Whole House Dehumidifiers

There’s just no getting around San Antonio's humidity levels. And while you can try to evade the outdoor stickiness by heading indoors, your home is also battling humidity. The best way to combat your home’s humidity levels is to install a whole house dehumidifier. At AiRCO Mechanical, we know air conditioners can definitely help in this department, but air conditioners aren’t running 100 percent of the time. You need to take extra steps to keep the moisture throughout your home at appropriate levels for both your and your home’s health.

A Dehumidifier’s Duty

Living in a hot-and-humid locale automatically puts your home at risk for higher indoor humidity levels. In these types of climates, we tend to over-ventilate our homes, and that can cause problems. Your HVAC system inherently brings in the air from outdoors, and the humidity comes right along with it. That’s what a dehumidifier does––it draws the excess moisture out of your home’s air and gets rid of it via a drainage system, leaving your home with drier air and higher comfort.

Ideally, your home’s humidity level should be kept between 45 and 50 percent. This eliminates microbes and keeps your home’s contents, especially those made of wood, free from moisture damage. It’s actually a fine-tuned balancing act. Too high of humidity invites bacteria, mildew, microbes, and fungi to grow and live, causing health issues. Too low of humidity, resulting in lower moisture, causes dry skin and throats, as well as causing warped wood items like furniture and your home’s woodwork. Fighting this, whole house dehumidifiers work to lower humidity where air conditioners can’t, sensing exactly how much moisture to remove to provide the most comfort in your home.

Best Reasons to Have One

Some of the main reasons to install a whole house dehumidifier in your home are a healthy indoor air quality (IAQ), protection of your home’s contents, energy savings, and optimum home comfort.

Healthy indoor air quality. A whole house dehumidifier can control your home’s humidity within 1 percent of the recommended level. This can contribute to improved indoor air quality and better health for you and your family. With higher humidity levels, the microbes and their friends that tend to grow in your home can cause serious health issues and chronic illnesses. Eliminating the moisture eliminates the health risks.

Protection of your home’s contents. Health risks aside, the mold and microbes you’ll find with higher humidity levels can also damage your home’s contents. Mold is insidious and can get into crevices everywhere. Your furniture, appliances, electronics, walls/floors/ceilings, and HVAC system can all harbor mold. Depending on the materials, sometimes the mold can’t be removed and the damage is permanent, resulting in a necessary full replacement.

Energy savings. Your HVAC system can benefit from a whole house dehumidifier as well, which will lead to energy savings for you. By removing the excess moisture from your home’s air, your air conditioner won’t need to work as hard. This means less energy expended, hence lower energy costs. Also, by not needing to work as hard, your air conditioner’s lifespan can be extended, translating to saving money in replacement costs for awhile.

Optimum home comfort. Yet another reason to have a whole house dehumidifier installed in your home is simply optimum home comfort. Without the extra moisture, your home is more comfortable. Gone is that sticky-skin feeling whether you’re awake or sleeping, allowing your body to cool naturally without any impediments. Your sleeping patterns improve, and you feel better rested upon waking.

AiRCO Heating and Air Conditioning has been successfully installing whole house dehumidifiers in the area for over 30 years. Our professional technicians have seen the beneficial results in our customers’ homes and can tell you about them. Call us today at 210.442.8889 to discuss how a dehumidifier can help you.