MY AIR CONDITIONER RUNS BUT MY HOME IS STILL HUMID WHY

Perplexed?

Your air conditioner, which is supposed to help dehumidify your home, is working fine...but your home is still humid.

So, what’s the deal?

Here are 2 possible problems:

• Leaky air ducts
• Your air conditioner is oversized

Let’s cover these in more detail.

Problem 1: Leaky air ducts

Air ducts distribute air around your home. But if they’re leaky, you can end up with some air quality issues—like high humidity.

Here’s how.

Leaky return ducts (that is, ducts returning air to the AC to be cooled) can pull in extra moisture from a damp crawl space, basement, or attic. That extra moisture (when combined with the next problem) can lead to a humid home and— even worse—mold growth.

Solution: Get a professional AC tech to test your air ducts for leakage and seal the leaks they find.

Problem 2: Your air conditioner is oversized

Unfortunately, many homes have an oversized air conditioner.

While an oversized air conditioner will cool your home very quickly, an AC needs to run long enough to properly dehumidify your home.

Solutions: There’s not much you can do about having an oversized AC (besides getting a new, properly-sized system).

If you’re not in the market for a new system, you could get a whole-home dehumidifier installed. 

But try ruling out the other problems first.

Need an Atlanta-area AC technician’s advice?

If you need more advice and live in the Atlanta, Georgia area, give Ragsdale a ring.