Aprilaire Central Dehumidifiers are easy and economical to maintain. Simply clean the on-board air filter once every 12 months. In addition, they operate in near silence and are tucked away out of sight and there are no messy water trays to empty.
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During the heating season the average American home (unhumidified) may have a relative humidity (RH) as low as 13%. Amazingly, that is about one-half of the average RH in the Sahara Desert. The amount of humidity required in a home is dependent to a certain extent on the way it is constructed. A well insulated house with vapor barriers in walls, ceilings and slabs and properly fitting storm doors and windows may need only three gallons of additional moisture per day to maintain the proper relative humidity. A house of similar size but loosely constructed might require five times as much moisture in the same period.
Dry, thirsty air evaporates moisture from your skin, a cooling process that makey you feel chilly. But, with the humidity raised to recommended levels, you can dial your thermostat down to 68F and still feel comfortable. Heated air dries out wood framing around doors and windows, too. Shrinkage of the wood occurs, leaving spaces that permit cold, outside air to infiltrate the home, lowering the inside temperature and requiring more heating. Proper humidity reduces annoying wintertime static electricity shocks, too.
The evidence of air that is too-dry is easy to identify. In addition to making one feel uncomfortable, the dry air “steals” moisture from plaster, wood, glue and fabrics. Over a period of time this can result in cracks in ceilings and walls, loose furniture joints and flooring, shrinking mouldings and loosened wallpaper. Excessive static electricity is still another problem.
Heating your home dries out the air. The resulting dry air absorbs moisture from you and everything inside your home. Even newer, tighter built homes will succumb to the negative effects of air that is too dry.
Keep humidity below 50 percent in basements. Improve outside grading and drainage by keeping gutters clean and soil always sloping away from your home. Cover dirt crawlspace floors with plastic to reduce moisture.
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