Home Dehumidifiers

Hunting Humidity: Selecting the Best One

Because of the problems that most people encounter with moisture inside their homes, there is a very large market for home dehumidifiers. The ill-informed consumer might make a mistake in selecting the right dehumidifier for their home, and this may worsen the problem rather than solve it.

To avoid making a costly investment that ultimately won’t do your home good, here are some tips you can follow to purchase the right dehumidifier.

First, take into account the size of the room you want to dehumidify. Measure the room by square feet. The size of the room is in direct proportion with the size of the dehumidifier. In other words, if you have a large room, you need a large dehumidifier. Most units come with a label indicating its capacity to dehumidify up to a certain square feet, make sure to inspect it.

Many dehumidifiers also have multiple knobs and controls for those who want to personally control the percentage of moisture in the air. A humidistat and a hygrometer can allow you to have total management the humidity percentage in the room. These machines have the capability to sense the levels of humidity, and they adjust according to the information they gathered. There are also machines for those who are not very comfortable fiddling with complicated knobs. These are usually manually-controlled, so that you don’t have to deal with complex electronics.

The condenser coils of a dehumidifier might be broken if you notice that your machine is only emitting cold air. These coils have the function of warming the dried air to room temperature before letting it out. However, these coils can easily wear out. Your condenser coils should be changed every season.

On the other hand, if the dehumidifier is still blowing out air laden with moisture, the compressor of your machine might be broken. They can be replaced safely in reputable appliance repair shops. If the compressor is fine, then the evaporator coils might be broken or dirty. Again, take them to the repair shop or have them cleaned.

Evaporator coils are the components of the dehumidifier responsible for lowering the temperature of the air. Cooled air can release wetness through condensation. The water from it will then be deposited into the built-in reservoir bucket. If the evaporator coils are dirty, you can hire a technician to clean them using steam. If that does not solve the problem, the evaporator coils might need to be replaced.

If you do not encounter any problems with the air temperature, but the air is not moving, make sure that the fan and its motor are assembled properly. If it is not moving at full power, you will just be wasting electricity, because the compressor is still working. If you noticed that the fan is not moving or is slowing down, it’s time to replace its motor.