From St. Louis to Miami and wherever there’s summer rain, a common cry rings out: “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” High humidity can indeed be overwhelming, especially when the mugginess infiltrates your own four walls and makes the entire house feel a little stickier than it should. Some people do so poorly in the humidity that they pull up stakes altogether and decamp for the American Southwest, where even 105-degree days are preferable as long as “It’s a dry heat.”
Your central air conditioning system is usually adept at removing a certain level of humidity from your air, but in especially rainy springs and the dog days of summer, even your AC unit may not be enough. That’s when it’s time to consider installing a dehumidifier. Much like HEPA air purifiers, dehumidifiers come in both single-room and whole-house varieties, either operating as freestanding units or adjuncts to your home HVAC system. While a freestanding dehumidifier is sufficient to dry out a clammy basement before mold can set in, some climates may need centralized dehumidifying. If you’re not sure whether to make that investment, consider these dehumidifier benefits and when to use one in your home.
Fighting Off Bad Smells
Warm air doesn’t just carry moisture better than cool air—it also carries malodorous molecules. Cracking the windows to purge unwanted aromas from the house isn’t always an option, especially when you’re trying your hardest to keep outdoor air out of the house. Running a central dehumidifier can help by draining humidity from your home’s air, taking with it any lingering odors.
When Someone in the House Has Bad Allergies
Anyone who has had to scrub down the bathroom after months’ worth of hot showers knows that humid air facilitates mold growth. Mold is unsightly enough as it is, but for people with hypersensitive immune systems, it’s also a perilous catalyst for cases of allergic rhinitis. If the air in the house is humid enough, mold need not limit itself to the bathroom’s tight and often steamy quarters—it can develop in the kitchen, in the basement, and even in bedrooms. A central dehumidifier can strip some of that humidity out. Removing gallons of water from the air makes the home a little more inhospitable for mold and a lot more hospitable for the members of your home.
Financial Benefits
Homeowners too often bristle at making upfront investments in the name of long-term savings. Sometimes, it’s hard to think that far ahead when there are so many bills stacking up. However, you can reduce those bills by availing yourself of central dehumidification. By lessening your air conditioner’s workload with a separate unit, you may be able to nudge your thermostat in the right—and energy-saving—direction.
Remember the Dehumidifier Filter
These are but three examples of dehumidifier benefits and when to use one. Don’t forget that dehumidifiers need filtering, too. Remember the Filter will help you remember with custom furnace filters for HVAC systems that include a dehumidifier.
