How Can I Lower the Humidity in My Home? - Ernst Heating & Cooling - Metro East Illinois HVAC

How Can I Lower the Humidity in My Home?

Lower humidity at home

During a brutal Midwest summer, humidity is often the secret culprit to your family’s indoor misery. And with a summer full of rain and storms, many Metro East homeowners are looking for ways to lower humidity levels indoors. Ernst Heating & Cooling has a few tips for keeping your family more comfortable at home, including DIY ideas and professional projects.

Effects of humidity on your home

In addition to your family feeling uncomfortably warmer, humidity can also damage your home. Excess moisture encourages the growth of mold and mildew, damages electronics, and causes wood to warp in your floors, doors, and trim. Moisture may also attract insects or increase dust mites, which affects indoor air quality.

Whole-house dehumidifier

The specialists at Ernst can professionally install a dehumidifier to serve your entire home and reduce humidity. We install both Honeywell and Aprilaire dehumidifiers.

The Aprilaire model senses the level of humidity in your home automatically and operates quietly and with little maintenance. It can also work either on its own or along with your air conditioner.

Honeywell offers a variety of dehumidifiers to work in homes of all sizes. They also offer low-maintenance options, with automatic drainage and filter replacement just once a year. Plus, you’ll benefit from better efficiency from your air conditioner and fresh, filtered air at home.

Try fresh air or fans

Speaking of fresh air, sometimes it can help to open a few windows if the air in your home seems more humid than the air outside. This is usually effective during the late evening or early morning when temperatures are lower. Indoor fans can also help spread out the moisture in your home’s air and provide better ventilation in higher humidity areas, like the kitchen or bathroom.

Better manage water usage

As mentioned, high-traffic areas for hot water usage can become literal “hot spots” for humidity. In addition to using fans to ventilate these areas, you can also reduce humidity by taking shorter or cooler showers, doing laundry less frequently — larger loads, less often — or using cold water for washing when possible. Drying surfaces after use is another great way to reduce humidity, including the sink and counter after washing your hands and brushing your teeth.

Schedule A/C maintenance

If you’ve tried various methods to reduce home humidity and are still finding it to be an issue, try scheduling a precision A/C maintenance tune-up with Ernst. We’ll clean and inspect every part of your HVAC system to ensure it’s in proper working order and not leaking or otherwise causing moisture levels to rise.

When you need help controlling the humidity in your home, call the specialists at Ernst Heating & Cooling at 618.217.1836 or schedule a visit online. We are always prepared to provide your family with the top-quality cooling services you need!

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