Do I Need a Humidifier or Dehumidifier in Florida?

Is Florida the most humid state? Or perhaps we might ask: Do you need a dehumidifier in Florida?

This is definitely the most humid state in the USA, thanks to the warm air blowing over the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Therefore, your indoor humidity will always be high, something that will require you to remove the excess.

So, do you need a dehumidifier in Florida? In some parts of southern Florida, humidity can reach as high as 80%. Because this state has an almost tropical-like climate, your indoor humidity will exceed 50% many times a year. Since too much humidity can cause the growth of mold indoors, you will need to buy a unit to lower it.

You will definitely need to invest in this appliance if you are moving to this state. This is surrounded by water, making it one of the most humid places to live in the nation. If you are moving there, just know you will need to dehumidify your indoor air.

What’s the recommended humidity level in Florida?

You will enjoy living in Florida during the winter when the temperature gets up to 80°F.

In a place like Seattle, the temperature in winter gets as high as 8°F.

However, during the summer, a 5-minute walk in Florida can leave you sweating crazily because the humidity outdoors is high.

Now, let us consider the recommended humidity level in Florida. This should range from 45 to 55%. In the summer, the outdoor air is already too humid.

Since you will eventually want to open the windows, the same humid air is going to find its way inside. You can keep the humidity level below 45%, say, even down to 30%.

In the winter, Florida does not get as cold as other states. However, at some point, you will still have to crank up the heat.

It will suck some moisture from your air. However, this is not going to be enough to lower the humidity to the recommended level. Therefore, in winter, you should maintain the humidity at 60%.

Benefits of a dehumidifier in Florida

Many people ask whether they need a dehumidifier such as the Frigidaire unit when they have air conditioning at home.

Image of what is humidity level in Florida

Well, the answer is yes; you need a unit irrespective of the fact that you have a running air conditioning system.

You see, it is not the heat that makes it hard to live in the house. It is the humidity that is to blame. That is why you must deal with it.

This does not mean that the air conditioner does not help with humidity. It does pull some moisture from the air, but just not enough. Remember, you want to lower the humidity level to the range of 45 to 60%.

So, what are the main benefits of dehumidifying your air indoors in Florida?

1. Prevents the development of mold and mildew

This is one of the most important things, since too much moisture can make mold start to develop in dark spaces in your home. It can grow in the ceiling, in the basement, in the closets, and many other spaces.

Mold can make asthma even worse. It can also affect babies, clothes, the ceiling boards, and walls. This indoor allergen grows rapidly in dark and moist places.

Therefore, when you keep the indoor air humidity at the required levels, you keep your home free of mold.

2. Protects your furniture and other items

When you leave your items, such as clothing, paintings, furniture, and appliances, in high humidity, they will start to sustain damage.

Electronics and appliances can start corroding. At the same time, wooden things may start soaking in water.

When wood absorbs moisture, it expands. This causes the deformation of furniture because, when the moisture evaporates, the wood is going to contract and leave gaps.

This is why the value of your household items needs to stay in a room with the recommended relative humidity.

Too much humidity will damage electronics, your carpets, books, paintings, and other things. Basically, you do not want too little or too much humidity indoors at any time of the year. It must always remain at the recommended levels.

When it is summer, keep it low. When it is winter and the indoor air is dryer, keep the humidity higher to balance things.

3. Dehumidifiers are important for health

If you have more than 50% humidity in the house, it is going to cause the growth of mold. This can cause serious mold exposure symptoms.

Dust mites survive in high humidity, so they are also going to affect the health of your family. Also, stabilizing the humidity prevents dehydration.

Remember, exposure to high humidity makes you pee more often. This is because high air moisture tricks the body into thinking that it is overheating, so it reacts by sweating more and circulating the blood faster to cool down.

High humidity effects on the body also extend to your pets. If your furry friends are exposed to high humidity, they sweat excessively, and they could also sustain respiratory illnesses.

There is a dehumidifier for every room

You may not always want to install a whole house dehumidifier in your home. If you like, you can get units for the most humid rooms. For example, there is even an attic dehumidifier.

It is recommended that you run a dehumidifier with a drain hose in the basement. This space is the biggest culprit for raising your indoor humidity level.

Also, there are dehumidifiers for crawl spaces, specifically engineered to draw moisture from such spaces. It, too, should be connected to a drain hose so that you don’t need to keep emptying the bucket.

You can inspect every room and see where you need to dehumidify the most. If it is the basement, get a basement dehumidifier like the Aprilaire 1850 Pro Commercial that you can buy on Amazon.com.

Of course, installing a whole house unit works best, but it requires a substantial amount of money for buying and installation. Therefore, if you cannot have that immediately, start by getting smaller units.

Conclusion

Do you need a dehumidifier in Florida? You have seen just how high the humidity can be in this state. Therefore, you definitely need a unit to keep the air quality in order.

Besides, this unit is going to help your air conditioner with its moisture extraction job. So yes, you definitely need one to bring your indoor humidity level down to 55%.

You should speak to a HVAC company to see whether it is more beneficial to install a furnace dehumidifier, as opposed to using portable dehumidifiers all the time.

If you live in Florida and you need a dehumidifier, you may order the Waykar 2000 Sq. Ft Dehumidifier on amazon.com.