How To Lower Humidity in Your Home: Explained

It’s not the heat. It’s the humidity. Remove unwanted humidity from inside your home and get comfortable again.

It’s hot. It’s humid. Excessive humidity makes everything feel even hotter in the summer. What about that air conditioner of yours? Is it running constantly, but not cooling things off inside your home? Do you feel uncomfortable, sticky or clammy? It’s not the heat, people. It’s the humidity in the air, and you need to take action. Remove unwanted humidity from inside your home and get comfortable again.

Common Signs of Excessive Humidity Inside your Home

If your air conditioner is running non-stop but you aren’t getting the results you want, it’s safe to bet that there is too much moisture in the air inside your home. Other factors that are telling you it’s time to remove unwanted humidity are:

• Moist and clammy air
• Foggy windows
• A damp, musty odor

Remove Unwanted Humidity to Achieve the Level of Quality Air and Comfort You Desire

The need for controlling humidity initiated the need for air conditioning. Hot, humid climates lead to moisture-related problems such as mold growth, poor health and discomfort.

Air conditioners today remove humidity in the air as they cool. The water that drains down the condensate drain tells you they do. Removing unwanted humidity is incidental to an air conditioner’s main job of controlling temperature. Here in the Chicago area where it’s hot and humid, the removal of unwanted humidity that occurs incidentally may not be enough to keep the air inside your home at a comfortable level. (A 50-60% relative humidity at 78 degrees F is recommended for your home). Most conventional systems are not able to do a good job of controlling both temperature and humidity alone. Either a dehumidifier installed directly onto your HVAC system or a stand-alone dehumidifier will need to be purchased to get and stay comfortable.

Purchase the Right-Sized Air Conditioning Unit to Remove Unwanted Humidity

Air conditioners cool homes by removing heat and moisture from the air. When humidity levels spike, your unit must work a lot harder to keep your home cool. However, if your unit is older, inefficient or has an improper cooling capacity, it won’t be able to handle the job. Regardless of the temperature setting you are using, your air conditioner won’t achieve the level of comfort you want for your home. The poor thing just won’t be able to do it!

Humidity affects air conditioning negatively because it cancels out the cooling effect. When the humidity is high, your home feels warmer than it actually is because the extra moisture isn’t being removed by your air conditioner. It just keeps running trying in vain to cool your home resulting in higher utility bills and adding extra wear and tear on itself.

Just because your air conditioner may be large and powerful doesn’t mean it will do a better or more effective job of cooling your home either. If your air conditioner’s cooling capacity is larger than what your home needs, it won’t be able to remove moisture from your home effectively. It will run for a short time, turn off when the desired air temperature is reached and your home’s humidity levels will remain high. It won’t be hot in your home, but it will feel hot because the humidity level is high. More powerful air conditioners don’t need to run as much, so they don’t get a chance to remove unwanted humidity from the air. This is why it’s uber important to buy an air conditioner with the right cooling capacity to suit your home.

Call (630) 444-0860 for the professionals at Blue Frost Heating & Cooling. As experts, we can determine the right-sized system for your home.

Add a Dehumidifier If You Must

The best way to contend with high humidity when trying to cool your home is to purchase a properly-sized air conditioning system with a built-in dehumidifier for your home right off the bat. However, if you purchased a unit without a dehumidifier a while ago, you can have one installed directly onto your HVAC system or purchase a stand-alone dehumidifier. Purchasing a stand-alone requires ongoing monitoring of humidity levels and running the dehumidifier only when needed. Dollar-for-dollar, the cost for an all-inclusive unit versus purchasing an HVAC unit and having a dehumidifier installed by a professional or purchasing a standalone later is about the same.

What You Can Do to Lessen the Need for Dehumidification

Unless your furnace/air handler has a variable speed blower, don’t set your thermostat to “Fan On.”  When the fan blows air constantly whether or not your cooling system is running, a lot of the humidity your HVAC system just removed from the air will be blown back into the house before it can get away via the condensate drain.

Use exhaust fans when producing moisture inside your home. Moisture-producing activities such as cooking, bathing, washing laundry, doing the dishes and such like raise the humidity level inside your home. Use an exhaust fan to take that moisture directly outdoors. Don’t dry clothes indoors. Dry them in your clothes dryer to take that moisture directly outdoors, too.

If it’s too humid outside, don’t open windows or use ventilative cooling.

And another thing. A properly tuned and maintained AC removes twice as much water as an improperly tuned and maintained AC does. If your unit hasn’t been maintained properly or is in desperate need of a tuneup, click here to schedule a visit from your Blue Frost Heating & Cooling professionals today.

Don’t Forget, Maintain Your Outdoor Equipment, Too

Heat and humidity can affect the outdoor unit or condenser also. Heavy, moist air can carry larger amounts of dirt, dust, and debris, to settle and stick onto the unit’s coils and fins. You know, like it does on the hardware, ledges, fan, and lighting in the bathroom. This blog post discusses the importance of keeping your AC unit clean and dirt-free.

When humidity levels inside your home during the summer are managed properly, your air conditioner will perform effectively and efficiently. With the humidity at 50-60%, you will feel cooler, more comfortable, and a whole lot happier about a lower utility bill. Say goodbye to foggy windows, damp and musty odors, sticky and clammy skin! Remove unwanted humidity from your home.

Call Your Air Conditioning Specialists in Batavia and St. Charles

Blue Frost Heating & Cooling technicians are certified and experienced air conditioning specialists. We install, maintain, and repair every make and model of air conditioning units. If you need to remove unwanted humidity from inside your home, let us measure the cooling capacity of your air conditioning system. We can check and make sure it is properly sized and able to maintain the level of comfort you desire in your home.

Take action to remove unwanted humidity from inside your home. Call Blue Frost Heating & Cooling at (630) 444-0860 today, and let us make your home comfortable to live in once again.

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Blue Frost Heating & Cooling

Professional and Certified

Cooling, Plumbing, Heating

Your leader in home comfort and customer service for 25 years

Conveniently Located Now in Two Locations:

416 E. Wilson Street, Batavia, IL, 60510

504 E. Main Street, St. Charles, IL, 60174

Call (630) 444-0860; for emergencies, call (630) 444-0860