How to Get the Most Out of Your Dehumidifier

Dehumidifiers can be one of the most important appliances when your home experiences a leak or flood, or just during increasingly humid weather. Getting the most out of your dehumidifier during those times is crucial to not only making sure your home stays free of pests, mold, and excess moisture, but helps you avoid allergies, sticky surfaces, and dust buildup. This guide is here to explain exactly how to do that, and how to keep your dehumidifier working efficiently!

What is a Dehumidifier

A dehumidifier is an appliance with a series of fans and cooling tubes of refrigerant or adsorption material, that works by drawing warm air through its coils. When the warm, humid air contacts those cold coils, the moisture and water in the air turns into tiny droplets, that are then collected in a bucket inside of the dehumidifier. All that's left is for the air to exit through the fan grille vent into your home, and for the water to drain out of its hose.

What is a Dehumidifier’s Purpose?

Dehumidifiers are used to reduce the amount of humidity and moisture in a room or home by pulling in and cooling down the humid air, and replacing it with cooler and dryer air. They are particularly useful after water leaks and floods to remove excess moisture that collects in the air, and many people also use them in basements or other areas of their home where humidity and moisture collect.

Why You Need a Dehumidifier

Reasons why you would want to get a dehumidifier range in severity and overall benefit to you and your home. But there are a few outstanding motivations for why someone would want to get a dehumidifier for their home.

• Dust Buildup: Excessive humidity can lead to dust accumulating easier on surfaces in your home, since dust particles tend to settle more easily in moist environments.
• Mold Growth Prevention: High humidity levels create ideal conditions for mold and mildew to grow. Mold can be damaging to the furniture and parts of your home, but your health as well.
• Allergy Relief: Dust mites, mold spores, and pollen, thrive in humid and moist conditions. People with allergies tend to suffer more when living in these types of environments.
• Air Comfort: Excessively moist air can feel uncomfortable and irritating on your skin. In addition, respiratory issues can worsen in increasingly humid and moist living spaces.
• Creaky Floorboards: Wooden floorboards absorb moisture, which causes them to contract and expand — this leads to creaking sounds, which can become a nuisance for some.
• Sticky Surfaces: Humidity creates stickier surfaces, which can interrupt comfort, cleanliness, and overall wellbeing.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Dehumidifier

When it comes to actually getting the most out of your dehumidifier, you'll want to consider a few things: what size dehumidifier to purchase, what settings to run it at, and how to maintain it. Each of these is as important of a consideration as the next, not only before you pick one up, but after you get it setup at home.

Selecting the Right Size Dehumidifier for Your Home

Unfortunately, buying any random dehumidifier and plugging it in isn't going to completely solve the humidity and moisture issues you're experiencing at home. You may get some temporarily relief, but there are are a few things to consider before you evaluate your options.

• Pint Capacity: Dehumidifiers are measured by small, medium, and large models. Each of these models has a capacity to remove and hold water each day, which is measured in pints. Small models typically remove 20—30 pints, medium 30—40 pints, and large 40—50 pints.
• Square Footage: Arguably the most important aspect of what type of dehumidifier you purchase is the room size. The larger the room or space, the bigger dehumidifier you'll need to adequately and efficiently remove moisture out of it. Take the length and width measurements of your room or space, and multiply them by each other to get the square footage. Hold on to that measurement for the next step!
• Humidity Level: By using a device called a 'hygrometer', you can accurately detect the humidity level within a room.

Dehumidifier Size Guide

Use the following guide, with your room's square footage and humidity level, to assess which size dehumidifier is for you.

• If your room is 400—600 square feet, and the humidity level is between 50—80%, a small model will work well!
• If your room is 600—800 square feet, and the humidity level is between 50—60%, a medium sized dehumidifier will work great! However, if your room has a humidity level over 70%, consider a large model.
• If your room is over 800 square feet and has a humidity level above 70%, a large dehumidifier will be necessary.

What are the Best Dehumidifier Settings?

Every home is different, and the conditions in which you use a dehumidifier will be different as a result. However, when considering the "best" settings for a dehumidifier, a matter of preference is involved.

An ideal humidity level indoors is between 30—50%; above that is when you begin to experience any of the symptoms like stickiness, and excessive moisture. When using a dehumidifier, you should change the temperature and humidity setting to whatever feels most comfortable for you. But understand that maintaining a dryer environment and cooler temperature will correlate directly to more power consumption, and higher energy bills as a result.

Tips for Using a Dehumidifier

Plugging in a dehumidifier that's suitable for the room size and capacity needed will solve most people's moisture-related issues, but if you're looking to get the best out of it, these are the tips you need to optimally cool and dry your home.

• Keep Windows Closed: Closing windows prevents any outside air, that could be humid, from entering the room you're actively trying to keep cool. Open windows will result in the dehumidifier working harder, translating directly to higher energy costs.
• Proper Ventilation and Space: Allowing air to properly and effectively circulate gives a dehumidifier the conditions to efficiently draw in moist air and release dry air. Avoid placing it against walls, or in tight corners.
• Stable Surface: A stable surface for your dehumidifier translates to less noise overall during operation, and prevents accidental tipping or damage to the unit.

How to Maintain a Dehumidifier

As convenient as dehumidifiers are, there is a level of maintenance that comes with it to ensure it can perform optimally whenever needed. We'll explain the key maintenance items here, but our full dehumidifier maintenance checklist has even more important tips and tools.

• Regularly Clean/Change the Filter: Every dehumidifier has a filter, to ensure dirt and other particles stay out of your home. Clean this filter regularly every 2 weeks, or whenever the manual states as needed, and replace it if necessary.
• Turn Off Properly: Ensure that after every use, you are turning off the dehumidifier itself, and not unplugging it from the wall outlet. Failing to do so will result in its internal parts not cooling down properly, which leads to shorter lifespans, and potential voltage spikes to the most sensitive electronics.
• Drain the Water Bucket: As mentioned above, the water bucket in a dehumidifier will collect water over the duration it's on. Even if your model has an automatic drain hose connected, ensuring the water is properly draining will prevent overflows and shutdowns.
• Turn Off When No One's Home: Keeping a dehumidifier off when you're not home will ensure that your home is not over-dry, your energy bill is not as expensive, and the appliance enjoys a longer lifespan.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dehumidifiers

To assist you with anything and everything dehumidifier, we've compiled a short list of important frequently asked questions that people like yourself are asking every day.

What are the Disadvantages of Dehumidifiers?

As convenient as dehumidifiers are for removing excessive moisture from your living space, they also pose their own disadvantages. For one, using a dehumidifier for any good length of time will add yet another appliance charge to your energy bill. In addition, models with smaller water buckets will need to be emptied more frequently, unless your model features an automatic drain hose connection. Lastly, dehumidifiers are generally noisy appliances, although some models are quieter than others.

Can You Sleep with a Dehumidifier On?

The easy and short answer is: yes. If your bedroom is consistently above 50% humidity or is simply uncomfortable to sleep in due to the humidity, using a dehumidifier to cool your room and body will lead to a more restful sleep. However, it's advised that you avoid over-cooling your room (setting it below 30% humidity) and potentially aggravating respiratory conditions, dry eyes, skin irritation, and allergies.

Can You Run a Dehumidifier in the Winter?

Although it may seem like a bad idea, you are completely safe to use a dehumidifier during the winter, if a specific room or part of your home is excessively moist or has a humidity level above 50%. Note: It's important to remember if you live in a colder weather climate during the winter, using a dehumidifier could freeze the coils and cause issues with power efficiency, water collection, and could potentially damage the unit. Monitoring the temperature inside your home before and while using the dehumidifier will prevent any damage or issues with it.

Do You Need a Dehumidifier in Your Basement?

Using a dehumidifier is not necessary in your basement, unless you suspect that any mildew or mold growth is caused by excessive moisture. Some homes have warmer basements by default, and in those cases, a dehumidifier is basically a requirement to prevent mold and keep the space cooler and more comfortable. If you suspect that issues with pests or mold in your basement are caused by humidity and moisture, contact an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) specialist.

How Long Does it Take for a Dehumidifier to Work?

Depending on how large of a room you're drying, how much moisture there is to try in the first place, and the pint capacity of the dehumidifier you're using (assuming it's suitable for the square footage and humidity level), it can take 24 to 72 hours. Beginning the dehumidifying process as soon as possible will ultimately lead to quicker results.

Will a Dehumidifier Get Rid of Musty Smells in a Basement?

Musty smells caused by mold and mildew can be eliminated by a dehumidifier, but its effectiveness and how quickly it can eliminate the musty smells depends completely on its size relative to overall space, and how long you leave it running. As well, it's important to eliminate the cause of the smell at its source, whether it's mold or mildew; simply using a dehumidifier for an extended period of time will only temporarily fix the issue until the mold or mildew itself is removed.

Getting the most out of your dehumidifier is important to significantly improving how comfortable your living space is overall. And now that you're equipped with the knowledge and know-how to make that happen, you can enjoy reduced humidity, better air quality, and an even more pleasant at-home experience! To find out more ways to make your home even better, or to get help with appliance error codes, check out our other PartSelect blog articles!