[fishdoc1]

Those of you with weekend homes on the coast that stay vacant for a week or two between uses. Do you leave your AC running, use some type of dehumidifier, or do nothing but close it up when you leave. I have a place in POC and have been having severe allergies when I am there on the weekends. By Sunday morning I am clawing my eyes out, stopped up, and sneezing like crazy. It seems to affect me more at night while in bed. I have metal building finshed on the in side with sheet rock walls with central air.

 

[rlw]

I think you should condemn it and send me the keys. LOL Can't help with the allergy thing, but nice place.
Rick

 

[Mont]

two things that will help are:

A programmable thermostat. Set it to run a couple hours each day.

An electronic air cleaner. It will scrub mold spores and all the rest out of the air.

 

[G-Money]

I have a weekend home in Rockport about two blocks from Aransas Bay. I don't have allergies here in Houston but get a running nose and throat when I get there. I think It's just a change of climate. After a couple of days I don't notice it. Won't make quit going down though. LOVE IT.

 

[mastercylinder60]

do what mont said above because it definately sounds like you are having a proliferation of mold and mold spores due to the moisture in your place while you're away.

it's impossible to completely eliminate the mold and their spores, but you can keep them to a minimum by keeping your place as dry as possible.

most molds are harmless other than wreaking havoc on your allergies, but some molds produce mycotoxins that can damage your lungs.

 

[Blackgar]

I leave my a\c on at 83 & run a dehumidifier at 65%. I also pour a cup of bleach in the toilets when I leave & leave the lids up. I also use th moisture absorbant stuff under thr beds & bathroom cabinets. No more ugly smell when we walk in & it seems a lot cooler

 

[Pocketfisherman]

I bet you have mold in the AC Duct Work. Using a Good high quality anti allergen filter element will help. So will cleaning the duct work. I think after you leave, the humid air condenses inside the cool ductwork leaving moisture which facilitates the mold. If there was a way to keep the blower running once the AC was turned off and until the duct work reached ambient temps, I bet that would help a lot.

Also, what kind of insulation or barrier did you use between the sheetrock and outside metal walls of the building?

 

[Gottagofishin]

I just turn up the thermostat to 82. That seems to do the trick, but Mont's suggestion is probably cheaper in the long run.

 

[fishnlab]

we turn ours to 84 and leave the fan in the living room on. no issues for us yet. good luck.

 

[Ckill]

We turn it off completly and use the Damprid products to keep the humidity down. It is amazing how much water they pick up out of the air. Seems to be working good.
http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/index.asp?cat=176180

 

[ranchpeddler]

nice house!

Who built it if you dont mind me asking? Looking to do something like that on my ranch. Thanks

 

[fowlwaters]

Damprid works great you can get it at Walmart. We have been using it up at the lake house afew years and problems are gone.

 

[fishdoc1]

Builder

Who built it if you dont mind me asking? Looking to do something like that on my ranch. Thanks

The builder I used was WP Construction out of Inez. Will was great to work with and did a real good job for me.

Mont are you talking about putting an electronic air cleaner in the return air or a stand alone unit?

 

[drfishalot]

Is it year-round or just lately. my allergies always flair in spring/fall

 

[fishdoc1]

All Summer

I have had this issue almost every weekend thru the summer.

 

[specksorreds]

Take Monty's advice. Had a weekend house in Rockport for 3 years and that was the route we took. Never had a problem

 

[marshmadness]

dude nice pad looks like a place where a man could drowned a few beers

 

[Stumpgrinder]

Our place in shoalwater flats is tough on the sinuses. We basicaly lock it up with evertyhing turned off and leave. Will have to try a few of the given suggestions.

 

[expressfish]

what about a 5th wheel ?? I dont really want to leave the a/c running as I might not go down but once a month at times. I guess a bucket of damp rid would help. I used to leave the windows open thinking the trailer would breath ? Well I wiped the walls one time with pledge and all this green --not seen by the eye---mold came off the walls !! Now I shut her up tight, were about a mile from the water......

 

[spotsndots]

If you don't want to leave the a/c on at a higher temp, then get yourself a portable dehumidifier from Lowes, Home Depot etc. and let it drain into your sink. For mold to grow you absolutely must have moisture to a level over 70% humidity. A dehumidifier will be much cheaper than an electronic air cleaner which is going to require your a/c fan to be on anyways to draw the air to it and thru it. The dehumidifier will keep your humidity levels low enough that you won't have the problem any more. Here's a link http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=dehumidifier&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 showing several from HD from $100-$300. I'll promise you an electronic air cleaner is much more expensive and requires more maintenance to keep the efficiencies up. Air filtration is my business and I'm not trying to sell you anything just point you in the right direction.

If your thinking about a portable electronic air cleaner you'd be better off with a HEPA air cleaner. HEPA filtration is much better (the best filtration available in terms of efficiency) and doesn't lose it's efficiency as it gets dirty like electronic air cleaners do.