Home Dehumidifiers: Helpful in Many Ways

Excessive humidity not only makes people incredibly uncomfortable, but also causes damage to your home and  furnishings and promotes the growth of mold and dust mites. Home dehumidifiers are the perfect solution for excess household moisture but they also do more than remove moisture in your home.

Save Energy

Home dehumidifiers remove excess moisture in your home, especially when used in warm, humid months. When there's less moisture in the air, you'll feel cooler and can set your air conditioner setting higher to save energy. Home dehumidifiers work better when air can circulate freely through them, so place away from walls and bulky furniture.

Also, check for frost build-up if running in temperatures less than 70 degrees F. If frost is present, turn off the unit until the frost melts and the room is warmer. To keep your home dehumidifier running efficiently, dust or vacuum the dehumidifier regularly. Also, purchasing an Energy Star dehumidifier is helpful because they use 10 to 20 percent less energy than conventional models.

Preserve Air Conditioners

When trying to stay comfortable during the warmer months, sometimes it not the heat, it's the humidity. When the temperatures rise, turn on your home dehumidifier. Eliminating excess humidity in your home helps you maximize comfort levels and set your air conditioner above 78 degrees when using a dehumidifier combined with fans.

Prevent Mold Growth

Mold needs moisture to grow so reducing the amount of moisture in your home with a home dehumidifier helps with mold removal. Keep the humidity level in your home between 40% and 60% and use a dehumidifier during the humid months in damp spaces like basements.

Inhibit Dust Mite Development

Dust mites thrive when humidity in your home is high, so it's important to keep your humidity levels below 50% with a home dehumidifier. Dust mites grow best when the humidity is between 75 and 80% and can't live with humidity below 50%.

Protect Pianos

Pianos are sensitive to the changes in humidity. When the humidity is too high, the keys may stick or become sluggish and cause the strings and tuning pins to rust. An ideal humidity range for pianos is 35-55%.

Dry Out Hearing Aids

Hearing aids shouldn't ever get wet, so people who use them should avoid showering, bathing, swimming pools and saunas while they're in operation. If hearing aids do get wet, they shouldn't ever be placed in direct heat such as a microwave or conventional oven. Besides letting them dry out on their own or using a hair dryer from a safe distance, there are special home dehumidifiers that do a great job drying out the hearing aid.

Inhibit Insects

Insects such as cockroaches, water bugs and termites thrive in warm, humid environments. As well as being a nuisance, insects can pass on disease. Reducing the humidity with a home dehumidifier makes your home a much less hospitable place for insects to live.

Keep Computers Safe

Excessive humidity levels can cause the internal components of PCs to rust and degrade some of their essential properties. High humidity levels can even cause computers to short-circuit, resulting in the loss of data or physical damage to system components. Using a home dehumidifier to regulate the humidity levels in a humid room where computer equipment is used is sometimes necessary.

So, besides keeping you comfortable, home dehumidifiers conserve energy use, allow you to use your air conditioning system less, prevents the growth of mold, makes it hard for dust mites to thrive, protects your piano from damage, dries out hearing aids, prevents insect invasions and keeps your computers safe. For more information about home dehumidifier use, or to browse a wide selection of models, feel free to visit Air Conditioner Home.