If you have a winter home in Florida that is vacant during the summer months, or even if you just take your vacation in the summer, you need to take certain precautions to prevent mold growth while you are way.

Mold needs three things: Nutrients, a place to grow, and moisture.

So the obvious thing to do is check for any moisture problems, and fix leaky plumbing.

It is very important to have your air conditioning inspected and maintained so it is operating smoothly.

This summer you can prevent mold from developing in your vacant home by controlling the indoor relative humidity so it is below 60%.

One of the ways to manage humidity is to have a programmable thermostat installed that will run your air conditioner at 72° for just two hours each morning before sunrise and at 88° the rest of the time. This will help prevent mold by removing moisture from the air during the cooler hours when relative humidity is highest and your A/C runs most efficiently.

For more information, and to have your HVAC properly serviced, please call Sean McCutcheon's Air Conditioning and Heating, Inc.