Allergies are difficult enough to deal with, but it’s not the only thing threatening your health this spring. Not only do you need to worry about the pollen outdoors, but also the air inside your home. Many factors can affect your home’s indoor air quality, from the use of chemical cleaners to pet dander, but humidity can be one of the most dangerous threats to your health here in Chesapeake, Virginia. Unchecked humidity perpetuates mold growth in your home, but fortunately, it’s not unstoppable.
Humidity and Indoor Air Quality
Spring isn’t the only time that humidity is an issue for indoor air quality. During the winter, when humidity drops, the dry air can become a perfect breeding ground for viruses like the flu. During the late spring and early summer, warmer temperatures also bring higher humidity. And if that humidity is not kept at a balanced level, mold and mildew will grow in the damp and dark corners of your home.
Unfortunately, once mold has staked its claim, it doesn’t often stay in one place. Spores can spread throughout your home, where they can start new colonies and become part of the air you breathe. Regularly breathing in mold spores can lead to everything from regular allergy symptoms to dangerous illness.
How to Limit Humidity
As we mentioned before, the key to raising indoor air quality isn’t to eliminate moisture in your air altogether, but simply to control it. You can start by properly ventilating the wetter areas of your home, such as the bathroom. Fresh airflow can keep moisture from settling. A whole-home dehumidifier, which you can have integrated into your HVAC system, will draw moisture out of the air as air passes through the system. The dehumidifier will ensure that the humidity in your home stays at a balanced level.
You may not be able to do much about the allergens in the air outdoors, but you can begin to control the quality of your home’s air by controlling humidity. To get started maintaining humidity with a whole-home dehumidifier, call Weather Makers today at 757-263-4869.