Summer in Dallas-Fort Worth means hot, sticky weather. Your air conditioner should make you feel better. But what if the air feels cool but your house still feels damp and muggy?
This happens to many North Texas homeowners. The humidity inside your home isn’t just annoying—it can hurt your health and damage your house. Let’s look at why your AC might not be working well against humidity and what you can do to fix it.
What Is Humidity?
Humidity is water in the air that you can’t see. When there’s too much humidity, your sweat can’t dry up easily. This makes the air feel hotter and stickier than what your thermostat says.
Texas homes should have humidity between 30% and 50%. When it gets higher than that, you might notice:
Health Problems: The air feels muggy. Your allergies get worse. It’s harder to breathe.
Mold Growth: Wet air helps mold grow on walls, in air vents, and on furniture.
House Damage: Too much water in the air can make wood floors bend, paint peel off walls, and create bad smells.
How Your AC Works Against Humidity
Most people think their AC just cools the air. But it also removes water from the air. Here’s how it works:
Hot, wet air from your house goes into the AC. The air goes over a cold metal part called a coil. Water from the air sticks to this cold coil, just like water drops on a cold drink. This water drips down and goes away from your house. The cool, dry air then goes back into your rooms.
But your AC’s main job is to cool your house. Removing water happens while it cools. If the AC doesn’t run long enough, it won’t take out enough water. This is a big problem in our hot Texas weather.
Why Your AC Isn’t Removing Enough Water
If your house feels sticky and damp, here are the most common reasons:
An Oversized AC System (Short-Cycling): This is the biggest problem. When your AC is too powerful, it cools your house really fast and then turns off. These short runs don’t give it time to remove water from the air. You get cool but damp air.
Dirty Filter and Coils: When your air filter or coils get dirty, air can’t move through easily. If air can’t flow well, the system can’t remove water from it.
Wrong Fan Setting: Check your thermostat. Is the fan set to “On” or “Auto”? If it’s on “On,” the fan keeps running even when the AC stops cooling. This blows air over wet coils and puts water back into your house. Always use “Auto.”
Leaky Air Ducts: If your air ducts have holes, they pull hot, wet air from your attic or walls into your house. Your AC has to fight this new wet air all the time.
Air Leaks in Your Home: Gaps around windows and doors let humid outside air sneak into your house. This makes your AC work much harder.
How to Fix the Problem
Here are ways to fight humidity in your home. Start with the easy fixes first.
Things You Can Do:
Check Your Thermostat: Make sure the fan is set to “Auto,” not “On.” This simple change can help a lot and costs nothing.
Change Your Air Filter: Put in a new filter every 1-3 months. Clean filters help air move better through your system.
Things You Need Help With:
Get Your AC Checked: Have a professional clean your coils and check that everything works right. This helps your AC cool and remove water better.
Fix Your Air Ducts: Have someone check your ducts and seal any holes. This is one of the best ways to make your house more comfortable.
Add a Dehumidifier: For the best humidity control, you can add a whole-house dehumidifier. This machine works with your AC to remove water from the air all year long.
How Bolton Heating & Air Can Help You
Humidity problems need expert help. Bolton Heating & Air has helped DFW families for many years. We know how to find and fix these problems.
Finding the Problem: Our trained technicians use special tools to find exactly what’s wrong. We don’t guess—we test everything.
Keeping Your AC Running Well: Our maintenance plans keep your system working great all summer long. This means better cooling and less humidity.
Better Humidity Control: We install whole-house systems that control humidity perfectly. We also make sure your AC is the right size for your home.
You don’t have to live with a house that feels cold but sticky. When you understand how your AC removes water from the air and fix the problems, you can make your home comfortable and healthy.
If you’re tired of that damp, sticky feeling, don’t wait. Call Bolton Heating & Air today. We’ll check your whole system and show you solutions that work for Dallas-Fort Worth weather.