Living in an area of consistent high humidity can cause much discomfort on high temperature days but more importantly, it can be a hazard to your health and home due to mold, mildew and fungus buildup. Climate control devices such as dehumidifiers offer a solution to living in these humid environments. Dehumidifiers work by drawing in the surrounding air in a home or building and capturing the moisture contained in that air, dripping it into a container so you can dispose of it how you see fit.

An air conditioner will actually remove some moisture from the air in a home, and is often enough for most; however, in some areas where the humidity levels are high enough on a consistent basis, it may not be adequate to control moisture levels in a home. This is when a purchase of a dehumidifier comes into consideration.

Factors to Consider Before Purchasing a Dehumidifier

The first thing you’ll want to  consider when deciding on a dehumidifier to purchase is the size of the area you need to dehumidify and which dehumidifier will accommodate that. The table below shows a general guide to what you’ll need for certain levels to help narrow down your choice.

Values in the table below indicate dehumidification required in Pints per 24 Hours for a given area in square feet.

Condition without Dehumidification During warm and humid conditions.
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Moderately damp — Space feels damp and has musty odor only in humid weather.
10
14
18
22
26
Very damp — Space always feels damp and has musty odor. Damp spots show on walls and floor.
12
17
22
27
32
Wet — Space feels and smells wet. Walls or floor sweat, or seepage is present.
14
20
26
32
38
Extremely wet — Laundry drying, wet floor, high load conditions.
16
23
30
37
44

 

Another important factor to take into consideration before buying a dehumidifier  is its energy usage. Like any other appliance, different dehumidifiers will use various amounts of energy. Your typical dehumidifier will use anywhere from 50 to 800 watts. Experts say that bigger capacity units are more efficient at taking the moisture out of the air and consume less energy because of its better efficiency, as explained by a product tester from ConsumerReports.org in the video below.

Other important things to consider before deciding on a dehumidifier is its Moisture Removal Rate, Temperature Range, Noise Level, Humidistat and its Warranty.

Moisture Removal Rate is the amount of water the dehumidifier will remove from the air in a given amount of time. Depending on your situation, you may not need a unit that is too powerful or you may need something more powerful. Standard room dehumidifiers will usually remove between 30 and 70 pints of moisture from the air a day.

Temperature Range is the range of temperature that a dehumidifier can operate. If you will be wanting to use your dehumidifier in cold climates, you’ll want to make sure your choice can handle it. If you neglect this consideration you run the risk of freezing the coils of the device, thus affecting its ability to operate. This is especially true if you’re going to be using the device in a cold area of the house such as your basement. Some dehumidifiers have a temperature range down to 40°F for example, while some can handle all the way down to 33°F.

Noise Level is often a factor if you will be utilizing your device in a common living area. These appliances can be quite loud, but some offer a lower noise option as a feature. Typically, the larger capacity dehumidifiers will be quieter because it requires less effort to capture the moisture than the lower capacity dehumidifiers.

Humidistat is similar to a thermostat, but rather it indicates the relative humidity and allows you to adjust it to your preferred level. Usually the standard models will come with this feature but the smaller and portable dehumidifiers may not.

Warranty is an obvious consideration, the longer the better. A warranty of one year is the usual standard, but you can often find longer options depending on the manufacturer.

Most dehumidifiers made today are designed to be user friendly.  However, ease of use varies between different models. Look for features such as electronic controls, fully adjustable humidity settings, an anti-frost sensor (to keep the device from freezing up), an auto-restart feature (which will restart the device to prior settings in the event of a short power outage), a removable air filter for easy cleaning and a direct drain option for continuous operation.

Different features can be found on different models and brands. So shop around, read reviews and inform yourself on your options before making a decision, as these products can be very expensive.