Easy Ways to Prevent Mineral Buildup in Your Humidifier

If you’re dealing with common problems associated with dry air in your Broken Arrow home, then chances are you’re already using a humidifier. Humidifiers are an indispensable tool in restoring indoor moisture and tackling dry air-related issues, including skin irritation, dry throat and even static electricity buildup.Unfortunately, mineral buildup caused by lime scale and calcium deposits can prevent your humidifier from working as effectively as it should. The following shows how you can prevent mineral buildup in your humidifier and tackle existing buildup, as well.

How to Prevent Mineral Buildup

Here are a few tips you can use to stop mineral buildup in its tracks:

• Empty your humidifier’s water reservoir after each use. Allow water to remain stagnant inside of the reservoir can allow mineral buildup to occur. It can also encourage the growth of mold and bacteria, which could spread throughout the humidifier. It’s important to empty the reservoir and wipe it down after your done using your humidifier.

• Always use distilled water with your humidifier. Distilled water is specifically processed to remove dissolved minerals and other impurities, making it less likely to encourage mineral deposit buildup inside of your humidifier. Tap water, on the other hand, is filled with impurities that could prevent your humidifier from working properly.

• Keep your humidifier clean and disinfected. This preventative step is important for keeping mineral buildup at bay. You should clean your humidifier on a regular basis to prevent mineral buildup as well as mold and bacteria growth.

How to Treat Mineral Buildup

In most cases, mineral buildup can be treated with undiluted white vinegar. Simply allow the vinegar to soak where mineral deposits occur for a few minutes, then wipe the area with a clean cloth. You can also use mild soap and water to clean up minor deposits.

Contact the professionals at Air Assurance and learn more ways to prevent mineral buildup. We proudly serve homeowners in the Broken Arrow area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about mineral buildup and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “geralt/Pixabay”

Find the Right Heat/Humidity Balance

People complain about humidity in the summer months, but many don't know that it can also be a problem in the winter. However, in the winter, the issue lies with having too little moisture in the air instead of too much.

Who Needs Humidity Anyway?

Even though it may not feel like it during the summer, moisture in the air does serve a useful purpose. It helps prevent:

1. Cold and allergy symptoms feeling worse as dry air can irritate your throat and mucous membranes.

2. Leather clothes, shoes, or furniture drying and cracking.

3. Skin, especially the sensitive skin on your lips, getting dry and chapped.

4. Wood furniture and floors drying out, leading to cracks and other structural problems.

Can Humidity Save Money?

Perhaps one of the best reasons to control the moisture in your home is your energy bill. The higher you set your thermostat in the winter, the more energy you pay for. Obviously, you'd like to keep your home temperature reasonably low for cost reasons. You may find that you're sacrificing your family's comfort when you lower the thermostat, though.The solution may just be to raise the humidity in your home. If your air is dry, it will wick away the moisture on your skin more quickly. This has the same effect as a cool breeze when you are sweating on a hot day - it leaves you feeling cooler.Keeping your home's relative humidity at 45-55% in the winter means that the air has enough moisture not to dry out your skin. In turn, this leaves you feeling warmer. You can lower your thermostat a few degrees without noticing a drop in comfort.

How Do You Maintain Consistent Humidity?

Even though plug-in humidifiers will add humidity to your home, they are unable to adjust the amount of moisture they put out to keep the moisture in your air at a consistent level. A whole-home humidifier works through your HVAC system to deliver the right levels of moisture and adapt to changing air conditions.

For more information about controlling humidity in your Broken Arrow home, contact Air Assurance today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heat and humidity balance and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “clker-free-vector-images/Pixabay”

Can a Humidifier Help During the Heating Season?

Whenever humidity falls below 30 percent, both you and your home suffer. The dry air causes a host of problems that are easy to solve with a humidifier, from chapped skin to cracks in the wood inside your home.

Comfort Issues

Dry indoor air speeds the evaporation of moisture from your skin, which has a cooling effect. Turning up the thermostat to combat dry air increases heating costs, and may not increase comfort as much as raising the humidity can. As air warms, it dries even more, increasing the discomfort. Besides feeling cooler, air that’s too dry will:

• Spread viruses and bacteria faster. Winter is the cold and flu season because overly dry air speeds the transmission of the bacteria and viruses. When these microorganisms enter your body, parched throats and nasal tissues are particularly vulnerable to infection.

• Dry skin quickly. Besides being uncomfortable, chapped skin can result in skin cracks that may become infected.

• Heighten respiratory distress. Dry air increases symptoms associated with allergies, asthma, and sinus issues.

Home Health Issues

Besides the health concerns, a humidifier solves problems associated with your home, like:

• Wood shrinkage. As the humidity falls, the air pulls moisture out of anything made from wood inside your home. Cabinets, flooring, furniture and even the wood from which your house is made will shrink, which may or not recover once humidity rises.

• Electrical damage. Static electricity increases as the air dries, and appliances and devices are vulnerable to static electricity, especially the low voltage components inside them.

Increasing the Humidity

Whole-house humidifiers offer the most energy efficient and easiest way to combat dry indoor air. They tap into the plumbing system and deliver water automatically. Unlike portable devices that need manual filling and weekly cleaning, central units require little maintenance.Working in tandem with furnaces, they use little energy and control the level of humidity with a humidistat, which operates just like a thermostat.A humidifier is an indispensable way to manage humidity indoors during the winter. For more information, contact Air Assurance, providing trusted HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about humidifiers and other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “freedigitalphotos”

What the "Feels Like" Temperature Means For Your Home

Great home climate control means more than having a powerful furnace or air conditioner. Other factors influence the "feels like" temperature and the comfort of all residents in the home. Here is more information about those variables and tips for improving your home's climate.

Humidity

Humidity has a very direct effect on the "feels like" temperature. In order to understand why the apparent temperature is often different from the actual temperature, it is helpful to understand how humidity affects us.

High humidity makes temperatures feel warmer. This is because perspiration, which cools the body through evaporation, evaporates only slowly when the air is already heavy with moisture. Alternatively, when humidity is low, perspiration evaporates rapidly and you feel cooler.With this in mind, you will feel more comfortable by reducing home humidity levels in summer. A properly working air conditioner will reduce humidity levels to an extent. However, during the dog days of summer when humidity starts to soar, an air conditioner might not be enough for this purpose. When this happens, consider adding a dehumidifier. Dehumidifying the home can quickly make the "feels like" temperature several degrees cooler.

In winter, the same holds true regarding the warming affect of higher humidity. As humidity levels fall, you will feel chillier. By adding humidity to your home in winter, you will feel warmer and might be able to save a bit on heating costs.

Fans and Drafts

Flowing air is another factor that affects how you feel in your home. When air moves across your skin, it removes heat from your skin’s surface and you feel cooler. The principal is the same as the wind chill factor you’ve heard about on cold and breezy winter days. In summer, you will feel cooler when a fan is running and, in winter, you might feel overly cold in a drafty room. This, paired with your home’s humidity level, has a big influence on the apparent temperature in your home.

For more information about improving the "feels like" temperature in your Broken Arrow area home, please contact us at Air Assurance.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Oakozhan/Shutterstock”

Is There a Humidity Problem in Your Home?

A little humidity can be a good thing, but having excess moisture in your Broken Arrow home can lead to a variety of issues. Not only does it make your home feel damp and clammy, but it can also trigger a host of allergy and asthma symptoms due to increased mold and mildew growth. If left unchecked, it could even lead to structural problems in your home.

Ways to Spot Moisture Problems

If you happen to spot the following, then it’s likely you’re looking at an excess moisture problem in your home:

• Excessive condensation on glass doors, windows and walls

• Peeling paint, visible moisture spots and/or cracks on walls

• Visible mold and mildew growth on walls and other surfaces

• Frequent allergy symptoms or respiratory issues

How to Deal with Excess Humidity

Now that you’ve discovered the problem, it’s time to deal with the underlying cause. These helpful tips can go a long way towards dealing with your home moisture problem once and for all:

• Increase your home’s ventilation – Make sure your home has enough flow-through ventilation to help carry away humid air. You may need to improve your home’s attic ventilation or even invest in a specialized ventilation system.

• Curtail moisture-creating activities – Bathing and cooking can easily raise humidity levels, so steps should be taken to reduce that source of moisture. Start by cutting back your showering or bathing time. Keep your pots and pans covered while you cook and always use your range and bathroom exhaust fans while cooking and bathing.

• Invest in a dehumidifier – Unlike air conditioners, dehumidifiers are dedicated full-time towards removing excess moisture from indoor air. Portable and whole-house dehumidifiers are available for dealing with localized and house-wide moisture problems.

Contact the experts at Air Assurance and learn more ways you can spot humidity before it becomes a serious problem in your Broken Arrow home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Mario7/Shutterstock”

HRV or ERV? Choose the Right Ventilation System for Your Home's Needs

The choice between an HRV or ERV depends heavily on your climate. Because Broken Arrow sees both high summer temperatures and cold winters, the right choice isn't so obvious around here. Getting a better understanding of how these ventilation systems work will help you decide.

How HRVs and ERVs Differ

A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) uses exhaust fans to draw out stale, humid indoor air and supply fans to bring in fresh, outdoor air. Equal amounts of air are removed and replaced to provide continuous, balanced airflow.

Because just blowing out indoor air and letting in outdoor air would waste energy, an HRV contains a heat exchanger to minimize this waste. In winter, the heat exchanger collects heat energy from the outgoing warm air and transfers it into the incoming outdoor air, effectively pre-warming the air. In summer, it does the opposite to pre-cool the incoming air.

Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) work the same way as HRVs with one difference. Their heat exchanger also transfers moisture. This means ERVs let in less humidity than HRVs in summer.

Making Your Choice

In a cold winter or mixed climate, an HRV is usually the best option. That said, there are other factors to consider when choosing between an HRV or ERV. These include the age and energy efficiency of your home, its size and the number of occupants. A large, drafty house with only two or three people is more likely to suffer from uncomfortably low humidity in winter, particularly in the drier parts of town. In this situation, an ERV may be a better choice.

Modern homes are built to be airtight, increasing their tendency toward high humidity. These homes, especially the smaller ones, are best suited to HRVs. Older homes were often intentionally built with cracks to provide airflow, meaning they're more likely to become dry during our cold winters. This makes some older homes better candidates for ERVs, although air sealing should also be considered.

For help deciding whether an HRV or ERV is right for your home, contact the pros at Air Assurance in the Broken Arrow area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Jezper/Shutterstock”

Feeling Uncomfortable? Check Out These Factors That Affect Home Comfort

While controlling the temperature in your home is extremely important to comfort and energy efficiency, there are other aspects that are also essential. Factors that affect home comfort include temperature, humidity, indoor air quality and the capability to control these things. If you understand how these four factors work together, you can enhance home comfort while saving energy.

Temperature

This probably seems like a no-brainer; you control the temperature by turning the thermostat up or down. But there's more to it than that. While you can set the temperature of the thermostat, it won't necessarily control temperatures elsewhere in the house, such as in a finished basement or upstairs bedrooms. A zoning system can help you better control temperature throughout your house.

Humidity

Even if the thermostat is set right where you want it, you'll still feel uncomfortable if humidity is too high during the summer. And during the heating season, excessively dry air won't feel that great either. A well-maintained central A/C should control humidity, but if it doesn't, your comfort will suffer. In this case, you'll probably want to consider a whole-house dehumidifier.

Indoor Air Quality

Home comfort also takes a hit when indoor air is stale or dirty. Contaminants in the air can irritate your eyes, nose and lungs, and create a foul smell. Poor indoor air quality can trigger or exacerbate allergies and respiratory issues.Several strategies are available to clean indoor air, including removing or mitigating the sources of indoor pollution like using a fresh, high-efficiency air filter in your HVAC system, investing in a whole-house air cleaner, or employing affective mechanical ventilation.

Control

A modern programmable thermostat, equipped with humidity control will allow you to influence and control the other factors.

For more information on factors that affect home comfort, please contact the pros at Air Assurance. We're proud to provide reliable and quality HVAC and plumbing services to the greater Tulsa area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “kurhan/Shutterstock”

How Well Does Your A/C Remove Humidity?

Oklahoma can get pretty humid over the summer, and everyone knows that the heat is harder to tolerate when there's a lot of moisture in the air. Extra moisture causes the air to become muggy and oppressive.  But did you know that you can use your A/C to remove humidity?How well your A/C removes the humidity can depend on a number of factors including, how strong the humidity is, how hot the day is, and how many moisture producing sources you have in your home at any given time.   Here are  a few tips on how to use the A/C to remove humidity.

• When your compressor runs, it automatically takes some humidity out of the air, but the more moisture it's condensing, the more of its energy is devoted to humidity control instead of cooling. If you turn the A/C on early in the morning before the heat of the day builds up, you can get a head start on dehumidifying the house before more energy needs to be devoted to cooling, helping it keep up.

• Check your home for air leaks in the doors, windows, or ductwork that may be letting humid air back into you home. Sealing these leaks with weatherstripping, caulking or duct tape can significantly change how hard your unit has to work to keep your home dehumidified.

• Turn on exhaust fans when using the stove or shower, to make sure that as much of moisture and heat gets vented before even making it into the rest of your home.

• Don't let the fan on the A/C run if the compressor isn't on. The fan doesn't dehumidify while the compressor is off, and can blow more moisture back into the house.

• Don't turn the thermostat down to dehumidify faster. Unless you have a two-stage cooling system, the compressor can only dehumidify so fast. Turning the thermostat down just causes it to run for longer, burning more energy for very little benefit.

For more information on using your A/C to remove humidity in your home, contact Air Assurance.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: GSPhotography/Shutterstock”

Save Every Cent You Can With These Summertime A/C Tips

If you treat your air conditioner well, it will return the favor. Use these summertime A/C tips and save those pennies to use to water your yard instead.

Proper Size

Bigger is not always better. Larger systems may cool your home faster, but at what cost? They require extra energy to serve the same purpose. And quick cooling isn't the only end goal. Your air conditioner also works to remove humidity in your home, but it needs to run a certain amount of time in order to do so. Larger systems that cool faster will shut off before the humidity issue is addressed. Do some research to determine if the air conditioner you have is the right size for your home.

Proper Maintenance

Dirt, dust, hair, lint and pet fur can cover coils and impede the efficiency of your A/C. Simply put: clean systems run less. Proper maintenance keeps the inside and outside coils clean, changes the air filter regularly and manages the refrigerant charge. These minor tune-ups save you money on energy and repairs, extending the life of your A/C along the way.

Proper Duct Sealing

Before conditioned air flows through the vents in your home, it must first travel through a system of ducts. Ideally those ducts will transport the air without losing any along the way. Gaps and cracks in your ductwork allow conditioned air to escape into your attic. Seal gaps and replace damaged ducts to ensure that the air you've paid to cool keeps you and your family comfortable. Insulated ductwork prevents the radiant heat of your attic in the summertime from altering the coolness of the air inside the ducts.

Proper Help

These summertime A/C tips, along with a programmable thermostat, keep your A/C running as efficiently as possible. If the maintenance, installation, sizing or repairs are too far outside your DIY comfort zone, don't hesitate to give the professionals at Air Assurance a call. We've been serving the Tulsa area since 1985.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  Image courtesy of Shutterstock