All dehumidifiers exhaust and intake air. The produced noise when air comes to the dehumidifier or exhausted out of the unit, aside from the compressor noise, is the major culprits responsible for the noise of dehumidifier.
To know whether any certain dehumidifier must be considered to be loud or quiet, there are various output tests. The first one involves placing the sound level meter right above the control of the unit on high fan speed.
For the second, you place the sound meter above the control panel and set the dehumidifier in low fan speed. In the third and fourth tests, you should place the sound meter ten feet away from the unit to record the noise output level.
For the third test, a dehumidifier should be set to a high fan speed setting and for the fourth test, the unit is set to a low fan speed setting in the same distance.
The first 2 tests will let you determine the noise output of the unit at close range while the second 2 tests will let you make the same determination at the range you felt was more indicative of the real-world environment. You must focus on every performance of the unit in the ten-foot test more than you do on close-range testing.
Exhaust and Intake Location
Every dehumidifier exhausts air and intakes air. The produced wind noise when air comes in the dehumidifier or exhausted out of the dehumidifier is the major culprits responsible for the noise of the dehumidifier.
The exhaust’s location is especially significant since most noise produced by the dehumidifier comes from the exhaust. Such units that exhausted out of the dehumidifier’s top part had a disadvantage in comparison to the units that exhausted out in the side. It’s true for the tests that you will carry out at the control panel of the dehumidifier.
The produced noise by side exhaust units is directed to the unit’s size, away from the location of the sound meter and the result is low reading. The produced noise by top exhaust units was directed above your unit, which is much closer to the location of the sound meter.
The result is quite higher. While this disadvantage is more pronounced during the tests for the control panel, it’s still present during long-range tests.
To top it all, the majority of the dehumidifier’s noise is generated by the fan of the dehumidifier. The noise emanates from the dehumidifier’s two parts. The first part is where the air is taken to the dehumidifier.
It can be either on the back or front of the unit. The second part is where the air is exhausted out of your dehumidifier. It can be either on the side or top of the unit.
The testing will surely favor the units that exhausted out on the side of the dehumidifier since the sound meter was placed on the top of the unit and not on the side.
Reasons to Choose a Quiet Dehumidifier
There are many reasons why many people want to buy quiet dehumidifier.
These may include the following:
- Because you like to use a dehumidifier in your living room, but you don’t like the noise to distract you from the television.
- Because damp problems are in the bedroom and you are planning to have dehumidifiers in your bedroom all night.
- Because you like to put your dehumidifier in the hallway or on the landing by your bedroom.
- Because you are living in a small property and you can’t get that far away from your dehumidifier. That is why noise is a concern for you.
Ways to Make Your Dehumidifier Operate Quieter
There are some ways on how you can operate your dehumidifier in a quiet manner. These may include the following:
- Place your dehumidifier somewhere central in your property and leave internal doors open and let your dehumidifier run in low fan speed every day. With this, it’ll keep ticking over and would keep on top of the issue and won’t need to speed up to the 2ndfan speed, which is a bit noisier. You may close your bedroom door during the night time if you’re a light sleeper.
- Place that on a level surface to avoid any leaks and vibrations.
- If it’s a wooden floor, placing a carpet tile or mat under your dehumidifier will surely help to avoid reverberation through the floor.
- Keeping the filter clean would put less of the strain on your fan and would keep the level of noise down and increasing the dehumidifier’s lifespan.
- Read your manual and ensure that the dehumidifier is the proper distance from currents and walls to let air flow out and in of the dehumidifier.
- Never try and sleep with your dehumidifier. You have to take note that even the tick of your watch may keep people awake in the middle of the night, so dehumidifiers in your bedroom are not really a good idea. Put your dehumidifier in the landing or hallway. Then, let it operate with your door open and it’ll be just as effective as you expect it to be in your room. If necessary, close your bedroom door during night time.
Which Dehumidifier Should You Purchase?
If you are living in an apartment or flat, it’s best to choose a desiccant dehumidifier since you don’t have to extract water from the air since air volume isn’t huge and the desiccant dehumidifier provides you the ability to dropdown below 40dB that’s significant.
If you like to use a dehumidifier for dry washing, you may switch it up to third fan speed and put that with a clothes horse in the bedroom or kitchen and close the door so you won’t hear anything.
For a bigger property, noise isn’t a huge deciding factor if you place the dehumidifier properly and it becomes more about choosing the right capacity dehumidifier for the house’s size.
At present, some dehumidifiers feature functions like silent operation and come with technology that provides quiet operation, so you can always find the one that will work for your needs.
