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  Has your home been feeling muggy lately or even hotter than you think it should? Many regions of the country deal with humidity during certain seasons. Others have to handle shifts in humidity throughout the year. To sustain a comfortable and ideal home, we all need healthy air. This is combination of when the air is fresh, clean, and under 50% relative humidity. Fresh air cycles into the home from outside full of oxygen. Air conditioning and heating systems cycle out the stale air inside and push fresh air into the home. But even air that is fresh and filtered is not enough if the humidity inside is too high. Most HVAC professionals recommend keeping the humidity in the home in the 30-50% range. High humidity can make the air feel muggy or warm even at moderate temperatures. Many problems can cause issues both for those living inside the home and the building.   What are symptoms of high humidity? The air will feel muggy and warmer than it should Increased sweating Possible problems sleeping Mold spores and dust mites growth Even visible mold growth in the home Wood warps and doors begin to stick Mildew can grow on fabrics and carpets Water stains and excess condensation Serious problems with severe allergies   Living with high humidity may seem like a slight nuisance. But, the potential long-term effects can become dangerous and expensive. If the above symptoms have begun to manifest around your home, look into why the humidity is high. Learn what you can do about it. Let us look at a few ways for you to lower the humidity in your house.  

Regular maintenance is the key to success in so many areas of life. People should go to their doctor once a year for a checkup. Responsible car owners know to take their vehicle in for regular maintenance as well.  When it comes to the system that heats and cools the air in your home, people sometimes take it for granted. If your air conditioning and heating start and stop when you want it to, it can be easy to grow complacent. You may think that all is well with the HVAC system. You know that it’s important to factor in the costs of maintenance when investing in an HVAC system. If you don’t pay for maintenance now, you will have to pay more  when minor issues turn into more serious problems. You should also know that the system's efficiency will impact how much time, energy or money it needs. This means that an HVAC system that is never cleaned or maintained will do more work to get the same job done. Save Energy and Money One of the signs homeowners should look out for is a stack of utility bills that are rising. If you have not increased the amount of power you use, high power bills can be a sign the system is not running at its best. With regular maintenance, a technician will clean and give the system a tune-up. This helps it work better in summer and winter. If the system has a refrigerant leak, the technician fix it so the HVAC system will work again. Extend Life of System Mechanical devices with moving parts will begin to fail if the HVAC system is not maintained. When you have regular service, you extend the life of your HVAC setup. This includes using maintenance contracts for your HVAC system. Maintaining the HVAC equipment helps you avoid costly repairs in the future.  Better Indoor Air Quality If your indoor air quality is important, you should schedule regular HVAC maintenance.  If you have allergies, keeping the system clean should be a high priority.  

When the weather gets hotter, you rely on your air conditioner to keep you cool and comfortable. Extreme heat not only makes you feel low on energy and uncomfortable, it can also pose a health risk. If the air conditioner isn't blowing cold air, you should get to the bottom of the problem as soon as possible. Extreme heat doesn’t only make you feel unpleasant. It can lead to dehydration and other heat-related illnesses. This is particularly true for children up to age 4 amd people 65 or older. Excessive heat can also affect overweight individuals and patients with health conditions. This comes from a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a worst-case scenario, a vulnerable person could succumb to heat stroke. This is where he or she cannot control body temperature (no longer able to perspire and cool down). Left untreated, the result can be disability or death. Maintaining cool temperatures in the summer keeps you comfortable and healthy. Here are some common reasons why an air conditioner is not blowing cold air. In some cases, you may be able to remedy the situation yourself. Otherwise, the trained technicians at Ardmore are ready to help you and get the AC back up and running. Thermostat Settings The first thing you should check is the thermostat. Under normal circumstances, you would set the thermostat to be a certain temperature. But, if you have set the thermostat to “On” instead of “Auto,” the fan will run even when the system is not cooling the air. Switch the thermostat to “Auto” and it should only blow cool air. If this doesn’t take care of the situation, more investigation is in order.