Portable Air Conditioning and Heating -- an Educational Blog

As you sit in your air conditioned car, office or home be sure to celebrate the coolest dad ever -- Dr. Willis Carrier, the father of modern air conditioning.

So happy to have a guest blogger for your education and enjoyment!  Dale Blasingame is the social media manager for Champion AC, an air conditioning and heating company based in San Antonio, Texas.  Let's give Dale a warm welcome!

Here in Texas, we don’t see rain all that often. But you know that old cliché, “When it rains, it pours?” That perfectly describes our weather patterns. Just last week, some parts of south Texas saw 20 inches of rain in 48 hours! When you combine the summer heat, humidity and precipitation, your home and office are at a higher risk for developing mold and mildew.

But whether you live in Texas or Virginia, receive 20 inches of rain in two days or 20 inches in a year, there are steps you can take to prevent a full fungus invasion. If the health concerns surrounding mold don’t kick you into high gear, at the very least, that awful smell should.

Four tips for preventing mold from developing in your home and office.

1. Run Your AC.  Mold thrives in damp, humid spaces.  A little known fact about air conditioners is that they were designed to dehumidify rooms. (The first one was installed in a printing plant to keep paper straight and help ink dry.)  So, while those showers may bring cool breezes, don’t let them entice you into leaving your windows open. This allows the humidity (and opportunity for leaks) to skyrocket.

2. Identify and Stop Leaks.  If you’re already aware of leaks in your home or office, the summer rainy season should be good motivation to get them taken care of.  Letting water seep into your ceilings, walls and floors can cause serious problems.  Trust us on this - you’d much rather pay to fix a leak than to repair extensive water damage.

3. Airflow and Ventilation.  Mold loves stale air.  By making sure that all of the corners and crevices in your home or office have proper airflow and ventilation, you can prevent its growth.  You can do this by leaving space between bigger furniture, exterior walls and running the exhaust fans in your kitchen, bathrooms and laundry rooms.

4. Care for your Carpeting.  If your home or office is mostly carpeted, take care to avoid moisture from soggy shoes and pets.  Once damaged by water, carpeting must be cleaned and thoroughly dried in 24-48 hours.  After that time, replacement is your best option to avoid mold growth.

Have to admit, I'm a history geek.  Actually, I'm a story lover.  I find the "story" of just about anything -- countries, cultures, and yes, even air conditioning and spot cooling to be facinating. No matter how familiar I am with a subject, I always learn something new!

In the middle of yet ANOTHER heat wave, I pause today to celebrate the 110th birthday of modern day air conditioning!  What would you do without air conditioning?  It's a good thing we don't have to think much about it thanks to Dr. Willis Carrier.

Rational Psychrometric Formulae??  Say what?!  You may not be able to say it or even know what it is but the Rational Psychrometric Formulae, the cornerstone of all calculations in the air conditioning industry, impacts your comfort each day.  Deemed the Magna Carta of Psychrometrics, this document helps determine the precise correlation between temperature and humidity to create a comfortable environment year-round.

The good folks at United Home Experts in Massachusets have put together some tips to help ease the pain as you pay to heat and cool your home and office. 

If you're the one who pays the bills then you're quite aware the cost of energy has risen dramatically over the past 5 years.  Heating and cooling the average home or business has become a larger budget line which means it's worthy of our attention.  Having properly functioning heating and cooling systems is essential to keeping energy costs low, but it doesn't stop there.  Here are a few more tips to lower your bills.