You rely on your home’s air conditioner to keep you comfortable during damp, hot Missouri summers. Not only does your AC cool your home, but it also helps lower indoor humidity. However, you may notice that your home still feels muggy, even with the cooling system on. This can be due to airflow issues, dirty system coils, clogged filters, or an oversized unit.
If your house is humid with the AC running, First Mate Heating & Cooling can help. If we don’t find a problem with your cooling system, we can provide you with effective solutions, including reliable dehumidifiers and indoor air quality services.
How Does Humidity Control Affect My Indoor Comfort?
As your sweat evaporates, it cools your body. When your indoor humidity levels are high, sweat won’t evaporate efficiently. This is why you’re left feeling sticky and much warmer than the thermostat indicates. Ideally, you want to keep your indoor humidity level between 30 and 50 percent.
Since humidity makes you feel hotter, you may turn your thermostat down. Unfortunately, this causes the cooling system to run constantly and leads to higher operating costs. Learning how to control your indoor humidity levels is more effective. You’ll be able to keep your thermostat at a moderate, energy-saving setting without sacrificing your comfort.
Those high humidity levels can be a health risk, too. Extreme humidity creates the ideal breeding ground for mold, mildew, and dust mites. These things trigger allergies, respiratory issues, and asthma flare-ups.
How Do Air Conditioners Remove Humidity?
Your air conditioner helps you avoid indoor humidity problems through a very specific process. This begins with the refrigerant that runs through your indoor evaporator coils. The refrigerant makes these coils extremely cold.
As your cooling system’s fan blows warm, humid air over those frozen coils, the air’s temperature drops below its dew point. At this time, the moisture in the air turns into liquid water on the coils. This is much like the condensation you find on a cold glass that’s outside during the summer heat.
That water drips into a pan. From the pan, it drains outside, which leaves your indoor air cooler and drier. This newly dried and cooled air recirculates back into your living areas. If your AC is not removing humidity, there may be a problem requiring professional AC repair service.
Why Does My Home Still Feel Sticky?
Several Missouri HVAC issues can lead to indoor humidity problems. An HVAC expert can inspect your cooling system to pinpoint the exact cause of the problems you’re having.
Oversized Systems
If your cooling system is too big for your home, it cools quickly and shuts off. These short cycles shut down the system before the evaporator coils are cold enough to properly condense and remove moisture. As a result, your home will be at the targeted temperature, but it will have damp, clammy air.
Furthermore, when your compressor stops, any moisture that did condense on the coils remains inside the air handler. The blower fan continues to push air through your ducts. As a result, it re-evaporates the trapped moisture and throws it back into your home. This is also why your house is humid with the AC running.
Airflow Issues
If your AC is not removing humidity, there may be an airflow problem. Airflow issues cause high indoor humidity because they keep the system’s evaporator coils from properly removing moisture.
When the air moves too quickly or too slowly over your evaporator coils, it doesn’t spend enough time in contact with the cold surface. This reduces the coil’s ability to condense and remove moisture from the air.
In addition, restricted airflow due to clogged filters keeps your AC from absorbing ambient heat. This leads to the condensing moisture on the evaporator coils freezing solid. This completely stops the dehumidification process, and your system continues to blow around the damp, sticky air.
Dirty Coils
The indoor evaporator coil depends on cold refrigerant to absorb heat and moisture from your indoor air. When dirt collects on the coil, it acts like insulation. It keeps air from making direct contact with the cold surface. This means less water vapor can convert into liquid droplets.
The exterior condenser coil releases the heat extracted from inside your house into the air outside. When dirt, debris, and grass clippings cover the coil, heat won’t escape properly. Your AC will struggle to cool the refrigerant. The system will end up running longer and harder, causing indoor humidity problems.
High Outdoor Humidity Levels
A high level of humidity outside can keep your house humid with the AC running. Humid outside air constantly finds its way inside. It seeps through gaps around windows and doors and through cracks. Inadequate insulation further adds to Missouri’s HVAC issues.
Even with your air conditioner running, that influx of moisture-heavy air can affect the system’s ability to effectively remove moisture. The high volume of moisture in the air can become too great for the coils to handle fast enough.
What Are the Warning Signs Indicating Indoor Humidity Problems?
If your AC is not removing humidity effectively, your home will feel muggy and sticky. You may also begin to notice condensation on your windows due to lingering moisture in the air.
Musty, mildew-like odors, especially near your vents, also suggest excess moisture. Watch for red flags indicating mold and mildew issues. These would be dark patches on your walls and ceilings.
Do Dehumidifiers Help My AC Control Humidity?
Yes, dehumidifiers help control your indoor humidity levels. Both stand-alone and whole-house models extract excess moisture from your indoor air. This leaves your home feeling drier and much more comfortable.
Running a dehumidifier along with your AC optimizes climate control inside your house. By lowering your indoor humidity levels, the air feels cool and refreshing. It also makes it possible to set your thermostat a few degrees higher, which keeps energy costs low.
Your Missouri HVAC Expert for Humid House Solutions
As soon as you notice that your home feels humid, even with the AC running, contact First Mate Heating & Cooling. We can inspect your cooling system to rule out any HVAC issues. If the AC is functioning properly, we can recommend a variety of humid house solutions to restore your comfort.
We’re a locally owned company with over 50 years of experience helping area homeowners with their comfort needs. This includes expert air quality services and AC repair, replacement, and maintenance. For your convenience, we offer financing solutions on approved credit and free estimates.
First Mate Heating & Cooling is your go-to expert when your Kansas City house is humid with the AC running. Contact us today to schedule service.
