The perfect place for your dehumidifier is the source of your humidity concern. This can be in your kitchen, bathroom, basement or laundry room.
If you like to know where in your basement you like to keep, you should locate your dehumidifier centrally where it may draw air and access to utilities.
The placement of your dehumidifier matters a lot if you want to make the most out of it.
A dehumidifier extracts moisture from high humidity places of a home. Through controlling the amount of moisture in the air, a dehumidifier protects the structure of the building and makes spaces much healthier and more comfortable.
Standalone dehumidifiers provide flexibility when it comes to their placement so they may be used in places where excess moisture is a major issue.
Best Places for Your Dehumidifier
-
Bathroom
When you run hot water in your bathtub or shower, humidity is released. Other bathrooms lack exhaust fans or a window that lets humidity to dissipate. Without proper ventilation, excess humidity may cause the paint to mold and bubble to grow.
Dehumidifiers placed in the bathroom helps in the room’s ventilation and reduce any excess moisture in the space.
-
Basement
It’s a perfect location to place your dehumidifier. A lot of basements are damp or wet because of the surrounding soil that causes humidity. Another thing that may contribute to the moisture levels of your basement is low water tables.
Placing your dehumidifier in the basement can reduce the moisture that may cause damage to the structure of your home. It also reduces the moisture that fuels the growth of mold.
Placement Within the Room
Dehumidifiers require clearance for air to flow out and in the unit. They also have to be plugged to an electrical outlet. In a big room, place your unit near the source of the moisture. In small rooms, central placement is perfect. To get the best results, keep the windows and doors of the room shut.
Things to Consider Before You Place the Dehumidifier
1. Avoid Near Air Particles, Dust, and Lint Sources
If you have placed your dehumidifier next to the problem’s source, you’re just inviting more problems. To catch lint and some dust particles, there’s a filter that can catch anything in the air that cannot be avoided. So, why put pressure on filters when you could place them away from the dirt’s source?
2. A Place with Good Air Flow
When placing your dehumidifier in your room, think of the airflow.
Find the obstacles that may restrict airflow properly. Keep it in a place where dehumidifiers may draw air quickly and expel hot dry air quickly. Once you achieve it, you can be assured that you will get a dryer room instantly.
Do not set your dehumidifier next to the wall. The majority of manufacturers instruct half at least 1 ft away from the obstructions and walls. There are particular models made to keep it next to a wall.
Those are the ones with ventilation set up on the top. If yes, it is fine to place that by the wall. See to it that you do not have any furniture close by.
3. Place That Away from Electric Sources
If you have noticed a GFCI outlet in your bathroom or kitchen, it’s due to the reason that the bathroom and kitchen have water sources and cannot have regular 20amp circuits ending up with regular outlets.
You need a GCFI or Ground-fault circuit interrupter that has a built-in fast-acting circuit breaker, which acts within a second. This is important for one’s safety. Now, consider thinking about a dehumidifier.
It’ll suck the moisture out of the thin air and would gobble up water in a few hours quickly. So, you have to ensure that you access an electric source for running your dehumidifier. However, it should be in a safe distance so you do not compromise safety.
4. Look for a Way in Reduce Discomfort from the Generated Heat
Dehumidifiers suck in air with moisture. Strips moisture out and collects that in a container. In the process, the air is heated up before it circulates to space. As you might know, if the temperature is high, the more moisture it may hold.
Another reason the air is heated before exhausting is that it may absorb more moisture. Cool air has a low due point and high relative humidity. If it is too much, there is nothing you should worry about.
The only thing you should know is that air that the air is hot or warmer. It can be a discomfort to some. So, searching for a place that is easy to let hot airflow is essential. You have to leave enough space for the outlet air to flow.
5. Look for a Place Where You Can Drain Easily
There are different kinds of dehumidifiers. The simpler ones have water collecting bin that you should empty once it is full. The other one has a continuous drain line and has a bin.
If you have a simpler model, it does not matter where you keep, but you should get rid of the bin and dump water. It’s simple to keep it much closer to the sink. If you have a drain line, you must look for a place closer to the floor drain.
However, if it’s one of the upper floors, you must keep your unit in an elevated spot and drain the water to the nearest sink.
The Bottom Line
You have to place your dehumidifier in a central place so it will be more effective in getting rid of the moisture. There are some usual suspect rooms such as laundry, bathroom, and kitchen that add humidity in your house.
Place your dehumidifier where there aren’t obstacles, so the air will flow freely. Think of comfort as dehumidifiers would generate heat. Look for a place that’s away from electricity, yet closer to the outlet to run it. You should also place your dehumidifier in a spot where there’s drainage to dump the water.