Although humidity is moderate during the autumn months in Visalia, CA, there are times when it can affect the heating in your home. To keep your home at the best temperature, consider using humidifiers and dehumidifiers.

With the help of a humidifier and dehumidifier, you can alter the humidity in your house and ensure that you and your family are as comfortable as possible. In addition to helping you feel more comfortable, there are other benefits of improving the humidity levels in your home as well.

In this guide, we’ll tell you more about the role of humidity in Visalia, CA fall heating. We’ll also tell you how humidifiers and dehumidifiers can help.

Planning for Low Humidity During the Fall

When temperatures go down during the fall and winter months, humidity also tends to get lower. Dry air goes along with cold air.

During this season, you may want to take steps to raise your home’s humidity. Doing so can help make your home more comfortable and can also provide several other benefits.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that humidity is kept between 30-50% for most homes. Although you may need to raise the low humidity that occurs during the fall, you shouldn’t let humidity levels get too high either. If humidity is high, mold and mildew growth will be more likely and bacteria and insects can thrive.

How Does Humidity Affect Home Heating?

House moisture drops with the temperature, so your home may seem even colder than it really is during the fall. The heat inside a home can escape more easily when water isn’t present in the air. Because water droplets won’t help the air hold on to heat, it can seem even colder in a home.

To keep your home comfortable in the fall as well as in the winter, do what you can to adjust the humidity levels appropriately. Keeping your HVAC maintained and keeping humidity within a reasonable level can help your home feel warmer.

Benefits of Maintaining Humidity

There are several other advantages to maintaining ideal home humidity levels in Visalia. Here’s what you should know.

Improved Air Quality

A key benefit of keeping a reasonable humidity in the home is that it can improve the indoor air quality. With low home humidity levels, dust particles can move around more easily. With high levels, mold growth is more likely.

Keep humidity between 30-50%. This will improve your home’s air quality.

Better Health

With improved air quality, your health will be improved as well. Poor home humidity levels can lead to health problems.

You may experience breathing difficulty and issues with the eyes, nose, and throat. Low humidity levels can also affect the skin, nails, and hair and lead to reduced moisture retention, causing them to dry out.

Reduced Wear and Tear

Low humidity can affect materials, items, and furniture around your home. It can cause wood, leather, and other materials to dry out and may cause flooring, furniture, and other items to wear down.

Poor humidity levels can lead to home wear and tear. It’s best to avoid these issues 

Using Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers

If you want to change the humidity levels in your Visalia home, both humidifiers and dehumidifiers can be incredibly helpful. As you may expect, humidifiers will add more moisture to the air when it’s dry while dehumidifiers will remove moisture from the air when humidity is too high. 

Generally, you should rely more on a humidifier during the fall and may not need a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers are much more helpful during the spring and summer.

If the humidity goes up significantly, you may want to use a dehumidifier as well. If the humidity in your home drops below 30%, then you’ll want to use a dehumidifier. To check the humidity level in your home, you may want to use a hygrometer.

Tips for Using Humidifiers in the Fall

When choosing and using humidifiers and dehumidifiers, there are some things to keep in mind. Here’s what you should remember.

Understand Product Types

When choosing a humidifier or dehumidifier for the fall season, be sure to carefully consider the different types. Most humidifiers fall under one of two categories including cool mist and warm mist humidifiers.

Cool mist humidifiers can be a good choice because they’re energy-efficient, safe, and useful for helping with cold symptoms. Warm humidifiers, on the other hand, are quieter, cleaner, and better at reducing germs and bacteria. However, their drawback is that energy consumption is high and they’re not quite as safe. 

The main types of dehumidifiers include refrigerant and desiccant dehumidifiers. Refrigerant dehumidifiers are great for moderate climates and are energy efficient. Desiccant dehumidifiers are generally better for areas with extreme temperatures and are easier to maintain.

Choose the Right Size

There’s a wide range of humidifier and dehumidifier sizes available. Be sure to choose a size that’s suitable for your needs. You’ll need to know the square footage of a room to make your choice.

When purchasing a humidifier or dehumidifier, look at the specifications to find out how much ground it covers. If you get equipment that’s too small, it may not be able to adequately change the humidity in a space.

Maintain Your Equipment

Ideally, change the water in your humidifier every day to prevent mold growth. You should clean the humidifier on a weekly basis and wipe the inside of the humidifier with a disinfectant. Additionally, if your humidifier has filters, change them regularly as recommended by the product manufacturer.

With a dehumidifier, empty the water basket daily. Clean it with soap and water or a gentle chemical cleaner monthly.

Preparing for Fall Heating

To have an easier time with fall heating, be sure to keep humidity levels in mind. Use a humidifier or dehumidifier to keep humidity levels between 30-50% if you want your home to stay warm and feel as comfortable as possible.

Founded in 2011, Comfort Now is here for all of your HVAC needs. With an abundance of 5-star reviews on sites like Yelp and Angie’s List, we pride ourselves on making our customers happy.

If you need HVAC services near Visalia, Porterville, or Hanford, we’re here for you. Contact Comfort Now HVAC now to learn more about how we can help.