Purchasing a dehumidifier for your home can make a huge difference in your quality of life. Dehumidifiers come equipped to deal with more than just excess moisture in the air. They can help remove certain types of damp, preserve items in storage for longer, and they can add a whole new level of comfort to your home.
In this article, we’ll be talking you through how to find the perfect spot to place your dehumidifier in your home.
We’ll be going through the little details you need to consider before placing your machine, as well as breaking down what benefits a dehumidifier can bring to the key rooms in your home. At the end of the article, we’ve also included a small FQA on all things dehumidifier.
So, read on to discover the perfect place in your home to put your dehumidifier.
Contents
Things To Consider When Place Your Humidifier
Noise
Sadly, most dehumidifiers are not silent, so when thinking about where to place your machine it is important to think about its noise output. Some people find that they cannot sleep when their dehumidifier is on in their room, or they struggle to hear their TV when using it in the living room.
If your dehumidifier is easy to move, cycling it around your house into a room when you are not using them is a great option to deal with this issue. Otherwise placing it on top of soft rugs, or near thick curtains can help soften the machine’s noise.
Overheating
It is important to make sure you are leaving your dehumidifier in a safe place where it won’t overheat. It is common for dehumidifiers to produce heat, especially after being left on for a long time. There are many ways to manage this, for example, if its cooling vent is on its back, do not sit your machine in front of a pile of paper. Also, try to keep your dehumidifier out of direct sunlight and away from radiators.
Dust in the Air
When your dehumidifier is pulling the excess moisture out of your home’s air, it is also pulling out everything else that is floating around in it. This includes dust, pet hair, dirt. Any good dehumidifier will come with a built-in filter to screen out any of these imperfections, however, they can still become clogged if they ingest too much at once.
A clogged dehumidifier can very quickly become a fire hazard so it is important that when placing your dehumidifier that you find a place where it will be far away from any source of air pollution. Things you’ll want to keep your humidifier away from include workbenches, pet beds, any exhaust vents, and any leafy plant.
Emptying your Dehumidifier
Depending on the size of your dehumidifier and how much work it has to do, you may have to empty it frequently. When placing your dehumidifier it is important to give yourself enough space to change it easily without fear of damaging other electrical items in your house.
If you can keep your dehumidifier in an easy to access, empty corner of the room, away from other electronic devices, we highly recommend doing it.
Top 5 Places In Your Home For A Dehumidifier
Bathroom
In a bathroom with no windows, a dehumidifier is a must-have. Not only can the dehumidifier prevent damp developing on the walls of your bathroom, but it can also help prevent mold from developing under your grouting. This means you will have to spend less money having this redone and can prevent sealant failure related flooding.
Another benefit of using a dehumidifier in your bathroom is that by reducing the amount of steam in the air you can prevent excess bacteria growth on your towels and face washing cloths. The hot and humid environment of a steamy bathroom is the perfect breeding ground for many bacteria, moving your humidifier into your bathroom can help you keep your room a lot cleaner.
We recommend getting a portable dehumidifier in here after every bath/shower or even have a built-in dehumidifier put into the room.
Kitchen
Your kitchen is one of the most important areas in your house to keep dry. A build-up of moisture in your pantry or kitchen cupboards can lead to food going bad faster than it should, and cost you a lot of money in the long run. Under your kitchen sink and near your dishwasher, are other places you also need to keep dry.
Even if your kitchen has a build-in extractor hood it is still important to keep an eye on the locations we mentioned above, as your extractor hood is often not effective enough to dry out those areas.
Basement
If you begin to notice a strong and persistent damp smell or clammy air in your basement, it might be worth thinking about getting a dehumidifier in there. Even converted basements with insulated walls can benefit from the regular use of a dehumidifier.
As they are underground rooms where the walls are surrounded by damp earth and are almost never exposed to sunlight or any natural form of heat – being able to lower the moisture count in the air will leave you with a fresher feeling room and help you to avoid mould related health issues.
Dehumidifiers are also really helpful after flooding. They are a more gentle method of drying out a room than a space heater and will give you a lot more control as to how you do it.
Bedroom
Have you ever woken up when its cold outside and found your windows fogged up and a small pool of condensation gathering on your windowsill. Or maybe you’ve woken up in the middle of the night struggling to breathe because of the humidity in your room. This is a sign that its time to move the dehumidifier into your bedroom.
The two main benefits of having a dehumidifier in your bedroom are:
- Winter – particularly in small rooms, when the temperature drops outside we see an increase in overnight levels of condensation. These often result in waking up with damp sheets, and clothes in the wardrobe developing bad smells. Opening the doors to your wardrobe, and your curtains and placing the humidifier in the corner of the room will help prevent this
- Summer – as temperatures rise it can be difficult to keep a natural flow of air in the bedroom, as a result of this we see humidity levels rising to the point where it becomes difficult to sleep. Placing your dehumidifier near an open door can help with this problem.
Garage
Garages, just like the basement, are such a great place to store some of our excess possessions. However, they come with their own set of problems that can be solved by a dehumidifier.
Our garages aren’t usually insulated to the same standard as the rest of our home, so they are often more susceptible to damp and have a lot more moisture in the air.
During the summer months, this may not be such a problem but winter is the perfect time to move your dehumidifier into this room. Not only will this make it a more pleasant place to be, but drier air will help preserve anything you’re keeping in the room – old documents, wooden or electrical tools, or garden furniture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do dehumidifiers do?
Dehumidifiers are electrical devices that remove moisture from the air, returning the humidity to an ideal level. There are many reasons to use a dehumidifier, to make you’re living space more comfortable, to help prevent damp, to help AC work more effectively.
Can you leave your dehumidifier on 24/7?
There is no set time for how long you should leave your dehumidifier on. It all depends on the weather, room, and efficiency of your machine. You may find that the time you need to run your dehumidifier for changes from day to day.
Many machines are designed to run for long periods without overheating, but you should always read the manufacturer’s instructions before use.
Do dehumidifiers get rid of damp?
Dehumidifiers are not designed to directly deal with damp, however, this is often a welcome consequence of using one.
Dehumidifiers are designed to lower the moisture content of the air in your home and prevent condensation. For some types of damp, lowering the humidity in your house will be enough to get rid of them, however, there are many different types of damp that can survive this. You may need to see a professional to get a better understanding of what you need to do to get rid of the damp in your house.
How often should I empty my dehumidifier?
This entirely depends on the size of the water tank in your dehumidifier. The larger the tank the less often you will have to change it. We do however recommend that you empty your dehumidifier as soon as it gets full to prevent any unwanted bacteria growth in the tank.