Wahl is an Aprilaire Authorized Dealer in Pittsburgh.
Media filtration, humidifiers, and whole-home dehumidifiers. This is the line we reach for first on air quality.
Wahl Family Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
1 Willow Avenue, Oakdale, PA 15071
Aprilaire is the indoor air quality line we install most, and the Aprilaire media air cleaner is one of the two products we recommend before anything else on air quality. It is a four to five inch deep pleated media cabinet that replaces a one inch filter slot, so it actually captures fine particulate instead of just protecting the blower. We also install Aprilaire humidifiers for winter dry air and whole-home dehumidifiers for the Pittsburgh summer humidity problem, which is the air quality issue almost nobody talks about here.
Why we run this line.
For bang for your buck, the Aprilaire media cabinet is right up there with my other favorite indoor air quality product, the REME HALO. Those two together are a powerhouse for dramatically changing the quality of air in your family’s home.David Wahl, CEO and master plumber
The reason we lead with a media cabinet is simple physics. A one inch filter in a standard slot has almost no surface area, so to get any real filtration out of it you have to make it dense, and a dense one inch filter chokes airflow and stresses the blower. A four or five inch pleated media cabinet has many times the surface area, so it can filter to MERV 13 while breathing easily. You get better air and less strain on the equipment at the same time.
The pairing matters too. A REME HALO knocks airborne particles down by making them clump and fall. A media cabinet catches them. Run them together and they do a job neither one does alone.
On the other side of the calendar, the whole-home dehumidifier is the piece Pittsburgh homeowners never hear about. Your air conditioner removes two kinds of heat: the temperature you feel and the moisture you do not. Modern equipment has drifted toward handling temperature and away from moisture, which is why you can sit at 70 degrees and still feel thick, clammy air. Getting a house to around 50 percent relative humidity makes people comfortable enough to raise the thermostat.
The equipment we actually install.
The Aprilaire equipment we install and stock.
Media air cleaner cabinets
Four and five inch deep pleated media cabinets that replace the one inch filter slot. Real MERV 13 filtration without choking airflow. This is our first recommendation on almost every air quality conversation.
MERV 13 media filters
The 20×25 MERV 13 media filter is the single highest-volume item we stock. Every air quality install and nearly every maintenance visit pulls one, which tells you how standard this has become on our jobs.
Bypass humidifiers
The workhorse winter humidifier, plumbed off the supply and returning through a bypass duct. The right answer for most homes with a furnace and a reasonable duct layout.
Fan-powered humidifiers
For homes where there is no room or no duct geometry for a bypass loop, or where we need more capacity than a bypass will deliver.
Steam humidifiers
The top of the humidification ladder. Independent of furnace runtime, so it holds humidity in a home that does not call for heat often, and it delivers real capacity in a large or leaky house.
Whole-home dehumidifiers
The summer half of the equation, and the one nobody sells you. Pulls latent moisture the air conditioner leaves behind and brings a house down to around 50 percent relative humidity.
Thermostats and controls
Aprilaire controls tied into the humidification and ventilation equipment so the whole system works as one instead of three devices arguing.
Fresh air ventilation
Ventilators for homes tight enough that stale air and CO2 build up, which is increasingly common after a good insulation and air sealing job.
Where the expertise actually shows up.
We have seen every generation of this equipment
Aprilaire has been in Pittsburgh basements for decades. We work on current models and we still service humidifiers older than some of our technicians, which means we know the failure patterns, the discontinued parts, and when a repair is throwing good money after bad.
Sized to the house, not to the box
Humidifier capacity is a function of house volume, air tightness, and how cold it actually gets. Undersize it and you never hit setpoint, oversize it and you get condensation on the windows and moisture in the walls. We calculate it.
Installed into the system, not stuck on it
Bypass duct routed correctly, drain run with the right pitch, humidistat placed where it reads real conditions, dampers where they belong. The difference between an Aprilaire that works and one that becomes an expensive box on the plenum is entirely in the install.
Air quality as a plan, not an upsell
We use a symptom-to-solution approach. Dust in the sunbeam, allergies, asthma, static shocks, cracking trim, clammy summer air, and musty basements each point to different equipment. We diagnose the symptom before we recommend a product.
Why this matters in a Pittsburgh house.
Pittsburgh gives you both problems in the same year. Winters here are dry enough to crack furniture, split trim, dry out sinuses, and shock you on every doorknob. Then July arrives at 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity and the same house goes clammy, the doors stick, and 70 percent indoor relative humidity becomes a genuine mold risk. A house here needs humidification in January and dehumidification in July, and Aprilaire is the line we build both halves out of.
Questions, answered.
What does an Aprilaire media air cleaner actually do?
It replaces the thin one inch filter slot with a four or five inch deep pleated media cabinet. The extra depth gives many times more surface area, so it can filter down to MERV 13, capturing fine particulate, without restricting airflow the way a dense one inch filter would. Better filtration and easier breathing for the equipment at the same time.
How often do I change the media filter?
Typically about once a year on a four or five inch media cabinet, versus every one to three months for a one inch filter. Homes with pets, allergies, construction dust, or heavy use may need it sooner. We check it on every maintenance visit.
Do I need a humidifier in Pittsburgh?
Most homes here benefit from one. Winter air is very dry, and the symptoms are familiar: static shocks, cracked trim and furniture, dry sinuses, and a house that feels colder than the thermostat says. Adding humidity often lets people feel comfortable at a lower thermostat setting.
What is a whole-home dehumidifier and do I need one?
It removes the moisture your air conditioner leaves behind. Air conditioners remove both temperature and humidity, but modern equipment has shifted toward temperature, so you can sit at 70 degrees with 70 percent relative humidity and feel thick, clammy air. If your house feels damp in summer, your sheets feel wet, doors stick, or you have a musty basement, this is the fix.
Should I get an Aprilaire media cleaner or a REME HALO?
Ideally both, and they work as a pair. The REME HALO makes airborne particles clump and fall out of the air; the media cabinet catches them. If you can only do one first, we usually start with the media cabinet because it is the foundation the rest of the air quality plan sits on.
Will an Aprilaire humidifier cause mold?
Not when it is sized and controlled correctly. Problems come from oversizing or from a humidistat set too high, which drives condensation on cold surfaces. We size to your home’s volume and tightness and set the control to track outdoor temperature.
Talk to someone who knows the equipment.
Upfront pricing before any work starts, both standard and member pricing on every option, and no pressure. Backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee.