A whole-house dehumidifier helps control a major source of springtime and summer allergies: moisture. While the roster of allergens includes inert substances, such as common dust, the most toxic airborne allergens are living microorganisms, such as mold spores. These pathogens instigate immune responses in susceptible individuals that include respiratory distress, nasal congestion, eye and skin irritation and even vague symptoms like fatigue.
Dormant mold spores exist in any home, often flooding in invisibly every time an exterior door or window is opened. Once activated by high humidity or other moisture sources, mold begins to grow and disperse millions of reproductive spores into the air, triggering allergic symptoms in occupants.
Sustained relative humidity above 50 percent, common during Indiana summer weather, generates condensation that converts dormant mold into active airborne spores that provoke allergies. Often, air conditioners alone can’t keep up with dehumidifying the house. Portable dehumidifiers only reduce humidity in enclosed spaces. Since humid household air is not restricted to individual rooms, a whole-house dehumidifier provides the most effective control, particularly when installed now – before damp summer conditions allow living mold to gain a foothold.
A whole-house dehumidifier is connected to your existing cooling and heating ductwork in a bypass loop configuration. A blower incorporated in the unit continuously draws air out of the main return duct, forces it through an evaporator coil to condense the water vapor, then conveys it back into the return duct airflow. Because your HVAC system circulates the entire volume of household air through the ductwork multiple times daily, all air in the home is repeatedly dehumidified to the desired setting on the digital humidistat mounted on a wall just like your cooling and heating thermostat.
Installed by your professional HVAC contractor, whole-house dehumidifiers are low-maintenance and, unlike portable room units, require no user action such as daily draining. All condensate produced by the unit automatically drains through a line permanently plumbed into a household sewer connection.
Serving the indoor comfort and air quality needs of the Wabash Valley since 1922, the professionals at Paitson Bros. Heating and Air Conditioning will be glad to help you with any additional questions about installing a whole-house dehumidifier.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Terre Haute, Indiana about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about whole-house dehumidifier and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Paitson Bros
1 (812) 232-2347
Serving the Wabash Valley, IN Area Since 1922