In southwest Florida, where outdoor humidity gets close to 100 percent most evenings, regardless of the daytime temperature, a humidity-control and mold-prevention strategy is essential.

Take a look at these mold prevention tips — you may find a few you weren’t aware of or haven’t tried in your home:

• Make sure bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans, as well as clothes dryer vents, go to the outside.
• Wipe condensation from windows before it can be absorbed by walls or window casings. Condensation on other surfaces or in summertime may mean you need to point air conditioner supply registers away from surfaces. It may also signal ductwork leaks or air pressure imbalances.
• Replace air conditioner filters often, using higher-efficiency pleated filters. If in doubt about filter choices, contact a local HVAC expert. Or ask during annual preventive maintenance and inspection visits, when your technician will also clean A/C coils and condensate drains, check for mold and handle other maintenance tasks.
• Keep windows closed when using whole-house ventilation equipment and keep interior doors open for proper return air balance. Or call your home-comfort contractor to adjust your whole-house ventilation system to ensure adequate ventilation through the rooms. Balanced supply and return airflow avoids depressurization, when humid outdoor air is drawn inside the house.
• In summer when the air conditioner is on, relative humidity should be under 55 percent during the daytime. If it’s higher, you could have duct system leaks, an oversized or improperly charged A/C system or inadequate airflow over the cooling coil. Oversized air conditioners control humidity poorly at higher thermostat settings, as short cycling inhibits moisture removal. Contact your HVAC expert for diagnosis and consider positive mechanical ventilation.
• Don’t resort to setting the thermostat temperature lower. This lowers indoor surface temperatures, causing condensation. Set your thermostat higher — it also keeps energy costs down. Each one-degree thermostat set-back decreases cooling costs by about 10 percent, according to The Florida Solar Energy Center.

Having trouble with mold or indoor humidity? Contact the pros at Conditioned Air. Visit our website to learn more or give us a call.

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

Air quality image via Shutterstock

If you have inferior indoor air quality in your home, you’re not alone. It’s a common problem here in Southwest Florida. One big contributor is our humid weather, which makes mold growth almost inevitable.

An excellent way to combat airborne mold spores plus other lung irritants in your home’s air is with an air purification system. Whole-home air cleaners are designed to remove a high percentage of harmful, breathable particles and contaminants from the air, including:

• Pollen
• Dust
• Animal dander
• Chemical vapors from cleaning products
• Emissions from home-improvement projects or hobbies
• Odors
• Mildew and mold spores
• Insect debris
• Viruses and bacteria – bioaerosols
• Ozone – some systems are also capable of destroying this pollutant
• And other harmful particles

The most effective and efficient air cleaning technology can be incorporated in your central air conditioning and heating system. Many systems use both physical barriers (for instance dense, pleated air filters) and UV light equipment, working together to clean the air. The air cleaner also helps keep your home comfort system from accumulating dirt internally and thereby extends its life.

The efficiency of the purification system is determined in large part by the air filter. A filter that’s rated higher on the MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) scale is capable of trapping more of the smaller (and often more unhealthy) particles in the air. Flat fiberglass filters are generally low on the scale; the denser, pleated filters are higher on the scale, which ranges from 1 to 16 for residential use. MERV 16 filters remove over 95 percent of particles as small as .3 microns, and are generally sufficient for hospital use. (Filters rated MERV 17 to 20, true HEPA filters, are generally used for industrial applications in larger, more powerful commercial A/C systems.)

Improving your home’s air quality with a whole-house purification system helps shield your family from the ill effects of indoor pollution such as:

• Allergy flare-ups
• Sinus irritation
• Watering eyes
• Fatigue
• Concentration problems
• Colds too often passed between family members

Questions about whole-house air purification? Talk to the experts at Conditioned Air. Visit our website for information or just give us a call.

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

Air purification image via Shutterstock

Found in abundance in the Arctic, the Antarctic and everywhere in between, mold and mold spores are virtually impossible to avoid. Mold especially flourishes in warm, humid climates like ours in Southwest Florida.

Though air cleaners and UV lights can reduce the number of mold spores in your home, they can never be eliminated completely. Keeping your home dry can go a long way toward inhibiting interior mold growth.

Mold can grow on nearly any surface as long as water is present. Aside from producing stains and damaging wood, drywall, carpet and other furnishings, mold spores can cause detrimental health effects ranging from mild to life-threatening.

Cleanup and removal of mold can be difficult and expensive. It is far easier to avoid mold problems in the first place. Some tips for keeping your home dry and mold-free:

• Clean up spills or leaks immediately. Mold growth can begin within 24 hours.
• Ensure good ventilation, especially in bathrooms, attics and basements.
• Use fans or windows to improve ventilation while cooking or showering.
• Do not overwater houseplants or leave damp clothing or other materials sitting around.
• Cover pipes and other surfaces prone to condensation with waterproof material.
• Make sure appliance drip pans and drain routes are clean and functioning.
• Use air conditioning and/or a dehumidifier to keep your home’s humidity below 55 percent.

Air conditioners remove some water from the air as it is treated, but in the high-humidity climate of Southwest Florida a dehumidifier will be considerably more effective at reducing moisture. Dehumidifiers are available in small, portable units to address trouble spots. But a whole-house dehumidifier will optimize the moisture level throughout your entire home.

When it comes to mold, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. At Conditioned Air we are always happy to answer any questions you may have, and our professionals are standing by ready to help you take control of your home’s humidity levels. Contact us if we can help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about mold prevention and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between.  To get started, check out our website or see our special offers.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Avoiding mold is similar to avoiding the flu — the best way is to not get it. Fortunately, there are some ways to help inoculate your South Florida residence against mold to minimize the threat to your family’s health or your home’s structure.

Mold comes inside the home in spores, usually one-cell organisms designed for dispersal and longtime survival. When spores find the proper conditions — a happy (for them) combination of temperature, food source and humidity — they reproduce and begin creating colonies. As the colonies grow, they send out more airborne spores to infiltrate our indoor air and reproduce, creating more spores and colonies. The spores enter our sinus passages and respiratory systems, triggering allergies and other health problems.

Prevention is key. Here are few ways to protect your family and home:

• Stop leaks. Dripping faucets, pipes or drains can keep flooring or walls moist and feed colony growth.
• Maintain your roof. Leaking roofs can keep ceilings or attics damp and give spores perfect spots to grow and thrive.
• Create slope drainage. Make sure rainwater runs away from your home’s foundation. Standing water against your home can leach into your crawl space and feed moisture to spores.
• Dehumidify. Our Southwest Florida air is heavy with humidity. Air conditioners help, but not enough. A whole-house ventilation system and dehumidifier can reduce moist air. Keeping humidity levels below 50 percent helps to ensures the spores remain dormant before they can begin to grow.

The professionals at Conditioned Air can offer strategies and equipment to stop mold or keep it from starting. We always welcome questions, and we’re proud to serve clients in Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Please contact us by phone or online. We’d be glad to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about mold prevention and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between.  To get started, check out our website or see our special offers.

Poor indoor air quality affects both your comfort and your health.  Why is it so important to today’s homeowner?  With the focus on energy efficiency in the last 30 years or so, homes are now being built “tighter”, to seal in conditioned air and lower energy costs.  This has led to an unforeseen consequence– a decline in indoor air quality.  The fact is, without proper ventilation your home becomes unable to release the pollutants and contaminants that accumulate inside.  These come from a variety of sources.

Mold, bacteria, pollen and pet dander are common sources of indoor air pollution.  At high levels, they can cause symptoms that range from mild to severe.  In fact, many health professionals believe that asthma and other respiratory problems can be directly linked to poor indoor air quality.  The good news is that there are effective ways to clean your indoor air and make it healthier and more comfortable for your family.

Components in your air conditioning system can actually help keep your home’s air clean.  This is done in 4 ways:

1. Dehumidification- Too much humidity causes a host of problems in the home.  Mold, mildew, insects and bacteria all thrive in moist environments.  Dust mites (a major source of allergens) love damp air and surfaces.

The air handler on your air conditioning unit can typically keep humidity levels at a healthy 40-50%, to inhibit the growth of biological allergens.  Make sure you have your technician check your unit’s air handler to ensure that it’s working properly.  Don’t forget that, here in Florida, a supplemental whole-house dehumidifier is often a good idea due to extreme heat and humidity.

2. Air filtration- In your tightly-sealed home air circulates constantly, and along with it the pollutants that can make your family sick.  Have the air filters on your A/C unit checked and cleaned regularly.  Ask us about the different types of air filters, to ensure that you have the right kind for your home and system.

3. UV treatment- A highly effective way to reduce bacteria, virus and allergens is to disinfect your indoor air with UV light.  This is a component installed on your HVAC system.  It treats air passing through it with ultraviolet light to kill biological contaminants and other sources of indoor air pollution.

4. Drain maintenance- The condensate pans that collect water from your air need to be cleaned regularly so that they don’t overflow and cause water damage, or become a breeding ground for mold and mildew.  Regularly scheduled maintenance is a great way to take care of this.

So, your A/C system can help you reduce indoor air pollution by keeping your home’s air cool, dry and clean.  Along with regular maintenance, the components in your system will protect you and your family from the dangers of contaminants, and keep you comfortable all year long.