A Whole-House Dehumidification System Helps Manage Humidity

Achieving the optimal humidity level in your home can be a bit of a balancing act. Low humidity and high humidity each presents its own set of problems, but high humidity tends to be more of an issue during the warmer parts of the year. A whole-house dehumidification system can help keep the humidity level in your home at just the right level, especially during the summer months.

What's the Right Humidity Level?

Different people have their own preferences, and you might be more comfortable at a slightly different humidity level than someone else, but most experts agree that the ideal relative humidity is somewhere between 30 and 50 percent.

What Happens If My Humidity Is Too High?

High humidity is uncomfortable, especially during warm weather. It creates a heavy, sticky atmosphere in your home that can make it difficult to sleep or even relax. In addition, high humidity encourages mold growth. Mold and mildew thrive in a warm, moist environment, and areas like attics, bathrooms and cupboards can be mold hot spots without humidity control. A number of pests also enjoy high humidity, including millipedes and dust mites.

How Do Dehumidifiers Help?

Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air, lowering humidity and helping you feel cooler. This not only discourages mold and makes your home more comfortable, but also allows you to set your thermostat a few degrees higher in summer, saving you money without sacrificing comfort.

What Are My Options?

When you choose a dehumidifier for your house, you essentially have two options: a whole-house dehumidification system, or one or more portable humidifiers. Whole-house systems offer a number of benefits.

Portable humidifiers are relatively inexpensive, but the major drawback is their limited range. Each one can only effectively dehumidify a single room, so it would take several to control humidity throughout your house. A whole-house dehumidifier operates out of sight, and works with your HVAC to deliver conditioned, dehumidified air to your entire home. Plus maintenance of a whole-house system is much simpler.

To learn more about the benefits of a whole-house dehumidification system, contact Comfort Services. We've been serving the South Carolina Midlands since 1976.