Last week we discussed the best indoor humidity levels for your home during the cooling season, but what happens if you don’t do anything to control the moist summer air? As it turns out, high humidity in your house can have several effects on both your health and your home.
The effects of high humidity in your house
- Heightened allergy symptoms.
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- When humidity levels reach above 55 percent, your home becomes a breeding ground for allergens like mold, dust mites, fungi, and bacteria. Dust mites alone are the number one cause of indoor allergens, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, so allergy symptoms are extremely heightened in homes with high humidity.
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- Uncomfortable conditions. You already know how much more uncomfortable the summer heat is in St. Louis when humidity levels are high, and the same is true in your home. When the humidity is high indoors, it feels hotter than it is and can make your home feel sticky and stuffy.
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- Increase in energy consumption. Because people tend to feel hotter in their homes when the humidity is high, they often turn their air conditioner up to compensate. As a result, your unit uses up more energy to reach your desired comfort levels, and your energy bills go up as well.
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- Damage to your home. High humidity doesn’t just affect how you feel in your home; it also affects the condition of your home. Too much moisture in the air can warp wood floors, peeling paint and wallpaper, stain walls and ceilings and cause bad odors in your home. Often, this type of damage can lead to costly repairs.
How to deal with high humidity in your house
There are a couple of ways to deal with high humidity in your house. For one, make sure to use your vents in any of the areas of your home that create moisture, especially your bathrooms. Also, consider installing a whole-house humidifier if you don’t already have one. This is the best way to control the humidity in your home, and we’ll talk about how it works in a blog later this week!
If you have any questions about high humidity in your house, or if you’d like a whole-house dehumidifier installed in your home, contact [company_name], your St. Louis area heating and cooling company.
Photo credit: Lotus Carroll