Does the air inside your home feel sticky and humid? Most homeowners never associate humid air with their air conditioning system. However, the humidity may be your problem. You may feel like your dryer is backing up and creating the humid air, which is possible. But when the entire home feels humid, and not just your laundry room, then this is actually an air conditioning problem. West Lake Houston HVAC will explain why your home is feeling way to humid and why you need to seek air conditioning repairs.

Does an AC Remove Humidity?

When your air conditioner is working properly it will remove the humidity in your home. This is done by circulating the humidity inside your home through the cold evaporator coils. The evaporator coil tubes condenses the vapor or moisture in the air and causes it to fall down which is why you get condensation on your air conditioner unit. As long as the air conditioner is functioning properly, your home shouldn’t have any humidity. If you have humidity in your home there could be a few different problems going on inside your air conditioning system.

Should You Set Thermostat to On or Auto?

When you set your thermostat to “ON” this could be the reason behind the humidity. When the thermostat is set to “AUTO” the air conditioner will run a cycle as it needs to. When the thermostat detects a higher temperature in the home, it will trigger a cooling cycle. When you have the thermostat set to “ON,” you are having only the air conditioner’s fan running. The fan is running constantly, which means the air conditioner isn’t triggering a cooling cycle which will remove the humidity. When you first notice your home is feeling humid, your first step and easier fix is to make sure the thermostat is set to “AUTO”.

Dirty Evaporator Coil

The evaporator coils play a major role when cooling and removing the humidity in the air. As the warm air passes through the evaporator coils the condensation will accumulate and drip into a drainage system. As the condensation builds up on the evaporator coils and if dust, hair or other particles are present, they will get trapped in the condensation. This will cause the coils to become very dirty over time. If the coils become too dirty, they can no longer draw the vapor out of the air which means you will have cool but humid air filtering back through your home. When your home feels cool but humid, the evaporator coils need to be cleaned. Make sure to have a professional clean the coils as they can be damaged easily.

Oversized Air Conditioner

If you fell into the trap that a bigger air conditioner unit is better you may have realized that was a mistake. Yes, an oversized air conditioner will cool the space fast but not effectively. An oversized air conditioner will leave the home air temperature severely unbalanced. An oversized air conditioner runs a cycle too fast for the evaporator coils to properly remove the vapor which means your home will always be humid. An oversized air conditioner is never a good idea. They have more problems, and they are truly not more efficient than a properly sized unit. If you have an oversized air conditioner, then you will want to consider installing the right size unit.

Central Air Conditioner Repair, Replacement & More in Kingwood, The Woodlands, Huffman, Spring & Greater Houston Texas

If you have humid air in your home or require other HVAC services, contact West Lake Houston Air Conditioning & Heating today!