Your Health Relies on Balanced Humidity in Your Southeast Michigan Home

Humidity.

When it’s too high or too low, it’s like a gut punch to your health. At the same time, humidity is as much a necessity for your survival as oxygen.

The key to healthy humidity—the right amount of moisture in the air—is balance. Knowing how to balance humidity levels and keep them balanced in your Farmington Hills, MI, home is one of our specialties at Harriman Heating & Air Conditioning. 

We help homeowners in Oakland and Western Wayne counties maintain indoor air quality [IAQ] by keeping humidity at healthy levels.

On a muggy summer day in Farmington Hills or Livonia, all it takes are a few good maintenance habits, a clean and efficient cooling system, and occasionally the help of a good dehumidifier to keep indoor humidity levels from soaring.

What Is a Good Indoor Humidity Level?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends an indoor humidity range between 30 and 50 percent.

If it is consistently lower in the winter, the air becomes drier, more hospitable to airborne viruses, and tougher on your sinuses and respiratory system.

If it is consistently higher than 50 percent, especially during the summer when outdoor humidity trends higher, the excess moisture rolls out the red carpet for mold growth and dust mites. Both are allergens that can irritate the sinuses and worsen breathing problems.

As a Metro Detroit homeowner, you have suffered through several rounds of high heat and humidity this summer. Let’s take a closer look at how high indoor humidity affects your health and what you can do about it.

Can I Live Without Humidity?

You can’t live without some moisture in the air. It supports and protects your skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. It prevents your cells from dehydrating and adds enough weight to some airborne viruses that they sink to the floor.

In fact, you expel moisture every time you exhale and sweat. Plants and even food give off moisture. So, even if you were to construct a protective bubble and move in, moisture in the air would feel right at home in there with you.

Here’s How High Humidity Affects Your Health

Besides more dust mites and mold growth, high indoor humidity hampers your ability to sweat. Your body works harder to cool down as your core temperature and heart rate increase. Unable to sweat out the trapped heat in your body, you risk heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Too much moisture in the air can mess with your sleep by making you restless and uncomfortable. It can sap your energy, leaving you fatigued the next day.

Henry Ford Health reports that extreme humidity can strain the heart, especially for someone with hypertension and heart disease. It can also make breathing more difficult for people with asthma.

The good news is that at Harriman Heating & Air Conditioning, we can reduce the high humidity in your Farmington Hills home with a few simple solutions, starting with annual tune-ups.

Maintain Your AC for Better Moisture Control

Your air conditioner cools your home and controls humidity by removing moisture from the air. It works best when you maintain it.

At Harriman Heating & Air Conditioning, we encourage homeowners to schedule an annual AC tune-up to help boost equipment efficiency and performance, including dehumidification.

During a tune-up, we inspect indoor and outdoor equipment for any budding issues. Catching problems early can prevent an expensive breakdown later this summer.

We also lubricate moving parts, check the refrigerant level, and clean components. Your AC can dehumidify your home better when it is clean and tuned up.

Here are a few ways you can help your AC dehumidify your home:

Air Filter: Keep it clean! A dirty filter restricts airflow to your AC system, making it struggle to both cool and dehumidify.

If your system uses a standard, one-inch filter, be sure to inspect it for dirt every month. Media filters, which are thicker than standard filters, often last six to 12 months before they are replaced.

Auto Fan: You can choose between auto and on for your AC fan. Choose auto to keep indoor humidity from climbing. With the fan on auto, it only runs when your AC is cooling. When the cooling stops, water that has collected on the indoor evaporator coil can drain into the condensate drain.

However, with the fan set to on, it continues to blow that moisture throughout your home, increasing the humidity.

Use a Dehumidifier for Additional Moisture Control

Installed in your ductwork, a whole-house dehumidifier reduces the humidity level evenly throughout your Farmington Hills home. Our Harriman Heating & Air Conditioning team typically can install a whole-house dehumidifier within a day.

An in-duct dehumidifier reduces the workload on your air conditioner and helps extend its lifespan.

A portable dehumidifier can be helpful if you have just one room, such as a basement, with high humidity.

You can help reduce the amount of moisture in the air your dehumidifier handles by following these habits:

Ventilate: Use your kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans to move steam from cooking and showering to the outdoors.

Windows: Keep windows and patio doors closed when the outdoor humidity is high.

Indoor Plants: Soil evaporation adds moisture to indoor air. Water plants only as needed.

Take Control of Your Indoor Humidity

Heat and humidity are part of life in Southeast Michigan during the summer, and both can affect your health. Turn your Farmington Hills, MI, home into a refuge from the sticky outdoor air by managing indoor air quality. Our Harriman Heating & Air Conditioning team has solutions to tame both the heat and the humidity. Call us at 734-271-6200 or request service online.