If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

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math22
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If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by math22 »

I have heard from different people that we should keep our house (with central air) somewhat cool even when we are out of the house.
We live in a townhouse (3000 sqrft).

There are 2 situations that I am interested:

1. During the day while we are all out at work, temperature outside can reach 90-100 degrees during summer. Can I turn off the AC and turn it back on after I get home? Or will it somehow damage the house structure/drywalls?

2. During summer vacation, if I am out for lets say 3 weeks .Can I turn off the AC and turn it back on after I get home? Or will it somehow damage the house structure/drywalls?

Please Ignore how long the AC will take to cool the house down to the temperature that i like. The question is more if it will damage the house.
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dm200
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by dm200 »

math22 wrote:I have heard from different people that we should keep our house (with central air) somewhat cool even when we are out of the house.
We live in a townhouse (3000 sqrft).
There are 2 situations that I am interested:
1. During the day while we are all out at work, temperature outside can reach 90-100 degrees during summer. Can I turn off the AC and turn it back on after I get home? Or will it somehow damage the house structure/drywalls?
2. During summer vacation, if I am out for lets say 3 weeks .Can I turn off the AC and turn it back on after I get home? Or will it somehow damage the house structure/drywalls?
Please Ignore how long the AC will take to cool the house down to the temperature that i like. The question is more if it will damage the house.
My guess is that high humidity might be potentially harmful.
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jandres12
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by jandres12 »

If you live in the South or in a humid climate, leave the AC on at a higher temperature. Otherwise you risk mold forming on your drywall and other parts of your house. I personally leave it at 82 during the day and when on vacation.
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retiredjg
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by retiredjg »

Where I live, turning it off will result in mildew. Even though I don't "need" a/c all the time, I make sure it runs at least some.
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TheAlaskan
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by TheAlaskan »

You should leave it on to some high set point when you are away, maybe 85F. As you said, it's not so much a temperature issue, it is a humidity issue. You just want your AC to drop the humidity out of the air inside the house in order to prevent from creating an environment where mold/mildew can grow.
neilpilot
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by neilpilot »

Also, if you have any hardwood flooring it's susceptible to damage (warpage) from humidity.
runner3081
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by runner3081 »

As others have mentioned, depends on the humidity.

As we speak, our house in the Phoenix area is sitting at 86 on the thermostat while we are on vacation. Have done this many times before with no issues at that temp.

We can't completely turn it off, the cats might be baked when we get home :)
jharkin
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by jharkin »

We need to know where you live. In New England where I am only newer construction homes even have central AC... And we do get into the 80s and occasionally 90s and humid in Summer.


The ultra humid deep south is another story, but remember that prior to the last 50 years people did live there... without any AC... and their houses didn't just collapse :)
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by retiredjg »

jharkin wrote:The ultra humid deep south is another story, but remember that prior to the last 50 years people did live there... without any AC... and their houses didn't just collapse :)
Lived it! An attic fan is a wonderful thing. :happy
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by jabberwockOG »

Big temperature changes in a house are not good for the structure or the trim, paint and caulk of your house. All materials will expand and shrink at different rates as temperature and humidity goes up or down. Same goes for furniture. Result is cracks and potential warping of materials. Leave HVAC on but set to slightly higher temp in summer (and slightly lower in winter) but nothing too extreme if you are going to be gone for a long period of time. So for example we leave AC at 82 instead of the normal setting of approx 76 if we are going to be gone for a few days or more.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by why3not »

jabberwockOG wrote:Big temperature changes in a house are not good for the structure or the trim, paint and caulk of your house. All materials will expand and shrink at different rates as temperature and humidity goes up or down. Same goes for furniture. Result is cracks and potential warping of materials.
+1
I have an inlaw/guest suite with it's own AC system. It gets used a few times a year at best a week or so a time at best. AC doesn't get turned on except when guests are here. I live in hot & humid south. No mold issues in the last 5 years, but you bet the drywall seams, nail pops & caulked joints crack much, much more than the rest of the house. I can repair all that myself & do, but if I had to pay someone to do it I would guess I would still probably come out ahead by leaving the AC off for the most part.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by Gill »

In Florida you wouldn't dare shut off your air conditioner in the summer.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by carolinaman »

jandres12 wrote:If you live in the South or in a humid climate, leave the AC on at a higher temperature. Otherwise you risk mold forming on your drywall and other parts of your house. I personally leave it at 82 during the day and when on vacation.
I agree. It is 94 degrees in NC today with high humidity which will likely continue into August. The lack of circulating air could create mold and mildew in these kinds of conditions.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by just frank »

Don't worry about the daily cycle....the long run at the end of the work day will be more efficient and give better dehumidification overall...and you will save energy and $$.

AS for the vacation...get a wifi thermostat like the EcoBee3 lite. I did. I can set the setpoint wherever I want while I'm away, and see how the temp and the humidity evolve over time by logging in every few days for a minute or two. If the humidity gets higher than 60%, I run the AC for a awhile, then return it to a high setpoint. IF the weather is dryer, this never needs to be done. Also....if I had a (surprise) flood, I would see a spike in the humidity and could act on the info.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by jebmke »

just frank wrote:Don't worry about the daily cycle....the long run at the end of the work day will be more efficient and give better dehumidification overall...and you will save energy and $$.

AS for the vacation...get a wifi thermostat like the EcoBee3 lite. I did. I can set the setpoint wherever I want while I'm away, and see how the temp and the humidity evolve over time by logging in every few days for a minute or two. If the humidity gets higher than 60%, I run the AC for a awhile, then return it to a high setpoint. IF the weather is dryer, this never needs to be done. Also....if I had a (surprise) flood, I would see a spike in the humidity and could act on the info.
I'm surprised that there isn't an automatic humidity set point. Our system will kick on a low level (first stage on compressor, low fan) if the humidity goes above a certain level whether the temp calls for cooling or not.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
sk2101
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by sk2101 »

math22 wrote:I have heard from different people that we should keep our house (with central air) somewhat cool even when we are out of the house.
We live in a townhouse (3000 sqrft).

There are 2 situations that I am interested:

1. During the day while we are all out at work, temperature outside can reach 90-100 degrees during summer. Can I turn off the AC and turn it back on after I get home? Or will it somehow damage the house structure/drywalls?

2. During summer vacation, if I am out for lets say 3 weeks .Can I turn off the AC and turn it back on after I get home? Or will it somehow damage the house structure/drywalls?

Please Ignore how long the AC will take to cool the house down to the temperature that i like. The question is more if it will damage the house.
In areas of high humidity YES.
Last edited by sk2101 on Mon Feb 21, 2022 3:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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MikeWillRetire
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by MikeWillRetire »

Gill wrote:In Florida you wouldn't dare shut off your air conditioner in the summer.
Gill
What do the poor people do?
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by rgs92 »

My central air is never set above 74 degrees (F). Normally it's at 72. I don't like to sweat. Nah, don't be cheap and turn if off when you're away. I would never abuse my house like that.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by The Wizard »

MikeWillRetire wrote:
Gill wrote:In Florida you wouldn't dare shut off your air conditioner in the summer.
Gill
What do the poor people do?
I'm guessing they have the equivalent of air conditioning food stamps in Florida...
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by tibbitts »

rgs92 wrote:My central air is never set above 74 degrees (F). Normally it's at 72. I don't like to sweat. Nah, don't be cheap and turn if off when you're away. I would never abuse my house like that.
I leave my condo in FL at 77 when I'm gone, and here in OK at 78 during the day. But 78 at the thermostat here means 82-ish in the main living area, and probably 80 average around the house. In FL 77 is 77. FL is very cheap to cool and for $10 or whatever extra a month I think it might benefit some things like my old photos to be at a reasonable temperature. In Oklahoma any hotter and I'd never get the place cool at night - I need stage-2 running constantly after work to get the place comfortable for sleeping.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by Goal33 »

I will start by saying I live in California and have basically no experience with humidity or temperatures managing to get above 80 degrees indoors.

I am just curious, if the concern of folks is humidity, what about a dehumidifier?... what am I missing?
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by The Wizard »

tibbitts wrote:
rgs92 wrote:My central air is never set above 74 degrees (F). Normally it's at 72. I don't like to sweat. Nah, don't be cheap and turn if off when you're away. I would never abuse my house like that.
I leave my condo in FL at 77 when I'm gone, and here in OK at 78 during the day. But 78 at the thermostat here means 82-ish in the main living area, and probably 80 average around the house. In FL 77 is 77. FL is very cheap to cool and for $10 or whatever extra a month I think it might benefit some things like my old photos to be at a reasonable temperature. In Oklahoma any hotter and I'd never get the place cool at night - I need stage-2 running constantly after work to get the place comfortable for sleeping.
Sell the place in OK and go to New Hampsha henceforth in the summahs. Much coolah...
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by Keepcalm »

The Wizard wrote:
tibbitts wrote:
rgs92 wrote:My central air is never set above 74 degrees (F). Normally it's at 72. I don't like to sweat. Nah, don't be cheap and turn if off when you're away. I would never abuse my house like that.
I leave my condo in FL at 77 when I'm gone, and here in OK at 78 during the day. But 78 at the thermostat here means 82-ish in the main living area, and probably 80 average around the house. In FL 77 is 77. FL is very cheap to cool and for $10 or whatever extra a month I think it might benefit some things like my old photos to be at a reasonable temperature. In Oklahoma any hotter and I'd never get the place cool at night - I need stage-2 running constantly after work to get the place comfortable for sleeping.
Sell the place in OK and go to New Hampsha henceforth in the summahs. Much coolah...
I concur (NH resident).
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by bertilak »

Goal33 wrote:I will start by saying I live in California and have basically no experience with humidity or temperatures managing to get above 80 degrees indoors.

I am just curious, if the concern of folks is humidity, what about a dehumidifier?... what am I missing?
Both heat and humidity can be a problem but humidity is the worst. Think of those pictures of the interiors of abandoned buildings: warped floorboards, peeling walls.

A standalone dehumidifier is a huge bother. It will require running some kind of drainage since there will be no one present to empty the collected water. A standalone will be unlikely to have whole-house capacity and won't address the heat issue.

A decent air conditioner will solve both problems: heat and humidity.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by HoosierJim »

One strategy is to get a programmable thermostat and have the temperature brought down to 82 degrees for a few hours starting at about 5 am - 6 am (coolest part of the day). The rest of the day - set the thermostat to 99 degrees so the air doesn't come on. This has two effects
    1. Removes the moisture from the air.
    • Temperature differential is lowest so you move a lot more heat out for the same cost
Then as the temperature increase through the day - the infiltration adds to the moisture - but note the relative humidity is attenuated by the temperature increase.

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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by Cosmo »

jabberwockOG wrote:Big temperature changes in a house are not good for the structure or the trim, paint and caulk of your house. All materials will expand and shrink at different rates as temperature and humidity goes up or down. Same goes for furniture. Result is cracks and potential warping of materials. Leave HVAC on but set to slightly higher temp in summer (and slightly lower in winter) but nothing too extreme if you are going to be gone for a long period of time. So for example we leave AC at 82 instead of the normal setting of approx 76 if we are going to be gone for a few days or more.
I would not characterize the South as having big temperature changes in the summer. Humidity is the culprit. Here in Texas, 95 max 75 min from June to September.

Back to the OP, my much bigger concern would be hardwood floors and other interior wood trim -not drywall. The drywall would likely be just fine.

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Post by Cosmo »

jabberwockOG wrote:Big temperature changes in a house are not good for the structure or the trim, paint and caulk of your house. All materials will expand and shrink at different rates as temperature and humidity goes up or down. Same goes for furniture. Result is cracks and potential warping of materials. Leave HVAC on but set to slightly higher temp in summer (and slightly lower in winter) but nothing too extreme if you are going to be gone for a long period of time. So for example we leave AC at 82 instead of the normal setting of approx 76 if we are going to be gone for a few days or more.
I would not characterize the South as having big temperature changes in the summer. Humidity is the culprit. Here in Texas, 95 max 75 min from June to September.

Back to the OP, my much bigger concern would be hardwood floors and other interior wood trim -not drywall. The drywall would likely be just fine. I will use the example of our finished, non-climate controlled attached garage. Many times, it is kept open in the summer exposing it to the heat and the humidity. No mildew and no mold to be found anywhere in the garage on the drywall.

Cosmo
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by carolinaman »

Cosmo wrote:
jabberwockOG wrote:Big temperature changes in a house are not good for the structure or the trim, paint and caulk of your house. All materials will expand and shrink at different rates as temperature and humidity goes up or down. Same goes for furniture. Result is cracks and potential warping of materials. Leave HVAC on but set to slightly higher temp in summer (and slightly lower in winter) but nothing too extreme if you are going to be gone for a long period of time. So for example we leave AC at 82 instead of the normal setting of approx 76 if we are going to be gone for a few days or more.
I would not characterize the South as having big temperature changes in the summer. Humidity is the culprit. Here in Texas, 95 max 75 min from June to September.

Back to the OP, my much bigger concern would be hardwood floors and other interior wood trim -not drywall. The drywall would likely be just fine.

Cosmo
I agree with the impact of humidity on wood. Our wood floors and doors swell in the humid summer conditions and shrink in the dry winter conditions. Not sure what would happen if we left the AC off for an extended time in summer but it would not be good.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by pshonore »

The Wizard wrote:
MikeWillRetire wrote:
Gill wrote:In Florida you wouldn't dare shut off your air conditioner in the summer.
Gill
What do the poor people do?
I'm guessing they have the equivalent of air conditioning food stamps in Florida...
I imagine people without Central Air open the windows. That should eliminate mold, mildew, etc but would still be uncomfortable in hot, humid weather
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by bertilak »

Cosmo wrote:Back to the OP, my much bigger concern would be hardwood floors and other interior wood trim -not drywall. The drywall would likely be just fine. I will use the example of our finished, non-climate controlled attached garage. Many times, it is kept open in the summer exposing it to the heat and the humidity. No mildew and no mold to be found anywhere in the garage on the drywall.
Interesting point. I too have a garage that is not climate controlled. It is not even attached to the house. I have not noticed water damage to the dry wall other than at a place I can explain in another way. The floor is concrete so no problem their. That makes me rethink my thoughts on turning off air conditioning completely. Perhaps the real problem with humidity is condensation which is caused by temperature differences that may be more moderate in unconditioned spaces -- differences both time to time and air to surface.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by tibbitts »

Keepcalm wrote:
The Wizard wrote:
tibbitts wrote:
rgs92 wrote:My central air is never set above 74 degrees (F). Normally it's at 72. I don't like to sweat. Nah, don't be cheap and turn if off when you're away. I would never abuse my house like that.
I leave my condo in FL at 77 when I'm gone, and here in OK at 78 during the day. But 78 at the thermostat here means 82-ish in the main living area, and probably 80 average around the house. In FL 77 is 77. FL is very cheap to cool and for $10 or whatever extra a month I think it might benefit some things like my old photos to be at a reasonable temperature. In Oklahoma any hotter and I'd never get the place cool at night - I need stage-2 running constantly after work to get the place comfortable for sleeping.
Sell the place in OK and go to New Hampsha henceforth in the summahs. Much coolah...
I concur (NH resident).
That idea will have more appeal in twenty-seven months, due to employment.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by carolinaman »

bertilak wrote:
Cosmo wrote:Back to the OP, my much bigger concern would be hardwood floors and other interior wood trim -not drywall. The drywall would likely be just fine. I will use the example of our finished, non-climate controlled attached garage. Many times, it is kept open in the summer exposing it to the heat and the humidity. No mildew and no mold to be found anywhere in the garage on the drywall.
Interesting point. I too have a garage that is not climate controlled. It is not even attached to the house. I have not noticed water damage to the dry wall other than at a place I can explain in another way. The floor is concrete so no problem their. That makes me rethink my thoughts on turning off air conditioning completely. Perhaps the real problem with humidity is condensation which is caused by temperature differences that may be more moderate in unconditioned spaces -- differences both time to time and air to surface.
Garages are more open and get good airflow. Mold and mildew thrive in damp enclosed places with poor airflow, like a crawl space or a house that is not in use.

I have a neighbor who has lived at his lake house for over 20 years. His nearby house has been unoccupied all of that time. I believe it will have to be gutted to the studs and joists and rebuilt. I visited the house recently when he dropped by. I had to leave after 30 minutes due to the musty smell and affect on my lungs. An extreme example but houses need good continuous airflow.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by Gill »

MikeWillRetire wrote:
Gill wrote:In Florida you wouldn't dare shut off your air conditioner in the summer.
Gill
What do the poor people do?
They live with mildew. Easy to understand why Florida was not terribly liveable until air conditioning came along.
Gill
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by bertilak »

carolinaman wrote:I have a neighbor who has lived at his lake house for over 20 years. His nearby house has been unoccupied all of that time. I believe it will have to be gutted to the studs and joists and rebuilt. I visited the house recently when he dropped by. I had to leave after 30 minutes due to the musty smell and affect on my lungs. An extreme example but houses need good continuous airflow.
Never fear, I will NOT be turning off my AC when I am away!

ASIDE:

My AC died about a week ago and I had to replace it. The old one was a single-stage 5-ton system that was slightly oversized for my house. We had a big mold problem a few years back and solved it by wiring up the blower to its lowest speed. (It had three wiring positions, low, medium and high, originally installed at high.) This kept the AC running longer allowing it to squeeze out more moisture. We also cranked the temp down a few degrees and put the fan on auto on/off instead of continuous, as DW wanted it for filtration. (A continuous fan blew air across the collected water right back into the house.) Those three steps (slower fan, automatic on/off fan and lower temp) solved our mold problem.

Our new AC is a 5-stage system that runs quite often, mostly at the lowest stage. It senses humidity and automatically adjusts several parameters. Per installers recommendation I turned off the option that allows it to over-cool. (The old one did that, making the house even colder as it further dehumidified.) The new one is set at 77 instead of 73 and the humidity is kept pretty constant at about 45-47%. (The old AC often let it get to a barely acceptable 55%.)

The new AC also maintains a much narrower temperature range. It has a much fancier, integrated, filter with some sort of electrostatic feature that claims to not only capture but actually kill mold spores. The new AC is as quiet as a mouse. The old one rumbled like a train going by!

These things have come a long way in 10 years.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by Rupert »

Goal33 wrote:I will start by saying I live in California and have basically no experience with humidity or temperatures managing to get above 80 degrees indoors.

I am just curious, if the concern of folks is humidity, what about a dehumidifier?... what am I missing?
Central AC is a dehumidifier. Running standalone dehumidifiers large enough to dehumidify an entire house would cost more than running central AC all the time. Standalone dehumidifiers also generate a lot of heat, which you wouldn't want in the south in the summer.
Last edited by Rupert on Sat Jul 15, 2017 1:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by Rupert »

Gill wrote:
MikeWillRetire wrote:
Gill wrote:In Florida you wouldn't dare shut off your air conditioner in the summer.
Gill
What do the poor people do?
They live with mildew. Easy to understand why Florida was not terribly liveable until air conditioning came along.
Gill
Poor people have air conditioning like everyone else. Geez. Most electric utility companies in the deep south have assistance programs for people who truly can't afford summer electric bills. What do poor people in the north do in the winter time?
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by digarei »

Rupert wrote:
Gill wrote:
MikeWillRetire wrote:
Gill wrote:In Florida you wouldn't dare shut off your air conditioner in the summer.
Gill
What do the poor people do?
They live with mildew. Easy to understand why Florida was not terribly liveable until air conditioning came along.
Gill
Poor people have air conditioning like everyone else. Geez. Most electric utility companies in the deep south have assistance programs for people who truly can't afford summer electric bills. What do poor people in the north do in the winter time?
No one had air conditioning 100 years ago; few had it sixty years ago.... are there no wood frame houses from those eras still standing?

I think some posters are conflating personal comfort with structural damage.
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by The Wizard »

digarei wrote:
No one had air conditioning 100 years ago; few had it sixty years ago.... are there no wood frame houses from those eras still standing?
Mildew and mold have gotten more aggressive in the last few decades.
They eat Chinese drywall for lunch nowadays...
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Re: If i turn off central AC will it damage drywalls?

Post by neilpilot »

The Wizard wrote:
digarei wrote:
No one had air conditioning 100 years ago; few had it sixty years ago.... are there no wood frame houses from those eras still standing?
Mildew and mold have gotten more aggressive in the last few decades.
They eat Chinese drywall for lunch nowadays...
...and no one had drywall 100 years ago
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