A dehumidifier is an electrical appliance that is used to remove moisture from the air inside your home. While often used in the lowest part of a home such as the basement, it can also offer other benefits throughout the house as high humidity can cause mold, mildew and health problems.
Having said that, using a dehumidifier doesn’t automatically solve your problems and might in fact mask them, making them more dangerous to you.
A dehumidifier can remove excess moisture in your home and prevent mold and mildew but should not be used in place of addressing a bigger problem where humidity is simply a byproduct.
Here are some thoughts regarding using a dehumidifier, considerations that you should be aware of, benefits you can achieve as well as other thoughts regarding how to tell when you might need one.
Can a dehumidifier be harmful?
A dehumidifier can help you keep the humidity in your home in the recommended 30% – 50% range in summer when it tends to be more humid. But there are reasons why a dehumidifier can be detrimental if it is used incorrectly.
A dehumidifier can be harmful in several ways if not used properly:
- Use of a dehumidifier may mask a larger problem that your home has that you should get fixed.
- A dirty dehumidifier filter that isn’t regularly changed can house bacteria and contaminants that make its way into the air you breathe.
- Dehumidifiers can dry out the air in your home if overused which can give you a sore throat and dry skin and can be problematic for those with pneumonia and other conditions.
- When you have a cold, dry cough or stuffy nose, dehumidifier use might be the exact opposite of what you need when a humidifier might be more appropriate, if anything.
What benefits does a dehumidifier offer?
While we need a certain level of humidity in the home to avoid dry skin, a sore throat and becoming dehydrated, excessively humid air can make it more difficult to breathe particularly if you have asthma or another respiratory illness.
Excessively humid air provides a breeding ground for mold and mildew and if it gets high enough, can negatively impact hardwood floors which may expand and buckle. It can also lead to drywall rotting leading to completely replacing walls in extreme cases.
It can also cause mold on wall and roof insulation leading to potential health problems and the need to replace insulation too.
High humidity also attracts many pests such as cockroaches, silverfish, spiders, centipedes, earwigs and mosquitoes.
By keeping humidity in check, you can also make the room feel cooler and more comfortable. This can reduce your air conditioner usage, thus lowering your energy costs.
How do you know that you need a dehumidifier?
If you notice mustiness, dampness, mold, mildew and stickiness (i.e. you sweat) when inside the home, these are common signs you have a humidity problem and could benefit from a dehumidifier.
Other common signs that indicate you need a dehumidifier:
- You can’t maintain humidity under 50% which is at the high end that is usually recommended for inside the home.
- You have water leaks in the home which introduces greater humidity.
- You notice pests inside the home such as biting insects and other pests.
- You have the common signs of mustiness, dampness, mold, mildew and stickiness within the home that you can’t get rid of.
- You notice condensation on the inside of windows. This can also be a problem with the seals on the windows themselves.
- People within the home seem to have respiratory issues and/or trouble breathing when compared to before i.e. coughing, sneezing, dry throat in the morning.
- You have hardwood flooring and notice buckling, cracking or tightness between the planks.
What humidity level do hardwood floors require to remain intact?
Humidity is particularly important if you have hardwood in your home. While the National Hardwood Wood Floor Association (NHWA) generally recommends humidity to be between 30% and 50%, it’s not as cut and dry since different types of wood (hardwood, engineering wood, etc) react differently and your local area impacts the situation too.
Another way to look at it comes from hardwood manufacturers and resellers who often suggest something more specific depending on what type of wood you have:
| Wood flooring type | Recommended humidity range |
| Solid hardwood | 35%-55% |
| Engineered hardwood | 35%-65% |
| Expert engineered hardwood | 30%-80% |
When humidity is excessively high, hardwood flooring can expand and cause cracking and other damage over time.
When should you not use a dehumidifier?
If you’re consistently able to keep your humidity in check, you may not require one. You don’t want to remove moisture from your home if it’s not required.
If you live in an area known to be humid or simply notice a mustiness in rooms such as your basement on the other hand, a dehumidifier can help. It can not only remove moisture to prevent mold, mildew and mustiness, it can also make your home safer and more livable too.
Should I run a dehumidifier in the summer?
During the summer months is when it’s likely you will need to use a dehumidifier as the outside air tends to be the most humid. It’s also more difficult to maintain reasonable humidity level in the home in the cold winters when warm but dry air is being circulated throughout the house to keep it warm.
Winter is when you’re more likely to use a humidifier in conjunction with a furnace or other heating system to increase the humidity in your house.
And as mentioned above, removing excess moisture from your home can help your hardwood floors so that they are kept within the desirable humidity range.
How do you sanitize a dehumidifier?
It’s important to clean a dehumidifier since it’s an appliance that is pumping air into your home. It will most likely have a filter inside that either needs to be washed or replaced from time to time. Over time the filter will get dirty and most likely will become very calcified. This will negatively impact the effectiveness of the dehumidifier and could impact the lifespan, too.
Unplug the dehumidifier and give it a clean every 2-3 weeks if used regularly as follows:
Check to see if you have a washable filter or a disposable one that needs to be replaced. If a washable filter: Vacuum it, wash it with soapy water and reinsert it. Disposable filter: Simply discard it and replace it with a new one.
It’s also important to clean out the water receptacle as it can get slimy over time as it’s constantly wet. Once you have emptied it, wash the water container with soapy water and dry it before putting it back in the dehumidifier.
Finish by wiping down the outside of the dehumidifier to remove dust and to ensure there is nothing growing on the outside.
Remember that if you get mold or other things growing in the dehumidifier, there’s a chance it can get back into the air inside your house that you breathe.
Summary
Before buying a dehumidifier or humidifier for that matter, buy a humidity/thermometer device and place it in each room of your house to gauge the current humidity to see if you may have a problem that needs to be addressed.
You use a dehumidifier to lower the humidity in your home typically during hot sticky summer months and can use a humidifier to add humidity to your home during cold winters when warm dry air is being circulated to keep the temperature high.
Remember to properly clean and care for the dehumidifier and either wash or replace the filter as required among other tasks.