Here’s How to Reduce Humidity in Your Florida Home This Summer

Besides making a hot summer day feel even worse, high humidity in your Florida home can lead to mold growth, water damage and insect infestations. There are many things you can do around your home to reduce humidity and create a comfortable and healthy environment. Following are some ways to get started. 

Maintain Your HVAC System

Your main defense against high humidity is your HVAC system. Here are a few HVAC maintenance tips that can help reduce humidity.

• Have your system serviced at least once a year. Regular maintenance helps the system to efficiently maintain your preferred temperature and dehumidify your home.
• Use the “Auto” setting for the system’s fan instead of the “On” setting. Between cooling cycles, this prevents moisture left on the indoor coil from evaporating back into the air due to the constant airflow of the fan.
• Periodically clean the condensate drip pan and the drain to make sure your system can effectively dehumidify the air.
• Have your air ducts inspected and seal any leaks to avoid drawing excess moisture into your home.
• Install a whole-home ventilation system, if you don’t currently have one. Use it to bring fresh air into your home, especially during cooler parts of the day.
• If moisture problems continue, consider adding a whole-home dehumidifier to your HVAC system.

Other Methods to Decrease Humidity

• Install exhaust fans in the bathrooms, kitchen and the laundry room, and use them when cooking, washing dishes, bathing or doing laundry. Keep the fans on for a short time afterward to remove excess heat and humidity from your home.
• Avoid long, hot showers when outdoor humidity is high.
• Be sure your clothes dryer vents outdoors and keep it clean of lint and other debris.
• Repair leaking gutters and downspouts, and make sure they carry water far away from your home.
• Seal the walls of crawl spaces or basements, and cover dirt floors with plastic sheeting.
• Open windows during cooler periods to increase ventilation.

For other ways you can reduce humidity in your home, contact the experts at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions. We’ve served the Orlando area since 1969.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about humidity and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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