Dehumidifiers have become more and more popular for the past few years. These useful appliances help get rid of excess moisture in your home while keeping your prized possessions damage-free. Dehumidifiers can indeed make your home feel more livable and comfortable.
Both a fan and a dehumidifier can help get rid of mold as they can remove the spores from the air around your home, making these appliances particularly helpful for people suffering from asthma and allergies.
Having said these, people still want to know how effective fans and dehumidifiers are. They also want to know if a dehumidifier can kill off mold completely. Read this article to know the answer to your queries.
Will a Dehumidifier Get Rid of Mold?
Mold can grow and spread anywhere it wishes to. You can find this on your carpets, books, window panes, or kitchens. Of course, no one would want to be anywhere near to this mold as this can pose serious harm to the whole family.
The most likely spot where you can find mold is in those areas in your home that are damper compared to others. These include crawl spaces and basements.
A dehumidifier works by absorbing the hot air in the room then passing this through the fan within the machine. The air’s moisture content remains stuck in the machine and the dry air produced is released back to the room.
After your room dries out through the help of a dehumidifier, there will be a lesser chance that condensation is going to settle on your items.
This helps prevent mold from forming, with your items staying unaffected and safe from moisture damage. The size of the dehumidifier you use will depend on how big the room you want to keep dry and cool.
Dehumidifiers differ when it comes to the amount of moisture they remove from the space. The largest is more than 90 pints per day while the smallest is 30 pints a day.
Will a Fan Get Rid of Mold?
Kitchen exhaust fans, attic fans, bathroom fans, and ceiling fans can be of great help when it comes to improving the circulation of air around your house. Installing ceiling fans in every room can enhance the flow of air while ensuring that you stay cool when the weather turns warmer.
Fans can also be more helpful in bathrooms.
Bathrooms are known for being notorious in moldy areas because of the excessive amount of moisture in them. Bathroom fans can vent out humid air while drawing in fresh air to dry out things in it.
If there is an attic in your home, it is a must to vent the area to prevent mold and moisture accumulation. You can choose to install a whole house fan in the attic floor. This can draw stale and hot air up through your entire house.
Just make sure that you open some doors and windows when operating it. Kitchen fans are also good when it comes to reducing the excess amount of moisture generated every time you cook meals. Using your HVAC system’s “fan-only” option can also improve airflow around the house.
Dehumidifiers and Humidity Levels
It is a must to know the amount of humidity your dehumidifier can remove from your home. It is because the existing mold in your house will stay toxic and active if the level of humidity is above or at a specific level.
Normally, when the level of humidity is more than 60%, mold will become a serious concern and it won’t go away that easily. Even with restricted access to moisture, mold spores are still going to grow and infect everyone in the house once the level of humidity is more than 60%.
If the dehumidifier has been set to get rid of enough amount of moisture so that the level of humidity drops less than 50% and 60%, mold spores won’t be able to grow, spread, and thrive.
If the humidity level is regulated for a specific amount of time, roughly one week, mold spores are going to be deprived of moisture and all items in your home will air out. New mold spores won’t develop and it will be easier to breathe in the air.
It is quite simple to check your home’s humidity level. You can visually observe telltale signs of humidity like condensation on windows, water stains on walls and ceilings, and mildew growth.
For more accurate checking of humidity level, you can buy a hygrometer you can use in your home. This device is battery operated and looks like a temperature gauge. You only need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using the device to check the level of humidity in your house so that you can set your dehumidifier accordingly.
How to Deal with and Get Rid of Existing Mold Spores
Although fans and dehumidifiers both have the ability to prevent the growth and spread of mold, you can’t expect them to get rid of existing spores. To make sure that the infectious fungus will be gone once and for all, you need to remove them and you have to clean the area on a regular basis.
There are various products you can buy in stores that can help remove visible mold spores. Meanwhile, simple household items like bleach, water, and soap can get rid of mold when used regularly.
You also have to remember that mold can grow inside the dehumidifier itself. To prevent it from happening, make sure you empty this out on a regular basis.
Remember that the moisture bucket of the dehumidifier is a damp and warm place, the exact conditions wherein mold can potentially form. There is a fill indicator in the dehumidifier that will tell you when you need to empty it.
How frequent you empty it depends on where you live and what the climate conditions of the place are. This can differ fro once every several days to several times a day.
