Minimizing Mold In Your San Antonio Home

Mold loves moisture, so when you live in humid climates like San Antonio, minimizing moisture in your home is important to reduce the risk for mold growth.

The first place to look for moisture in your home is your indoor air. Most mold species thrive in an environment with a relative humidity of at least 70 percent. The ideal relative humidity for humans is between 40 and 50 percent. If the relative humidity in your indoor air is too high, you’ll be both uncomfortable and susceptible to a mold invasion.

Here are some methods for minimizing mold growth:

• Install a dehumidification system to control the relative humidity in your house. Most dehumidification systems come with a built-in humidistat, which enables you to determine the relative humidity you want your indoor air to have.
• Ensure that your air conditioner thermostat is set to the AUTO position, never the ON position. The ON position causes the blower fan in your A/C unit to run without stopping, which sends the condensation on the air conditioner’s evaporator coil back into the house.
• If you’re building your home or looking for a new air conditioning system, look for one that has an operating selection mode for increased moisture removal and a variable speed handler. And most importantly, have your air conditioning system professionally sized for your home so you don’t end up with an oversized unit, which results in shorter cycles and less efficient moisture removal.
• Make sure that all of your exhaust fans lead to the outside. That includes your clothes dryer vent, bathroom vent fans and the kitchen range hood vent. You don’t want the moist air coming from these areas to circulate through your home.
• Regularly maintain your air conditioner unit, which will go far in minimizing mold in your home. The coils should be cleaned, the condensate should be checked for adequate draining, and the drain pan should be free of any mold.

For more tips on minimizing mold, please contact the experts at Beyer Boys. We proudly serve San Antonio area homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in San Antonio, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).