Dehumidifers Provide Healthy Homes All Year Round

Depending on your location, weather extremes may be a regular occurrence. Your winters may be cold and damp, and your summers hot and humid. Both conditions result in a lot of moisture in the air. In your home, too much moisture in the air can degrade your furnishing, and before long you’ll see mold spores growing on walls, ceiling, in corners and also on soft furnishing like mattresses.

So what is humidity and why do you need to take action to keep your home a healthy living space?

Humidity Explained

According to Wikipedia’s definition of the term ‘humidity‘, it is the accumulation of water vapour in the air. Some of the common descriptive words associated with humidity include:

• Precipitation
• Condensation
• Dew
• Fog

Humans and animals suffer in high humidity as we try to regulate our body temperature via perspiration. The rise of moisture in the air can result in excessive sweating or bring on illnesses mostly to do with the lungs and breathing. Asthma is said to be associated with poor air quality. However, high humidity is said to reduce the infectiousness of influenza.

Reduce Humidity

To reduce humidity in a specific room or area, a dehumidifier or air conditioner is used. A dehumidifier can take a massive amount of water from the air within hours. How it works is, the dehumidifier inhales the moisture-filled air, subtracts moisture from it, and then blows cool air back in the atmosphere.

Ideal Air Moisture

Humidity levels between the range of 35% to 45% are fine and tolerable. However, in extreme weather conditions, it can exceed 50% which if it’s a regular occurrence can cause property damage and health problem. The good news is it’s not only visual cues that warn us of high moisture levels in the air. You can smell dampness. If a room smells musty or stuffy, that’s a sign of poor quality air.

Why A Dehumidifier?

There are many reasons to opt for a dehumidifier, particularly in the rooms that have high air moisture levels. Let’s look at energy efficiency.

Energy efficient

A dehumidifier can be more energy-efficient than say running the centrally located HVAC. The location of some rooms in your house makes it a challenge to keep the air dry.

Most properties will have some rooms that just don’t get enough sunlight for example, and these rooms may also lack light and fresh air, mainly if they are in the basement.

Running an HVAC in rooms, you don’t use much is uneconomical; hence a dehumidifier can take care of business without putting a big dent in your pocket! You will need to invest in a low energy product with a digital thermostat, so it can be regulated and operate automatically. Research online and compare the best dehumidifiers – and don’t go for the cheapest machine as it may cost more in electricity usage and then you’ll stop using it.

Reduces Pests

Summer brings with it insects and pests which you’ll notice fill the air when it’s a warm wet climate. The common pests that love humidity include:

• Cockroaches
• Centipedes
• Silverfish
• Termites
• Bedbugs

If you notice some creepy crawling creatures sharing your place, then a dehumidifier can deter insects from moving in. Notable locations to search for dampness include less frequented rooms, particularly at ground level and lower ground, i.e. the basement and cellar.

However, you may not think your bedrooms are a prime nesting place. No one wants bedbugs, yet they love humidity so if your bedrooms lack movement of fresh air and have a high water vapour count, then you need to consider the prospect that bedbugs may have moved in!

For all insects and pest when you locate nests don’t immediately reach for the insecticide. Remember how damaging the aerosols are on your health.

Get advice on how to remove the insects and then control the air temperature and humidity with a dehumidifier.