When the weather gets warmer in San Jose the best way to keep your home cool and comfortable is by turning on the air conditioner. It is a great relief during the humid weather. But, feeling uncomfortable is not the only problem with humidity, it also causes the growth of mold, which can be very dangerous to the people living where it grows. This is where your air conditioner can help by keeping humidity out of the home to prevent mold. For this reason, it is very important to keep the air conditioner running efficiently.
How Do Heat And Humidity Cause Mold?
During those hot, humid days when the air in your home comes into contact with a surface that’s cooler than it is condensation occurs. When moisture from the condensation accumulates on porous surfaces, it causes mold to grow and spread. That’s the reason it is very important to use an air conditioner to keep the relative humidity inside your home low in order to prevent mold and other pathogens.
How Can Air Conditioning Prevent Mold?
During the warm months when you set your air conditioner to a cool set of between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit to keep your family comfortable, you are also helping your family in another way too – your air conditioner can help prevent mold from growing in your home. Keep the relative humidity in your home to 50 percent.
According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE): “modern air conditioners dehumidify as they cool; you can see that by the water that drains away, but this dehumidification is incidental to their main job of controlling temperature. They cannot independently control both temperature and humidity. Although there are some leading edge air conditioning systems that promise to independently control humidity, conventional systems may not be able to sufficiently control the problem and can cause comfort or mold problems in certain situations. Some current high-end systems have enhanced dehumidification, but when the existing system cannot sufficiently dehumidify, it may be necessary to buy a stand-alone dehumidifier.
You can also use your air conditioner to prevent mold by setting its fan mode to “auto”. In this position, the fan blows air all the time whether your cooling system is running or not and one key impact is that a lot of the moisture your system just took out of the air, will be blown back into the house before it can drain away.
When selecting an air conditioner purchase one that has enhanced moisture removal. Also, make sure that it is right for the size of your home. When the system is oversized, it has a shorter on-cycle and therefore a shorter amount of time when moisture is removed.
Keep your air conditioner well maintained so that it will work efficiently and thus prevent the growth of mold in your home.