Dehumidifiers pull moisture out of the air, but the moisture has to go somewhere. In most cases, it drains into a bucket you must then empty. This can be repetitive at best.
At worst, it causes water spills when you were previously concerned about high humidity. The ideal solution is getting the dehumidifier to drain through a hose into a sink or drain so that you get rid of that excess water.
Here are a few options when you need to know how to get dehumidifier to drain through hose connections.
How do I connect a dehumidifier to a drain hose and drain?
The dehumidifier will have to have a hose connected to the drain hose outlet. This may be behind the water bucket or on the back of the network. Connect your hose to the drain hose outlet.
Make sure it is correctly and securely connected. Run the hose to your drain, whether it is in a sink or floor drain. Now turn on the dehumidifier. Verify that the dehumidifier is running and draining properly.
How do I connect a dehumidifier to a drain hose and sump pump?
Dehumidifiers are commonly needed in humid basements. These same basements are at risk of flooding, and this is why they often have sump pumps. You may be able to connect the dehumidifier drainage hose to the sump pump to get rid of the excess water.
Connect the drain hose to the appropriate connection point on the dehumidifier. Then run the hose to the sump pump. Turn on the dehumidifier and verify that it drains properly.
Why isn’t the water draining through the hose?
The answer to this will depend in part on the setup of your dehumidifier. You may have to connect the hose with a drain hose adapter, or else the water may continue to drain into the bucket. Or it may not drain at all. In some cases, the dehumidifier must have a setting or switch set so that it knows to drain through a hose connection instead of into the bucket.
Another thing to check is whether the dehumidifier has stopped running altogether. If it has stalled because the full bucket indicator has been tripped or the sensor is damaged, it won’t work at all.
You’ll probably have to make sure the bucket safety switch is fully engaged and the bucket in place before you turn it on, even if the water will drain through a hose instead of into the bucket. If the pump drain hose hasn’t been properly connected, the safeties may prevent the unit from running, too.
Why might the hose fail to drain?
If the hose is clogged, it obviously won’t drain. This often happens because dirt and debris in the air condense with the moisture on the condenser coil before falling in the bucket or connected hose.
One solution is cleaning the coils more often. Another would be dusting and vacuuming the house to get rid of these particles in the air. In some cases, switching from the narrow drain hose that comes with the dehumidifier to a standard garden hose is sufficient, though you need to make sure the wider or new hose will fit it first.
Sometimes the issue is due to the plumbing. The bottom of the hose must be lower than the drainage point. This means the dehumidifier may have to be elevated on a stand to get it to drain into a bathroom or kitchen sink.
Another solution is draining the extra moisture into a floor drain or letting it drain outside. You’ll minimize the risk of problems if the drain hose is running downhill all the way to the drainage point. If the hose bends, kinks or is simply too high in too many places, it may not drain. And it will not drain if any part of the hose is higher than the dehumidifier drain fitting.
This is why dehumidifiers in basements have to drain into a sump pump or floor drain and often have to be raised up on concrete blocks to do so without flooding.
Can I drain the dehumidifier to a higher-level sink?
This is possible if you use a condensate pump. The drain hose would connect to a condensate pump that then pumps the water up to the level of the hose outlet. This allows you to set a dehumidifier on the floor but drain to the nearest sink.
This isn’t a requirement if the dehumidifier has a built-in condensate pump, but most don’t have this feature. If it does, the unit typically comes with a drain hose made just for that model. You’ve also probably paid more than average for the dehumidifier.
Conversely, you can find models made just for draining outside of a basement window down to a drainage hose made to crook and bend down outside of a basement window.
These dehumidifiers will shut down if the condensate pump stops working, whether the hoses are clogged or the pump itself experiences a mechanical failure. It does this so that it won’t flood.
If you’re using an external condensate pump, the dehumidifier won’t notice the failure unless all the components are smart enough (and compatible) to talk to each other.
In this case, you either want to put a flood sensor or leak detector on the floor or monitor the dehumidifier periodically. After all, it is a waste of time and power to have the dehumidifier pull moisture from the air and have it pool around the dead condensate pump.
What else might prevent a dehumidifier from draining correctly?
Don’t expect it to drain to a sink upstairs; the strongest of these pumps can reach 15 feet of vertical height at most, but you don’t want to run the risk of a flooded basement because the hose is so long or wavy that the motor can’t push the necessary volume of water up that far.
Nor can you extend the drain hose.
Most manufacturers have designed the pump (if there is one) to drain a certain distance. Add an additional length of garden hose, and it probably won’t work. If the unit comes with a drain hose, extending it could void the warranty and cause drainage problems.
