Humidity is a staple of summer weather in Kansas City. It makes the already sweltering heat feel even warmer and leaves you feeling constantly sticky. But excessive humidity isn’t restricted to the summer. Humidity can spike in the early morning and evening hours, in the spring and fall, and even on rainy days. Even daily tasks you perform, such as cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, or taking a hot shower, can drastically increase the humidity inside your home.

While you need a low level of humidity to prevent the air from getting too dry, you don’t want excessive humidity. So what is optimal level of humidity? The EPA recommends you maintain a relative humidity level of 30 percent to 50 percent. How do you know if you have excessive humidity? If the humidity level gets too high, you may be able feel it in the air. But there are other signs to look for that your humidity levels need to be addressed, including musty odors, cracking or flaking paint, condensation stains on the ceiling, condensation or frost on the windows, and areas that are consistently damp. Left unchecked, excessive humidity can promote the growth of mold, mildew, dust mites, and bacteria. It can damage furniture, wood floors and trim, books, and clothing, and even trigger allergies and asthma.

If you’ve determined that the level of humidity in your home is too high, what can you do to reduce it? An air conditioner can help battle humidity to a certain extent, but it may not be able to lower it as much as you’d like and you may have to run your air conditioner for extended periods of time, putting additional wear and tear on it. Portable dehumidifiers are available but these units are typically only effective for a single room or area and they have water collection trays that need to be emptied frequently, sometimes more than once a day during periods of extreme humidity.

The best solution is to install a whole-home dehumidifier, such as the Healthy Climate whole-home dehumidifier from Lennox. The Healthy Climate whole-home dehumidifier works in conjunction with your air conditioner to reduce humidity levels to create a healthy, comfortable climate. But it can also function separate from your air conditioner to battle humidity on cooler days when running your air conditioner isn’t necessary. Using a whole-home dehumidifier not only saves stress on your air conditioner, but it will also save you money, reducing the amount of time you need to run your air conditioner by allowing you to set your thermostat higher while still achieving the same comfort level. With a Healthy Climate whole-home dehumidifier, every room in the house benefits. Or, you can choose to dehumidify individual zones. You never have to worry about emptying it. Simply clean or replace the filter on a regular basis.

The Healthy Climate whole-home dehumidifier is available in three sizes, allowing you to choose the one best suited to effectively control humidity in your entire home:

• HCWHD-070, which can remove up to 70 pints of moisture per day
• HCWHD-095, which can remove up to 95 pints of moisture per day
• HCWHD-135, which can remove up to 135 pints of moisture per day