiencing high levels of humidity in your home: The Climate: It is no secret that Houston has high humidity levels, which factors into the levels of humidity that make it into your home. The higher the humidity outside of your home is, the more your air conditioning system will have to work in order to filter the moisture out in your air. If you have an older air conditioning unit, or one that has not been serviced at proper intervals, you may develop uncomfortably high levels of humidity in your space. Even when you have properly sealed windows and doors, the humid outside air will still find its way into your home, carrying […]
Do I Need A Dehumidifier In Houston
Houston has an extremely hot and humid climate. When humidity is trapped indoors it can lead to several issues for your health as well as issues for your home or business. Mildew and mold thrive in warm, humid, sticky environments and can be toxic to your health. Even if you do not have visible mold growing in your home, that does not mean it is not growing within your vents and behind your walls. If mold is not addressed and treated it will only continue to spread becoming a very expensive and time consuming issue to remedy. Dehumidifier For Allergies In addition to mold and mildew, humidity also provides an ideal environment for dust mites to breed and spread in your home or business. Dust mites lead to allergies and added complications to those suffering from asthma. Beyond these things, bacteria in general flourishes in warm moist climates. People who live or work in places with mold, dust mites and bacteria tend to get sick more frequently and experience more health complications. Those with asthma have been known to experience more frequent and severe attacks in high humidity. Indoor Humidity in Houston As if the negative issues associated with high humidity trapped indoors for your health weren’t enough reason to explore getting a dehumidifier, high humidity can also be extremely damaging to the structure of your home or business and the possessions inside. Mold and mildew are terrible for your health but can be just as severely damaging to your home. In high humidity, wood furniture and floors bend and warp, paint peels, photographs and paintings can be destroyed from the moisture and mold can get trapped within the walls- often requiring a costly full replacement of the affected materials. In extreme cases humidity can seep all the way into […]
