Control Moisture in Your Home During Arkansas' Humid Summers

High humidity in your home can lead to unwanted consequences including mildew, mold and fungal growth. This is especially the case during our humid Arkansas summers. These growths can trigger or exacerbate allergies, respiratory ailments and other health issues, and can lead to both superficial and structural damage to your home. While it’s not practical to eliminate moisture or moisture-causing activities in your home, you do have ways to reduce indoor humidity.

The first option for removing humidity is the use of a dehumidifier. These units do a great job of removing excess water from the air, either in a room or small area, or throughout the house. Dehumidifiers use a condensing coil to chill the air and then either collects the water in a plastic bucket for portable or room dehumidifiers, or in a whole-house dehumidifier, drains it directly into a sump well or floor drain via an attached drain line.

Another option for lowering the humidity in your home is to install an ERV (energy recovery ventilator). These systems actively exchange fresh outside air for stale indoor air, using separate but connected airflow channels. During the exchange of air, heat and moisture is removed from one stream and added to the other. In the summer, this means that heat and moisture are extracted from inflowing fresh air before being delivered in the home.

A third option for removing moisture from the home is the use of exhaust fans. Newer buildings are often required to have exhaust fans in the bathrooms and above the stove to prevent moisture build-up in the home. In an older home, adding exhaust fans that remove moist air from these areas can immediately reduce humidity.

By taking these and other steps to control moisture, you can make your home feel a little more comfortable. For more information about this and other home-comfort issues, please contact us at Paschal Heat, Air & Geothermal. We have been serving homeowners in northwest Arkansas since 1968.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Northwest Arkansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about controlling moisture and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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