Dehumidifier Buying Guide

The home’s first line of defense against mold, mildew, and an overworked HVAC system is to control the humidity. Dehumidifiers are designed to pull the moisture from the air you breathe to keep it away from sensitive surfaces like wood, paper, or even cement floors.

What Is a Dehumidifier?

Humidity is a measure of how much moisture is saturating the air in a space. Too much moisture in the air breeds allergens which can weaken the human immune system and cause other problems over the long-term.

Humidity impacts how comfortable we are by influencing how effectively the body wicks away sweat, and even how easily we breathe or react to allergy triggers like dust mites and mildew. It happens indoors and outdoors and can have an impact on your health and how you feel from day to day.

A dehumidifier can remove the excess moisture from the air in your home. Less moisture in the air means the heating and air conditioning system can more effectively control the temperature in the building without heating or cooling the moisture in the air first. A properly used dehumidifier can help keep even closed spaces well ventilated and in the safe range for humidity control, or even restore your home after a flood by preventing the spread of mold unseen inside the walls. 

How Does a Dehumidifier Work?

1. The onboard fans pull air into the dehumidifier, pulling moisture with it. 
2. The air is circulated inside the dehumidifier over cooled coils, creating condensation as it pulls moisture from the air. 
3. A built-in defrost system is used to de-ice internal parts. 
4. The condensation is collected in an easily emptied tank, or reservoir that automatically drains out of the system. 
5. Heated air is then released into the room to replace what is pulled in. 

Benefits of a Dehumidifier

If you commonly get allergies, you know that they can get rather miserable at times. When you live in a humid climate, there are many triggers for these things—dust mites, mold, mildew, and seasonal allergies. If you find that you are suffering a lot, a good dehumidifier can help–in more ways than one. 

Take a look at some of the benefits of using a dehumidifier at home: 

• Lower humidity levels reduce allergen exposure. 
• Reduces irritation to your skin and respiratory system. 
• Reduces odors in your home to help keep things fresh. 
• Quiet and efficient with little interruption in your daily life. 
• Keeps dust and other allergens off your furniture and fabrics. 
• Improves efficiency of your home AC and lowers costs. 

These are just a few of the benefits of using a dehumidifier. The most noticeable perk is that dehumidifiers make the home air quality feel better, and that is often a result of the other household boosts from regular use. A dehumidifier is a simple addition to your home’s indoor air quality habits, yet it offers a host of advantages in different ways. 

Soothes Allergy Triggers That Thrive in Humidity 

Many of the most common allergy triggers, especially dust mites, mold, and mildew, thrive in humid environments. Whether you live in a humid climate, or you just have a living space that tends to be more humid, you may be suffering from these things. Small living spaces with limited ventilation, such as bathrooms or kitchens in a small apartment or basement apartments, are common areas where moisture can build up, even in dry climates. 

Some of the most common reactions to allergy triggers include: 

• Stuffy nose 
• Itchy, watery eyes 
• Sneezing, wheezing, or difficulty breathing 
• Skin rashes and other irritations 

Mold allergies are also a significant contributor to childhood asthma, which can be a debilitating and costly disease for children who develop it at a young age. 

With the help of a dehumidifier, you can reduce the humidity levels in your home and make it less hospitable to allergens such as dust mites, mold, and mildew. Dehumidifiers act as an air filter by removing allergens from the air, such as airborne spores, dust mites, and microbes. 

These contaminants become trapped in the condensation, rather than a synthetic filter, and are removed from the air you breathe rather than recycled back into the room. This helps reduce odors and dust, as well as the humidity levels, which overall helps improve the indoor air quality. With cleaner air and fewer dust mites floating around, a dehumidifier can even improve the whole family’s quality of sleep. 

Feel Better 

Dehumidifiers reduce irritation to your skin and your respiratory system, and with less moisture in the air, there’s less opportunity for spreading irritants and viruses.  

A less humid environment in your home also provides other unexpected benefits. Clothing will dry faster, breads and cereals will remain fresh longer without getting stale, with less risk of eating outdated or moldy foods, and you won’t find signs of rust or corrosion on things like computer equipment, electronics, and tools.  

These subtle changes in the day-to-day add up to more enjoyment of the things in your home without worrying, allowing you to breathe easier and feel comfortable in your home. 

Every-day Refresh for Your Space 

A dehumidifier can be found in different sizes to match the needs of the room because they are designed to be easy to use and convenient. They are not disruptive to your daily life and run quietly and efficiently in the background without most people even noticing. They can be set up on a tabletop or dresser and operate for hours at a time.

Running a dehumidifier helps reduce odors that can accompany mold and mildew in your home. They help get rid of that ‘musty’ or ‘rotting’ smell that comes from too much moisture in a small space. Because the dehumidifier pulls contaminants and allergens from the air, it can help reduce dust in your home, so you won’t have to clean as often. 

Mold Prevention 

A dehumidifier can protect the structural integrity of your home, as well as the people who live inside of it. Mold and bugs dwell in hidden, dark spaces, taking advantage of the saturated fibers to burrow and weaken the integrity of the drywall and wood. Too much moisture can soften and rot away the walls and framework, eventually resulting in extensive repairs and required remodels.  

In humid areas, such as basements and sunrooms, a dehumidifier can help prevent mold growth in corners or along interior walls. It can help to reduce the possibility that you will develop mold on your clothing, furniture, and other linens (such as curtains or bed sheets). Keeping the humidity levels low helps keep the mold from starting and spreading elsewhere in the home.

Save Energy Costs 

Dehumidifiers make the air temperature more consistent and comfortable. A dehumidifier also lowers energy costs because it helps your air conditioner run more efficiently.  

When the air in your home is more humid, the A/C must do the function of cooling the air and removing moisture, which means it must work harder. This can cause your A/C to wear out sooner, which leads to more frequent and costly repairs. 

Keeping the humidity levels steady with the help of a dehumidifier means less moisture into your HVAC system and helps ensure smooth and effective operation, as the air offers less resistance to the cooling system because it is circulated with less moisture. 

Do You Need a Dehumidifier?

There are a few tell-tale signs that your home could need a dehumidifier. If you notice any of the following, it’s time to get a dehumidifier running in your home or office: 

• Moist spots, or soft spots, on the walls or ceilings. 
• Discoloration or dark bands in different patterns that show signs of water stains. 
• A heavy, ‘stuffy’ feel to the air. 
• A musty odor to the room that is hard or impossible to clear out. 
• Condensation on the inside of windows or on mirrors. 
• Rooms with porous surfaces, such as cloth couches and curtains, wood, cinder block, or rock covered walls, will retain moisture easily. 

Any recent flooding, whether from natural disaster or simple appliance malfunction or overflow, should be dried out with a dehumidifier as soon as possible. It may also be necessary to treat the impacted areas with disinfectants and fungicides to further prevent illnesses and allergy aggravation.

If there is an obvious moisture entry point, such as an unsealed, open window, or a location like a basement that is prone to colder temperatures and more moisture, a dehumidifier will not perform as effectively as intended. It’s important to close off, fix, or otherwise control environmental factors that influence the humidity in a room in order to get the best results from a dehumidifier. 

Does a Dehumidifier Kill Mold?

It’s important to note that while it will help prevent damage and ongoing problems over time, a dehumidifier will not kill any mold already present in an area. The mold will essentially go dormant as it dries out and can be easily revived again with the right environmental conditions, unless it is killed and cleaned away.  

For instance, in areas that have had invasive flooding, a dehumidifier will be able to quickly pull the moisture from the room and from the drywall or flooring to prevent extensive spread of damage.  

If moisture is allowed to set in, mold will be able to take hold in areas that aren’t treated with an effective fungicide. Mold can then continue to grow in the dark, damp space if the drywall is not removed, the mold treated, and the moisture eliminated. In those situations, it’s always best to consult with a local contractor or clean-up specialist if you suspect mold inside the walls. 

For visible, surface mold and mildew, there are multiple ways to treat the area that will effectively kill the problem spores and the underlying membrane that facilitates its growth. 

• For cracks in cement or grouted tile, use a steam cleaner over the area. The steam needs to reach a temperature of between 180- and 220-degrees Fahrenheit in order to kill mold. 
• If you don’t mind the smell, use a spray bottle to saturate the area in vinegar. Do not wipe or rinse it away. 
• Essential oils offer a slightly less abrasive smell than the vinegar. Use a solution of either 2 teaspoons tea tree oil to 2 cups water, or 20 drops of grapefruit or citrus seed extract mixed in 2 cups of water.

No matter how you choose to treat a mold problem, a dehumidifier is one tool available to help control the environment in your home to keep it under the 60% humidity level that allows molds and other problems to grow and spread. Proper temperature and ventilation control with a dehumidifier, effective HVAC system, and other types of fans help keep your home and family healthy.

How Do You Know What Size Humidifier to Get?

A dehumidifier’s effectiveness is indicated by the number of pints of condensation the unit can collect per day and per hour. That has little to do with the tank size, as the tanks are expected to be emptied regularly. The expected total pints are based on the goal of maintaining a 30- to 50% relative humidity in the room.

Below-grade spaces such as basements or garages are often colder and more moisture prone, so can be more demanding on a dehumidifier. The more moisture in an area, the more condensation capacity the unit will need. If the capacity doesn’t match the room-size, the dehumidifier will cycle on and off more frequently to keep up with the changes in the room’s environment.

Small room humidifiers are capable of pulling between 30 and 35 pints of moisture a day. These units can take care of the uncomfortable, damp weight to the air quite effectively. They aren’t as capable at tackling wet areas as medium or large capacity dehumidifiers but can be quite affordable. 

Medium sized rooms require humidifiers that remove as much as 50 pints per day.

Large room humidifiers should be capable of removing between 60 and 70 pints of condensation per day. This size can handle either a larger space, or a smaller space with a higher moisture level. 

Whole-house or crawlspace dehumidifiers can be added to an existing central heating and air system to help control the moisture throughout a larger space, up to 5000 square feet. 

Features to Look for When Buying a Dehumidifier 

Before you buy a dehumidifier, know what your options are so you can choose the best fit for your family and household requirements.

Anti-frost sensors and automatic de-icers keep the internal cooling coils from freezing up and damaging the dehumidifier.

Decibel range is important to pay attention to, especially in smaller rooms. Quieter dehumidifiers are available from 50 decibels and up.

Energy efficiency certification, such as Energy Star ratings, help keep operation costs down over the long-term. 

Integrated condensation pumps help move the collected moisture out of the unit, rather than rely on gravity alone to keep the tank emptied.

An onboard humidistat can be used to determine the amount of humidity in the room and can be used to monitor progress as the dehumidifier is working in a room.

Timers and automatic restart or stop options work with built-in float sensors in the water tank to monitor how much water has been collected, or with humidistats to monitor the humidity levels in the room and only operate the dehumidifier when necessary to maintain a consistent humidity level. 

User-friendly controls, such as full-tank alerts and filter indicator lights make it easier for you to monitor the amount of moisture being pulled from the air and empty the reservoir as needed or change the filters. 

Water tank overflow prevention measures, such as a continuous drain hose hookup or a water tank auto-shut off, keep the dehumidifier working smoothly. 

Wheels installed at the base of the dehumidifier allow for easier portability, as commercial units can be heavy and awkward to move around. 

Cleaning A Dehumidifier  

It is also important to look for a unit that can be easily cleaned and safely maintained. They will need cleaned with soap and water and dried thoroughly between uses. Regular cleanings are important to prevent scaling and mildew growth. Look for units that are easily assembled and have accessible compartments that can be dried and washed by hand. 

Protect Your Indoor Air Quality 

Dehumidifiers are just one option when looking to safeguard the indoor air quality of your home. Another is, of course, the humidifier for those drier climates or even just specific rooms with very dry air, which can pull moisture from your skin and make breathing uncomfortable. Different times of year may benefit from one or the other to maintain a year-round, consistent humidity level. Look for air purifiers to help further filter out impurities that interfere with your health and comfort at home. There are few things more important than the air you and your family breathe, especially at home, and these easy-to-use tools help keep it safe and clean.