How to Combat Humidity with Help from Our St. Louis Heating and Air Experts
Moist, humid air feels like you’re wrapped in a hot towel. And it’s already hot enough outside during St. Louis summers without the help of humidity.
And inside your house is the very last place you want to feel humid and sticky!
To help dehumidify your home this summer so you’re comfortable indoors in O’Fallon, Chesterfield, and the rest of the St. Louis metro, follow these tips from Meyer Heating and Air, your residential air conditioning and indoor air quality experts.
Use the Exhaust Fans in Your Bathrooms While You Shower
Taking a hot shower feels so relaxing, but the steam puts a lot of humidity into the air that can actually damage your walls and other household surfaces. An exhaust fan that vents outdoors pulls the humidity from the air and sends it away.
Similarly, if you have an exhaust fan in your kitchen, make sure it’s running while you cook.
This is a simple solution for localized humidity in your home, but it also can contribute to the overall dehumidification of your house as a whole.
Try Natural Ways to Dehumidify Spaces
Long before electrical dehumidifiers, people used calcium chloride, baking soda, or rock salt to absorb moisture in their homes. Depending on the material you try, you’ll need to use certain containers to make them work for you. And these solutions are best used in smaller spaces, away from pets and children, such as your laundry room or small areas in your unfinished basement.
- Place flower pots of calcium chloride around your home. Powdered calcium chloride has hygroscopic properties, meaning it attracts water molecules.
- Pour baking soda into bowls, and cover with a thin cloth, such as cheesecloth or a threadbare kitchen towel. Place them in the humid areas of your home, replacing the baking soda when it begins to cake.
- Drill holes in a bucket, and set it inside a solid bucket. Then, fill the first bucket with rock salt. The solid bucket catches the moisture runoff as the salt absorbs humidity. Be sure to pour out any collected water every week and add fresh rock salt.
Keep in mind that these solutions will not dehumidify your entire house, so they are not summer-long solutions to household humidity.
Plug in a Portable Dehumidifier
For bathrooms without vent fans, a small dehumidifier running while you shower and for a few minutes afterward could be enough to reduce humidity in that area of your house. For whole-home dehumidifying, however, you may need multiple, strategically-placed portable dehumidifiers. Portable units are especially valuable in basements, which tend to be more humid, anyway.
Don’t forget to empty the water tank on your humidifier so it can keep working for you.
Consider a Whole-Home Dehumidifier
If your entire house has an indoor humidity problem, a whole-home system could be the answer. And because they come in ducted and non-ducted options, one will certainly work in your St. Louis home.
St. Louis heating and air technicians can help you select the equipment that works best in your home. For best results and a manageable energy bill, opt for a whole-home dehumidifier that is properly sized to your home, and that comes with an Energy Star rating.
Turn on Your Air Conditioner
Your central residential air conditioner helps reduce humidity in the air. Turning on your A/C can pull between five and 20 gallons of water from your home’s air each day, depending on how hot and humid it is outside. If running the air conditioner isn’t enough, you may need to supplement with some other solutions, however.
If your A/C isn’t running like it used to and dehumidifying your home like you’d expect, it may be time for some St. Louis air conditioner maintenance, or to upgrade to a newer, energy-efficient model from Ruud. Meyer Heating and Air is your local authorized Ruud dealer, and we have access to top-of-the-line central air equipment to keep you comfortable in your house this summer.
Schedule an Appointment with Our St. Louis Heating and Air Team
Whether you want to talk about your options for home dehumidification, want to purchase a new air conditioning evaporator and condenser, or if you just need some air conditioner service, you only need to know one name: Meyer.
At Meyer Heating and Air, our HVAC technicians strive for the best possible customer satisfaction as they share their expertise with homeowners in St. Louis. Next time you need help with your A/C, give Meyer Air a call. You’ll soon see why you can trust us with all your residential air conditioning needs.
