Portable Dehumidifiers - Airing Out the Details

Home Dehumidifier - Which is Right for Your Needs?

Portable Dehumidifiers certainly are a wise investment for your family’s health if you're in overly damp living conditions.  Did you know that the sticky environment created by humid summers is not only uncomfortable, but unhealthy as well?  If you have respiratory complications, fungal skin infections, or insomnia, high humidity is a likely cause!  To make matters even worse, that extra moisture in your home’s air becomes a breeding ground for mold spores and dust mites.  These culprits are dangerous, as they either cause or worsen allergy and asthma symptoms.  The good news is that mold spores and dust mites die or become inactive when relative humidity is greatly reduced.  It’s easy to see that a portable dehumidifier is your solution for achieving lower humidity - and better health.

It’s All Relative:  Talking About Relative Humidity
Not only will you reap health benefits, but you will also enjoy greater general well being by using a dehumidifier in your home or office.  Whether or not we realize it, we are all affected by humidity.  Our bodies rely on the evaporation of perspiration as our natural cooling system - to bring relief when we get overheated.  High relative humidity prevents rapid evaporation, so we will feel much hotter in those environments.  On the other hand, we feel cooler in warm areas which have lower humidity. This is because our perspiration easily evaporates.  In general, people are most comfortable in environments with approximately 45% relative humidity.  Try it out for yourself and experience the difference!

The Inner Workings of a Home Dehumidifier:  A Dry Subject
If you are shopping for a home dehumidifier, it will help to know the basics of how one works.  First, a fan draws room air into the dehumidifier.  Next, the air is cooled, causing the moisture in the air to condense.  The condensed water is deposited into a collection tank.  The crisp, dry air is then heated back to its original temperature and returned to the room.  Dehumidifiers generally are effective in temperatures between 64 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  These also work best in spaces with 40% - 95% relative humidity.  Some models are designed for temperatures down to 44 degrees Fahrenheit, which make them ideal as basement dehumidifiers.

With so many home dehumidifier options out there, which one will be best for your space and your family’s needs? Will a portabe dehumidifer be sufficient? There are few things more frustrating than getting something you need for solving your problem or to live more comfortably, only to discover too late that you didn't get the right one for the job; or it only does half the job.

There are two basics to keep in mind:
  -   Larger spaces demand dehumidifiers with a bigger capacity.
  - Rooms with very high relative humidity require a more powerful dehumidifier than rooms with lower relative humidity.

Also keep in mind options on the collection tank. Most dehumidifiers rely on the water’s own weight to eventually drip into a collection tank that the user removes and empties. However, some larger models, such as a variety of the DeLonghi dehumidifiers, also include an optional pump. This means you will never have to carry heavy containers of water to a disposal site. So it’s definitely worth considering a pump-type home dehumidifier for use in a basement.