Is the Humidity in Your Home Too High? Check Your Ducts

As they say: it's not the heat, it's the humidity. There are few things as uncomfortable as being hot and humid. If you find yourself sweating whenever the temperature rises, it could be an issue with your home.

If the air in your home feels moist, your windows have fogged, and condensation quickly builds on surfaces, it's likely that your home is humid. This isn't just uncomfortable: it's potentially dangerous. Over time, a humid home will develop issues such as mold and mildew. Some types of mold can be toxic. High levels of humidity can also attract pests and can lead to the rotting of your home's structure.

Surprisingly, having a newer home with good insulation can actually lead to further humidity issues. Humidity occurs when moisture gets into your house but cannot escape. If you've sealed your doors and windows, then it's possible that humidity will build significantly.

A few things that can lead to high humidity include:

●        Having a leak in your home. If there's a leak somewhere in your walls, floor, or ceiling, it will be introducing a slow stream of water that evaporates. But the water that evaporates can't actually get anywhere, so it remains.

●        Water through your foundation. If it's been particularly wet outside, and there isn't proper drainage on your property, the water may rise from your foundation and into the structure of your home.

●        Showering, cooking, and washing clothes. Anything that involves water, such as using your dishwasher, will add humidity into your home.

Usually an HVAC system removes humidity from your property, but sometimes the system may not be working correctly. Frequently, that's because of your ducts.

Your HVAC system is actually designed to remove moisture from the air. However, if air isn't circulating in the HVAC system properly, it won't be able to do its job. Over time, duct systems can become clogged with dust and other debris, which means that the air is going to sit inside the system rather than get pumped out.

If you've noticed your air has suddenly become more humid, this may be one of the first signs your ducts need to be cleaned. Your duct system extends through your entire house and impacts the whole HVAC system.

You don't need to live with an uncomfortable, humid home. A duct cleaning is a good first step towards removing humidity: from there, you can consider the purchase of a humidifier, or an air filter. For more information, contact the experts at the Dust Doctors.