Tag: Condensation

Dehumidifier Specs

Dehumidifier specs differ from one model or brand name to the next but all dehumidifiers are relatively the same. They all will help reduce the moisture level in your home and make your home more comfortable to live in and save you money on heating and cooling costs.

The first dehumidifier specs you need to know before you buy one is the amount of square footage the unit will cover. Measure the size of the room or area that needs moisture reduction and keep that number in mind when you go buy the dehumidifier.

Next, check the range of the humidity the unit can remove. A good range should be around 35-70 percent. You should be able to manually program the unit to an optimum 45-50% humidity in your home. Find a unit that, once set, will remain at that setting, and turn itself back on, even if the power goes out.

Also make sure at what temperature the unit will start to freeze up. If your basement area is the area of your home that needs dehumidification and temperature of the area is below 65 degrees you need to buy a unit that will operate under these conditions.

If the temperature of the area goes below the specified maximum operating temperature of the unit, the unit will freeze up. The coils will condense and this condensation will freeze up due to the refrigerant used to draw the moisture from the air.

A low temperature unit will maintain maximum operating efficiency at temperatures down to 40 degrees before frost forms on the coils. Once frost does form on the coils the unit must be shut down and allowed to defrost before starting up again.

Another aspect of buying the right dehumidifier is the size of the bucket. How much water does the dehumidifier hold and will it shut itself off when it gets full. Measurement is usually in pints and can range from 40 pints to 65 pints to over 100 pints depending on the size of the unit.

Some units can be hooked to a hose or come with a drainage pipe that can be run to a floor drain so there is no need to empty a full, heavy bucket of water everyday. If you are not able to buy a unit like this then you will be subjected to lifting that bucket out of the machine every day to empty it. The unit will shut itself off when the bucket is at capacity.

If the square footage allows, you can buy a model that can be ducted to other rooms so the humidity level can be managed throughout your home and not just in one area.

You may need to take the weight of the unit into consideration if you are planning to place the unit on anything but the floor. An average unit may weight as much as 90 pounds or more at full capacity. Do not ever place the unit on anything that cannot safely hold this kind of weight.

These dehumidifier specs should help you buy the right type of unit for your specific needs.

Dehumidifier Size

If you are in the market for a dehumidifier you will want to make sure you get the correct dehumidifier size to effectively decrease the moisture in your home or work space.

Dehumidifiers decrease the moisture in your home that comes from the humidity outdoors when windows and doors are opened, cooking, showering or bathing, and using your clothes dryer. This moisture can get trapped in areas that have little or no ventilation, like your basement.

A dehumidifier works almost exactly like your air conditioning unit works. Warm, moist air is drawn into the unit and is passed over refrigerated coils. The warm moisture condenses on the cold coils much like when you leave a cold can of pop outside and soon see condensation on the outside of the can.

The condensation drips down and is collected in a tank or bucket. If it is collected in a tank, that tank is probably connected to a drain hose that can be drained into a floor drain of your basement. If it is collected in a bucket you will need to be the one to empty it. Usually once every twenty-four hours.

If you know the square footage of your basement then you will not have to measure. If you don’t know the square footage then you need to find your tape measure and measure length by width and then do the math. This is the exact square footage of your basement.

Determining the square footage of your basement will dictate the dehumidifier size you need to buy. It is also advisable that if you choose a dehumidifier with a range of square footage that you choose one at the upper end of the range. If you should buy one that is too small for the area then you will risk burning up the unit in short order because it will not be able to handle the area.

Once the dehumidifier gets the moisture level down to the setting you choose and program into it it should not run continuously, it should cycle on and off. The first couple of days though it may run continuously as it works to control the level of humidity. It also may run more when the humidity outside is higher because then more moisture is coming into the house.

When you bring your dehumidifier home, read the instruction manual carefully and place it in the middle of the area that needs it. Be sure to check on the level in the bucket every few hours so it does not ever flow. Some units will automatically shut off when the bucket is full so you may not have to worry about overflow like on older units.

Depending on how much moisture the area has will also determine the dehumidifier size. A moderately moist environment about 1500 square feet will require around a 30 pint per hour removal rate. An area that is wetter than that may need a larger unit that will take 70 pints, or more, of moisture out of the air.

A good rule of thumb is that if you need to remove moisture from the air of three or more rooms it would be a better idea to invest in a whole house dehumidifier.

Crawl Space Dehumidifier-Aid In Mold Prevention

Crawl spaces can be creepy places anyway and when they are wet and musty they can be even more creepy, not to mention nasty. That musty smell is probably due to mold and mildew that has grown in it’s favorite environment, a wet one. If your crawl space is like this then you probably should consider getting a crawl space dehumidifier.

Crawl spaces are dark, cramped and hard to work in but if you are going to fix the problem you are going to have to get in there and get busy.

First, assess the situation, get enough light in there to see well and look around to see if there is any standing water anywhere. If there is then mop it up with a rag or towel. If it returns then try to figure out why. Check pipes for leaks and fix them yourself or hire someone to come in to fix them before you go any further. If the pipes are free of leaks then check for a way for rain or snow to get in from outside.

The puddles may only be due to condensation or even the ground water. In these cases the dehumidifier will only do so much. You will probably have to encapsulate your crawl space to get it to stay dry.

Before you get to work on the encapsulation, run the crawl space dehumidifier for a few days to make your working conditions a little better. Do not forget to empty the collection container or you will just have to start all over again.

Next, you need to make the floor of the crawl space as even as possible to help the puddles stay gone. You could even bring in some sand or use a few bags of cat litter to help absorb moisture on the dirt floor of your crawl space.

Now you need to get the liner in there and fasten it to the walls with an industrial adhesive. The liner you use should be antimicrobial and have zero permeability. If this is confusing for you ask an expert. The liner should be installed no less than 18 inches up the walls of the crawl space.

Make sure to overlap the liner on the walls and when you roll it out on the floor. Secure the seams with duct tape to prevent gaps. This is obviously not a one day job but when it is all done you will have a nice, dry, better smelling crawl space and will have effectively saved yourself a lot of repairs as mold and mildew will destroy wood and other materials used to build your house.

When the crawl space is dry and encapsulated, you should still run the dehumidifier as needed to keep it from getting musty again. Remember, if the crawl space is cool, and it probably is, make sure the crawl space dehumidifier is one that will operate efficiently at low temperatures so it does not freeze up. If it freezes up it will not work as efficiently as it should and coould even shut down completely.