How Whole House Dehumidifiers Help With Allergies and Asthma

How Whole House Dehumidifiers Help With Allergies and Asthma. If you suffer from asthma and allergies, you’re probably used to the humidity and heat triggering your symptoms. While most people in St. Louis accept the high humidity outdoors as a fact of life, no one wants their home to be a source of discomfort. High indoor humidity levels can affect anyone’s health and worsen symptoms for people with allergies or asthma. One popular solution among St. Louis homeowners is installing a whole house dehumidifier.

Below, we discuss humidity’s effect on allergies and asthma and how a whole house dehumidifier can help relieve your symptoms. If you’re looking to improve your home comfort and efficiency, call SmartHouse today at 314-648-3162, text us at 314-310-2242, or contact us online to tell us more about your needs.

How Excess Humidity Can Trigger or Worsen Allergies and Asthma

Humidity refers to the amount of moisture in the air. Too much moisture can lead to a variety of problems for our respiratory health:

• Moist air creates a favorable environment for mold and mildew growth, which releases spores that affect our breathing.
• Dust mites, microscopic creatures that cause allergic reactions and asthma symptoms, also thrive in high humidity levels.
• On humid days with moderate temperatures, your AC won’t run if the air isn’t hot enough to require cooling. That means your AC’s filter won’t run, so it won’t filter out harmful contaminants.
• Humid air traps more pollutants and allergens in your home.

All these factors combine to not only aggravate symptoms for those with allergies and asthma, but make life less comfortable for others in your household by reducing the indoor air quality in your home.

How a Whole House Dehumidifier Can Help With Allergies and Asthma

Whole house dehumidifiers connect to your existing central HVAC system and work to remove excess moisture from the air in your home. They can be great for homes that struggle with humidity in moderate temperatures, as well as any home that has two or more rooms that are overly humid. While whole house dehumidifiers are great for improving general comfort and energy efficiency in humid weather, removing excess moisture specifically helps those suffering from allergies and asthma in a number of ways:

• Removing stagnant air — Humid air is stagnant. Too much moisture prevents allergens like pollen and dust from dispersing or settling, trapping them in the air inside your home Additionally, humidity can activate nerves in the lungs that narrow airways and worsen asthma symptoms.
• Preventing mold and mildew growth — Mold thrives in damp environments of about 60-70% or more relative humidity. By keeping the humidity levels in your home at 40-50%, whole house dehumidifiers don’t allow mold to grow.
• Eliminating dust mites — Dust mites feed off dead skin cells and produce waste that causes allergic reactions. They often live in our bedding, upholstery, or carpets. Their bodies are 75% water, and they absorb that water from the air rather than drink it. That means they need humid environments to thrive and reproduce. If indoor humidity levels are kept below 50%, the dust mites won’t be able to reproduce and will likely eventually die off. Dead dust mites and their droppings can still cause allergy issues, so make sure you vacuum and wash your bedding after humidity levels are under control.
• Improving indoor air quality — Excessive humidity can lead to musty odors and stale air, indicating poor air quality. A whole house dehumidifier helps to freshen the air by removing excess moisture and filtering out harmful particles. This can result in cleaner, fresher indoor air, which is beneficial for everyone, but particularly so for individuals with respiratory conditions.

While a whole house dehumidifier isn’t a standalone solution for allergies and asthma, installing one can help clear up symptoms or keep them from getting worse in your own home.

Call SmartHouse for Your Whole House Dehumidifier in St. Louis

You shouldn’t have to live in a home that makes your allergy and asthma symptoms worse, not better. SmartHouse Heating & Cooling offers a wide range of AC services and home comfort solutions to homeowners in the St. Louis area. We offer personalized solutions with expertise and integrity that you can trust. Call us today at 314-648-3162 or contact us online to discuss your home comfort needs today.