Summer Heat & Humidity: How to Fight Mold Issues
Do you suffer from allergy and respiratory issues throughout the year? Are these issues worse during the summer months? Maybe you’ve simply noticed that unsightly spread of black or green fuzz in a couple of key spots in your home. The humid Florida climate is conducive to mold growth, especially during the summer’s hot weather. However, your HVAC system can help in your battle against those frustrating spores.
Your Cooling Equipment and Indoor Air Quality
You may not have realized that your air conditioner is your primary defense against high humidity levels in the home. As the system runs, the movement of refrigerant through the indoor evaporator coils creates a heat exchange process that removes moisture from the air. Just as a glass of iced tea sweats and causes moisture to condense on the outside of the container, your coils draw moisture that is circulating in your home’s airstream. Limit the moisture by running your cooling system, and you will limit the spread of mold.
Hindrances to Dehumidification
There are some potential problems that can occur with your air conditioning equipment to keep proper dehumidification from occurring. It’s important for your AC unit to operate long enough for sufficient moisture to be removed from your home environment. If your unit isn’t operating for at least 15 minutes at a time, then you may have problems with equipment function or sizing. Surprisingly, an oversized unit can result in poor dehumidification. Common perception is that bigger is better, but with your air conditioner, that’s not true.
Inadequate refrigerant levels can also create problems with dehumidification. Lack of sufficient refrigerant can cause the coils to freeze or lead to improper function of your system. Dirty coils can also play a role in poor dehumidification.
Diagnosing Problems with Equipment or Indoor Quality Levels
There are several options for checking the function of your equipment and the quality of your indoor air. If you know that spore spread is an issue, then you don’t need an expert’s opinion. However, a routine tune-up can provide a comprehensive check of issues with your system, allowing a certified technician to pinpoint problems like dirty coils, low refrigerant and inappropriate system sizing. Based on findings, your technician will provide you with options for improving your AC performance and indoor moisture levels.
Dehumidifiers
In some cases, your AC equipment may not be able to adequately handle the moisture levels. Our climate is humid for most of the year, and you may need a way to control indoor conditions when temperatures don’t call for the use of the air conditioner. Dehumidifiers are able to provide more targeted moisture management in such cases.
At Custom Air Heating & Cooling, we are able to make appropriate equipment recommendations for our Long Boat Key, FL customers. We are pleased to provide tune-up services to ensure that your AC unit is operating at its optimum. We can assist you in examining suitable moisture moderation systems based on your home’s needs. Give us a call to learn more.