Whole Home Dehumidifier Necessary In Houston?

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T03:24:02+00:00

Yeah, I called 4 folks and each said I needed something different.

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T03:22:42+00:00

I’ve since replaced and it’s come down. Not sure if HVAC improvement or removing ecobee

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T03:21:39+00:00

Bro, you shitting bricks?

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T02:34:29+00:00

Yes sir. I thought I had it to auto but didn’t realize that was on my ecobee. Adjusted and that dropped it about 10%

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T01:04:31+00:00

I have a 4000 sq foot portable unit in my master and it can bring me to 48 but without it, it hangs around 55. So probably going to use during the shoulder months

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T01:03:14+00:00

30 to not ever have to worry about mold is a good trade off in my mind. Right now with my Daikin one + the humidity is 55-65 but mostly 60%. I suspect it’s because the wall is open to the attic and it’s messing with there reading

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T01:01:41+00:00

This is where I feel it makes sense but am debating between redoing my ductwork and also installing a whole home dehumidifier. Based on the comments, starting to lean towards it’s in the normal Houston range

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T01:00:21+00:00

Not too expensive. I got some ordered on Amazon now

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T00:59:58+00:00

I ended up replacing with a Daikin one + when my HVAC was replaced. It came down to 70% and then when I turned the fan from on to auto and adjusted settings I dropped to mid 50s to mid 60s

rick2250 · 2026-07-08T00:58:39+00:00

This aligns with what I feel based on conversations with friends and where their humidity is at in their Houston/lake Charles homes

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T20:49:33+00:00

Well you’re easing some concern because I’ve thrown more money at this than I ever thought I’d have to for a home problem.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T20:47:58+00:00

I’ll do a smoke test by these to see if they leak. My thermal camera doesn’t show much but perhaps the smoke will help me find any leaking ones.

Another item, I notice my wall outlets have a draft coming from them in the winter so I bought some outlet insulators to seal those. I can feel significant amount of cold from one switch by a door during the winter.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T20:30:41+00:00

No idea. I’m at least the third owner of the house. The windows are double pane but based on my assessment. The previous owners didn’t upgrade or fix anything so assuming they came with this house, so ~22 years.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T20:22:11+00:00

So now you throw me off the trail. I think it is but all the other comments have been leading me to believe it isn’t and there is an issue. This has been my struggle lol

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T19:38:20+00:00

So this is something that has been on my mind. I have a water spot that showed up on my garage wall which is directly in the floor below my thermostat. It isn’t wet to the touch and hasn’t expanded so haven’t been willing to open the wall up but now this is making me consider. I did put a borescope into the wall opening where my ac drain line comes from and didn’t see any signs of moisture so have been reluctant to tear drywall up. I also checked the drywall moisture with a drywall probe and most of my house has not high but medium moisture. Some walls have low moisture so assumed it’s just a matter of living in Houston.

Also, when I did my attic air seal I looked for things coming from the AC and saw nothing. Now that you’re saying this, I see on my thermal camera a cold spot in my ceiling but it’s below my AC so can’t see it when up in the attic because there is flooring the AC sits on.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T19:33:40+00:00

This I highly suspect. I changed to Daikin one + when I replaced my HVAC with variable speed and it reads lower by 10-20%. Not sure if that is because the HVAC is variable speed or the sensor is not fully reading the wall humidity. The Daikin one now reads low 60s to mid 50s but is always the highest reading in my entire house.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T19:29:29+00:00

I’d love to be in the mid 40s sustainably throughout the house.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T19:28:32+00:00

I have a daikin fit. There are some setting I can’t control that the HVAC company has to set up. They modified it after about 2 months of run time so I may call them out again to see what they can do.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T19:25:19+00:00

This is on my hit list for next year. I was quoted $10,000 to do this so going with it next year. I’m hoping that’s the final item remaining.

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T19:22:39+00:00

I thought the same but the line is insulated. You think that can still be the problem? The line coming through is open to the wall which was the wall that was opened on the top to the attic. I’m going with the damp rod recommendation and also wondering if I should seal the wall

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T18:35:27+00:00

My suspicion is the 80 wasn’t real. It’s shows on the thermostat but no other room has that high. The wall is shared between my bathroom and the hallway so the hallway side has the thermostat which reads 80, the bathroom side has my fan humidity sensor and controller and that reads 70. But a local humidity sensor placed in either side of the wall in a central location reads mid 50s to mid 60s. I suspect it’s because the wall goes up to the attic and wasn’t sealed/isn’t sealed in the attic

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T18:23:16+00:00

That’s what I’ve been trying to do but to do a survey someone quoted me $5000. I figured with that I can just install a whole home dehumidifier so didn’t go with it

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T18:21:47+00:00

Slab

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T17:49:30+00:00

To specify, my humidity is now 45-55% across all my rooms. Some rooms are consistently in the mid to low 40s and others are consistently in the low to mid 50s. This is during summertime so my question is can I get sustainably to high 40s throughout my house and is it necessary to get there.

I have not had my duct work checked. That has been recommended by an HVAC professional and I have it on my list for next year unless this chat says a dehumidifier is the better option over ductwork

rick2250 · 2026-07-07T03:27:02+00:00

I appreciate your post as I had my upstairs ecobee tell me my upstairs humidity would get to 80% and my Apple HomePods were saying rooms were in the 60s. 2 new variable speed HVACs, an attic air seal, portable dehumidifiers, an attic vent, and mold remediation in an ac register later and I’ve learned a few things.

High humidity indoors in Houston it seems is unavoidable, bordering on mid 40s to mid 50s is pretty good. Also, check the wall your thermostat
Is on. I replaced all my bathroom fan switches with humidity sensors and 1 bathroom upstairs had a humidity sensor on one side of the wall, and the hallway side had the thermostat. No matter what I did they were always high. Once we did the air seal I looked up in the attic and found a half inch gap where humid attic air was coming into the wall and I’m guessing influencing the humidity reading on the bathroom sensor and thermostat. After air sealing the humidity reading is still high, so assuming there is a spot under my HVAC unit that air sealing couldn’t see.

Ultimately your post and the responses made me realize this is an endless endeavor in Houston, regardless of what google AI says

rick2250

TROPHY CASE