Air purifiers are great for a quick fix when used to actively combat air pollutants in your home, and a high quality dehumidifier is a sure way to limit moisture in your household, helping create an environment that is much more difficult for those unwanted contaminants a mold to thrive in the first place.
Will They Purify Air? According to Allergy Consumer Review, dehumidifiers do not really clean the air in your home. By removing moisture, dehumidifiers can make the air less friendly to mold and mildew growth, but they do not purify.
Running a dehumidifier reduces dust. Dust can trigger allergies; and this device will help to reduce allergens such as dust mites, mold and mildew. Plus, cleaning time is reduced. A dehumidifier can also lower energy costs because it helps the HVAC units run more efficiently.
It depends on your specific indoor air quality needs. If you have excess moisture in your home, a dehumidifier may be necessary to reduce humidity levels and prevent mold growth. If you have allergies or want to remove airborne pollutants, an air purifier may be more appropriate.
Yes it is perfectly safe to sleep in the same room as a dehumidifier. If you are particularly interested in a dehumidifier for the bedroom the noise level will be particularly important to you. The quietest model we offer is the compressor-free DNC65.
Mold stays “dormant” in the air or on surfaces even when there's no excess moisture to help it grow. If the humidity in a room increases, mold will start growing in patches on walls, clothes, and more. So, to answer your question, dehumidifiers do NOT kill mold, but they do prevent it by reducing humidity.
When you first operate your dehumidifier, it would be good practise to run it continuously until the RH falls below the 60% mark or fills up the water tank, which ever comes first. Once RH is below 60% you can then use the dehumidifier during day and off during the night.
To achieve the highest energy efficiency, run a dehumidifier for at least 12 hours a day. This will allow you to remove moisture from the air without racking up the energy costs.
However, it's important to know when to turn the unit off. Once temperatures drop to around 65 degrees, it's best to turn the dehumidifier off.
Dehumidifier can lower humidity
Exposure to any mold and mildew in your home can cause health related issues. When you install a whole home dehumidifier, you can help get rid of the mold and mildew potential. You can also help reduce a musty odor in your home when you have a dehumidifier.
There's a musty smell in your home
When you walk into your home, you want it to smell clean and fresh. Moisture in the air tends to hold and trap odor, Bautista says. A dehumidifier will dry out the air and take away this moldy scent.
Conclusion. Although dehumidifiers don't necessarily use a lot of electricity and, in fact, are energy efficient (even more so if they have the ENERGY STAR certification), they will typically need to run for at least 12 hours a day but preferably 24.
Dehumidifier Placement Guide
Place the unit in a central and open area in the room or home to provide maximum coverage. They should also place it on a flat surface that supports its weight and has proper airflow around it.
Humidifiers add moisture to the air when it is too dry. Generally, people use humidifiers in the wintertime to combat the dryness of winter air.
Over-dehumidifying your home can lead to an increased chance of respiratory illnesses and dry and cracked skin.
The size of the room, the humidity level, and the extent of the water damage are some of the variables that affect how long a dehumidifier takes to dry out a room. A dehumidifier typically needs between 24 and 72 hours to completely dry out a room.
A dehumidifier should collect around 10-20 pints a day. However, factors such as relative humidity levels, size of the appliance, location, and temperature can affect how much it collects.
So, while a dehumidifier can prove beneficial during the spring, summer, and early fall, it's best to unplug your unit as the colder weather arrives. As winter morphs into spring and you go to plug in your dehumidifier, it's a good time to think about whether you should upgrade your unit.
A quick note about using a dehumidifier in winter
Hence sales of dehumidifiers increasing in the spring and summer months. It is actually easier to keep your home dry in winter than it is during the summer months when levels of humidity increase.
Enclosing your space will help reduce humid air from entering your home, helping your dehumidifier work more efficiently. Empty the tank regularly. All of the dehumidifiers in CR's tests have an indicator that lights up when the tank is full, and the unit shuts off automatically.
Specifically, air purifiers with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters work great at removing mold spores. HEPA filters are considered to be rated MERV 17 or above, which means that the filters can trap more than 99.7% of air particles as small as 0.3-1.0 microns in size.
The purpose of dehumidifiers is to remove moisture from the air, which helps prevent mold, mildew, musty smells, and condensation in damp areas of your home. These appliances pull air over cold coils, condense the water vapor, and push the air back out after collecting the water in a tray.
It also pulls other things in from the air, such as bacteria and mold spores. You might be using the machine to prevent mold inside your home, but you could be growing it inside the dehumidifier since it offers the perfect warm, damp environment for mold spores to grow.