Main Office: 516-799-0700  •  East End Office: 631-998-3308

Main Office: 516-799-0700  •  East End Office: 631-998-3308

Air Conditioning Service Call

Healthy Humidity and Home Preservation

In our previous two healthy humidity articles, we discussed the importance of maintaining proper indoor humidity and the affect humidity levels have on the respiratory system. In today’s post, we’re going to discuss healthy humidity and home preservation.

Maintaining proper indoor humidity levels is not only good for your health, but it’s also good for the health and preservation of your home. Consider: as with humans, wood, leather and electronics retain a certain amount of moisture which is a critical factor in preserving fit, form, and function.

For many homeowners, the most significant sign of dry air will be damage to expensive wood floors. In winter, as moisture is pulled out of the wood, cracks, and gaps will appear between floorboards. In the summer the floors will expand again. The changes caused by these relative humidity swings can ultimately lead to failure of the floor, and replacement may be necessary. “Keeping indoor humidity levels between 30% – 60% is critical for wood flooring,” states James Gleason from Woodwrights Wide Plank Flooring, “anything below that and you could be asking for trouble.”

If you happen to have leather furniture in your home, maintaining proper indoor humidity levels are necessary to preserve the flexibility of leather surfaces. As with human skin, when leather is exposed to dry air, it sheds its moisture, which can lead to fading, cracking and tearing.

If you’re a tech-buff or a home entertainment system aficionado, low humidity can have a detrimental effect on all of your valuable electronics. Homes with low indoor humidity are more susceptible to electrostatic discharge (ESD or “static electricity”), which can damage the internal components of many electronics. Proper indoor humidity levels help reduce the chance of ESD by making it harder for static electricity to travel.

If you have any questions concerning your home’s indoor humidity levels, speak to a licensed HVAC contractor.

From Our Archives:

Share a Tip with Us

2 + 2 =

Summer heat for comfort AC
Comfort Air Conditioning & Heating is one of Manhattan and Nassau County’s leading HVAC contractors. We offer a full range of air conditioning and heating services, including: installations, maintenance, 24 hour emergency service and so much more. Call our experts today at 516-799-0700. We’re A+ Rated by the Better Business Bureau.
Comfort Air Conditioning Company

Get Our Blog Delivered Straight to Your Inbox!

Signup today and recieve our weekly blog filled with great air conditioning and heating tips and resources.

You have Successfully Subscribed!