Tag: Dehumidifiers

Frederick Air Quality Tip: Humidity Levels and Asthma and Allergies

Posted on by Larry & Sons

Do you have terrible seasonal allergies or suffer from asthma in Frederick? While these reactions can often not be helped and are caused by seasonal changes, there are some things that you can do in your home to reduce the symptoms. In this blog post we’re going to explore the relationship between humidity levels in your home and asthma and allergies.

Benefits of Dry Air

Drying out the air in your home has a number of benefits for people with allergies. However, air that is too dry can also have a negative impact on people who suffer from allergies and asthma. Here are some of the benefits of dry air:

  • Dry air can reduce the amount of dust mites and cockroaches (both common allergy triggers)
  • Dry air reduces mold growth. Mold breeds by releasing spores into the air. When the spores land on something that is wet, they start to grow more mold. These spores are so small that they can actually be inhaled by humans. Some people have reactions to these mold spores.

Benefits of Moist Air

On the flip side of humidity in your home, adding more moisture to the air actually does have some benefits. Here are a few of them:

  • When the air gets too dry, it can dry out your nasal passages and throat. This can cause irritation in some people who have asthma or allergies.
  • In dry conditions, the droppings from dust mites and cockroaches can dry out and become airborne. These are obviously huge irritants for people with allergies.
  • Because dust is primarily made of dead skin, pet dander is much more common in dry conditions that cause skin  to dry out and flake.

Too Much Moisture?

But if you add too much moisture, you can risk encouraging the growth of molds. That’s why a humidity control system is a great idea to help control the moisture levels in your home’s air.

If you have any questions about the humidity levels in your home in Frederick, contact us at Larry & Sons and get answers. We have years of experience working with customers in the Frederick area to make sure that the humidity levels and air quality in their homes is exactly where it should be. Our main goal is make you comfortable – call now!

IAQ – Humidification/Dehumidification in Martinsburg

Posted on by Larry & Sons

Most people don’t think much about the humidity in their Martinsburg home unless it gets unbearably high in the summer or extremely low in the winter. However, even slightly low or high humidity levels can have a huge impact on your Indoor air quality, so even if you feel comfortable most of the time, a humidifier or dehumidifier is something you should look into. Many homes have humidity problems, and even if it’s not something you notice on a regular basis, air that’s too moist or too dry can have a large impact on your family’s health and the overall quality of your indoor air.

The Risks of High and Low Humidity

There are many reasons that proper humidity in your home is so important. For one thing, air that’s too humid promotes the growth of things like mold and dust mites that are significant airborne allergens. Without enough moisture, however, mold and dust mites can’t grow, so if you keep your indoor humidity below 50%, you’ll likely never need to worry about these allergens disrupting your family’s health or causing damage to your furniture.

But, dry air isn’t much better. Once the humidity level gets below 35%, a number of negative things can happen. Dry air enhances the symptoms of asthma, colds and allergies, and it causes damage to the wood fixtures and furnishings in your home. Even if it doesn’t do so much damage, dry air is simply uncomfortable, causing dried out skin, eyes, and hair.

Why Humidity Control Matters

Even if you have a state of the art air quality system installed in your home, humidity is very much something you need to be concerned about. Air that’s too moist or too dry can actually make it more difficult for indoor air cleaners and filters to get those contaminants out. In effect, poor humidity control makes every aspect of your air quality worse.

So if you want to be sure you’re getting the most possible out of your indoor air cleaner, the best thing you can do is put in a good humidification system as well. And when you’ve done that, you may even find that you can turn down the heat and air conditioning as well. Properly humidified air makes home heating and cooling more efficient, saving you both money on your monthly energy bill and wear and tear on your system. No matter how you look at it, proper humidity control is good for you and your home.