With a tropical climate, South Florida, particularly East Boca, Delray, and Miami are a destination for many. Whether out enjoying the beaches or exploring the shops, this climate can feel like paradise. However, if not managed, the weather that feels like paradise can quickly become a nightmare for you, your wallet, and your home. South Florida averages a relative humidity of 75% making it one of the most humid climates in the United States.
What is humidity?
If you have ever gone for a walk, especially during the summer months, you will quickly notice yourself becoming hot and sticky and the air feels almost thick. The reason for this is humidity, the amount of water vapor in the air. The more water vapor in the air, the higher the humidity will be. There are a few ways we measure humidity. The most scientific is absolute humidity. The total amount of water vapor in the air. However, most of us are not scientists and we tend to view humidity based on how it makes us feel. That is why most often we use the other two measurements, relative humidity and dew point
Relative Humidity
The temperature of the air determines how much water vapor the air can hold. The amount of water vapors the air holds relative to its capacity is called relative humidity. The warmer the air the more water vapor it can hold.
Amount of Water Vapor in the Air / Capacity for Water Vapor the Air can Hold
For example, when the air cools, such as in early mornings, or late nights, the relative humidity increases to the point where the air cannot hold any more moisture.
Dew Point
When the amount of water vapor in the air exceeds the amount of water vapor the air can hold the vapor begins to condense into dew, hence the name, dewpoint. This is why when you walk out in the morning the car, the grass, everything is covered in dew. The air simply cannot hold any more moisture!
South Florida’s Climate and Humidity
The reason it is important to manage and monitor humidity is because of the detrimental impact it can have on your South Florida home. Notably, South Florida (Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Sunni Isles, and Miami) as we mentioned averages 75% relative humidity throughout the year, but from May to November the peak relative humidity averages over 90%!
Therefore, it is critical to manage and monitor humidity during this period. This can be especially troublesome as many residents are snowbirds, part-time residents, who usually go back home during that time and are not around to do so.
How does humidity impact homes in SFL?
There are several ways humidity can negatively impact homes in South Florida (Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Sunni Isles, and Miami).
Hardwood Floor Cupping
Cracked floorboards, peeling finishes and worse buckled floors can occur when the floorboards receive too much moisture from the subfloor. Causing warping and cupping of the floor. Furthermore, this may also be a sign of mold and mildew beginning in the walls themselves.
Mold and Mildew Growth
Mold and mildew are the worse byproduct of high humidity in South Florida and everywhere else. Once humidity levels are above 55% mold and mildew can start to grow in your South Florida home within 24-48 hours. Mold and mildew can impact both your health and your home. Mold can cause respiratory issues, shortness of breath, induce an allergic response, amongst other things.
Furthermore, mold causes structural damage to our homes and most homeowners’ insurance in South Florida does not cover mold that results from high humidity. This means you have to pay out of pocket! Making matters worse, mold can be difficult to detect which means the problem can exacerbate quickly and would often require the services of a mold remediation company in South Florida.
Steps to Manage Humidity in your South Florida Home: Fact vs Fiction
Setting Your Thermostat to Auto
One of the most important things you can do is set your thermostat fan setting to Auto. This will remove large amounts of moisture from the air in your South Florida home.
Replacing the AC filter(s)
To ensure that your South Florida HVAC unit is running at peak performance is critical to replace your AC filters. When AC filters are clogged with dirt and debris it slows down airflow and increases wear and tear on your unit. The increased workload on your unit decreases its ability for proper airflow minimizing its effect on naturally reducing the humidity in the home. It is important to have your filters replaced if you are gone for prolonged periods. Most South Florida Home Watch Companies will replace your filter for free if you provide spares and the Air Handler is easily accessible.
Cleaning the Condensate Line
Ensuring your condensate line is not clogged is vital. When the HVAC unit pulls moisture out of the air that moisture condenses into water and drains out the condensate line. Therefore, if the line is clogged the moisture is unable to drain and just gets pushed back into the house! Every few months you should clean your condensate line. Also, make sure to have your HVAC serviced twice a year, especially right before the summer months. Your South Florida Home Watch Professional should always bring a cleaning solution and a wet vacuum in case of an emergency.
Lowering Temperature of the Home
If humidity levels are not as low as desired, one of the easiest and most effective steps is to lower the temperature on the thermostat within the home. This will kick the fan on and pull additional moisture from the home, the fan will run more frequently, helping maintain a lower humidity level in your South Florida home.
Keeping Ceiling Fan on Low
Keeping your ceiling fan running on low can help air circulation which in turn can help push cooler air throughout a home but the impact is quite inconsequential. In addition, the ceiling fan does not lower humidity or even cool the temperature of the air.
Using a Humidistat
Humidistats are sensors that maintain desired humidity levels while providing humidity readings. However, there are several issues with using a humidistat.
Your thermostats become subordinate to humidistats; this means that regardless of the temperature you have set at your thermostat the temperature of your South Florida home will soar as the moisture in the air increases, as the desired humidity level of the humidistat takes precedent.
Therefore, if the A/C breaks down, the temperature of the home can be well above the acceptable range giving the homeowner or their South Florida Home Watch Professional little time to catch the issue before the mold is in full bloom.
Further, Humidistats are not always accurate. It is common to find a humidistat off by 10% to 20%. This is very detrimental in humid climates like SFL where mold can start at 55%
Monitoring Humidity
It is important when South Florida homeowners who are gone for prolonged periods, such as snowbirds, part-time residents, to monitor humidity levels when they are away. The two best ways to monitor humidity levels when you are away from SF is to combine Smart Home Technology with South Florida Home Watch Services.
Smart Home Technology
There are a host of products out there such as wi-fi and data-enabled thermostats that allow you to monitor humidity levels in your SFL home from your phone. Furthermore, there are humidity sensors like the Temp Stick you can find on Amazon for around $150. These devices are fantastic when they are used in conjunction with periodic monitoring.
However, like all electronic equipment, these devices have a limited shelf life, are susceptible to malfunctioning, and can lose accuracy over time. Therefore, it is vital to have a professional South Florida Home Watch Company come at least every other week to perform routine checks. High humidity is a potential signal of greater issues. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
South Florida Home Watch Company
A Home Watch professional in South Florida performs several tasks to monitor humidity in your SFL property. During your home watch professional’s routine checks in your SFL home, they should be visually inspecting the home for any signs of moisture. Further, with the use of an independent Hygrometer, your South Florida home watch professional should be inspecting the humidity and thermometer sensors in the home as most of the sensors over time lose their calibration and their accuracy starts to wane or malfunction.
Your Home Watch Professional in South Florida should be recording humidity readings on every visit to identify abnormal readings and outliers in the data. An experienced Home Watch Professional in SFL should be able to gauge the feel of humidity as soon as they walk through the door.
If moisture or high humidity is detected your South Florida Home Watch professional should be capable of taking the necessary actions to assess the situation and enact the appropriate course of action. Remember, high humidity can be a precursor or signal of deeper or greater issues, not the issue in and of itself.
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