There’s no doubt that Michigan can experience some very humid summer weather. Most of us choose to retreat indoors to try and get out of the heat. One of the best ways to help make your home more comfortable and reduce your energy bills is to install a whole-home dehumidification system. Below, we’ll discuss what this system is and why you need one for your home.
The Effects of High Humidity on Your Body
High humidity levels can have a significant impact on your overall well-being. When the temperature outside gets hot, your body will naturally sweat to cool itself down. For this process to work, the sweat your body produces must be evaporated into the air. During normal humidity conditions, this isn’t a problem.
However, when humidity levels are high, less of your sweat is getting absorbed into the air. This leaves your body feeling hot, stuffy, and generally uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this can have you turning down the temperature on your thermostat to try and compensate for the uncomfortableness that you feel. This leads to skyrocketing energy bills and more wear and tear on your cooling system.
The effects of high humidity don’t stop there either. Those who have respiratory illnesses like asthma or allergies may experience more frequent flare-ups when humidity levels are high. This is due to the increase in dust mites, mold, mildew, and other allergen irritants. In addition, when humidity levels are high, you’ll likely experience poor sleep quality because the clammy, sticky feeling of your body can make it uncomfortable to sleep.
The Effects of High Humidity on Your Home
High indoor humidity can also affect the integrity of your home. One of the biggest problems is mold and mildew growth, as these microbial growths speed up when temperatures and humidity levels are high. You may notice mold or mildew growing on your walls, ceilings, basements, and even around your windows. They may even let off a musty odor that will alert you to their presence.
When humidity levels are high, excess moisture in the air can affect your wood floors, furniture, trim, doors, and other building components. You may notice your drywall will start to soften or bubble up. Unfortunately, warm and humid climates are the perfect spaces for pest activity from unwanted intruders like ants, earwigs, cockroaches, and even termites. The high humidity is also known to corrode wiring, circuit boards, and other metal components of your electronics and appliances.
Top Signs You Have High Indoor Humidity
As a homeowner, it’s best to be mindful of checking for signs that you have high humidity in your home so that you can install a whole-home dehumidification system if necessary. The sticky, uncomfortable feeling of high humidity is pretty prominent for most homeowners. You may also notice condensation developing on your windows, a musty odor throughout your home, and warped wood or peeling paint. You may see mold or mildew spots growing on your walls or ceilings.
What Is a Whole-Home Dehumidifier?
A whole-home dehumidifier is an electronic device that removes excess humidity from the air in your home. Most homeowners are familiar with portable dehumidifiers that you just plug into a simple wall outlet. These require you to empty the water tank every so often when it gets full. The beauty of a whole-home dehumidification system is that it’s very low maintenance.
Whole-home dehumidifiers get installed in your return ducting to treat all the air as it travels throughout your ductwork. As it removes humidity from the air, the water will drain naturally into a drain in your home or directly to the outdoors. This eliminates the need to dump out water like you would with a portable dehumidifier.
When you get a new whole-home dehumidifier, you’ll need to upgrade your thermostat to one that displays the relative indoor humidity level. This will allow you to set your desired humidity, so your thermostat can tell your whole-home dehumidifier when to turn on and off depending on its particular readings.
What’s the Ideal Indoor Humidity Level?
While there are a lot of different claims out there on the perfect indoor humidity setting, most experts agree that setting your relative indoor humidity anywhere between 30% and 50% is ideal. Anything lower, and you’ll deal with irritation of your sinuses, itchy skin, and other unpleasant symptoms. Anything higher, and you’re creating the perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew growth alongside enhanced pest activity.
Benefits of Getting a Whole-Home Dehumidifier
Before you make any purchasing decision for your home, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each item. Below, we’ll discuss some of the most beneficial reasons to invest in a whole-home dehumidification system for your household.
Better Indoor Comfort
One of the biggest benefits of getting a whole-home dehumidification system is that it can make you more comfortable. If you let humidity levels get too high inside your home, you’ll feel hot and sticky. However, when you’re able to better control your indoor humidity, you can remain comfortable in your home without having to constantly adjust your thermostat. Unlike the drier air of winter, calling for a humidifier to add moisture to the air, during the summer you want the opposite effect. You can get rid of the sticky, hot, and uncomfortable feeling that comes along with high indoor humidity levels.
Lower Energy Bills
When you’re more comfortable in your home, you don’t have to worry about turning down your thermostat to remain comfortable. The higher you can set the temperature on your thermostat throughout the summer months, the less your air conditioning system will run. The less your system runs, the lower your energy bills will be.
Fewer Allergens
If you have asthma, allergies, or a respiratory condition, you’ll notice worsening symptoms when humidity levels are high. This is due to several different factors. The first is that high humidity encourages mold and mildew growth. Their spores will float around in the air and trigger your asthma or allergy symptoms.
Dust mites love moisture and will repopulate very quickly when humidity levels are high. This will lead to more dust mite residue on your beddings, carpets, curtains, and other upholstery throughout your home. Dust mite droppings are a big allergy trigger for most people. A whole-home dehumidifier can keep your indoor humidity in check to prevent these allergen outbursts.
Protects Your Wood
Moisture can have a significant impact on wood, with high humidity causing wood to expand. This unwanted swelling can lead to cracking, warping, and other permanent damage to any of your wood furniture or furnishings throughout your home. A whole-home dehumidifier is a great way to help preserve the integrity of all the wood components of your home. These include your floors, doors, furniture, and even your kitchen cabinets.
Minimize Pest Infestations
No one likes dealing with pest infestations at their home. Unfortunately, if you’re leaving your indoor humidity level too high, you could be attracting those pests in droves. A whole-home dehumidifier will allow you to keep a more comfortable indoor humidity level that’s less likely to attract unwanted visitors to your home.
Expert Dehumidifier Installation Service
Matheson Heating, Air & Plumbing offers expert dehumidifier installation services for the Commerce, MI area. We can also help with all your air filter, air purifier, and other indoor air quality service needs. Simply phone our office today to book your next service consultation.