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5 Reasons to Have a Dehumidifier at Home

Appolo Heating

Things nobody likes: Stepping on a wet floor wearing socks. Having to stay in a damp bathing suit because you forgot a change of clothes. Pulling a pair of jeans out of the dryer in a rush to get to work only to realize in the car that they weren’t as dry as you thought they would be. Having to sleep in a sweaty bedroom because your AC is on the fritz, so now you have to try to sleep while you’re covered in a layer of sweat.

Nobody likes moisture where it shouldn’t be. Not only is it annoying, but it can also be damaging, especially in your home. Here are 5 reasons to consider installing a dehumidifier at home:

  1.  Combat Mold & Mildew

Basement smelling musty? That’s not just a “basement thing”. That smell is actually a side effect of fungi growth. Fungi release gasses that give off a less-than-ideal odor that can linger in your home for months. Which is not only gross, but can be dangerous to your home and to your health.

Mold and fungi in your home can contribute to respiratory illness, breathing issues, and other health-related problems. Putting a dehumidifier in places in your home that might build up excess moisture and have limited air circulation (such as the bathroom, basement, and laundry room) balances the moisture in the air, which combats mold and mildew growth, vanquishes any musty smells that may have built up, and puts a stop to it all before it starts. Most often, mold and fungi grow in areas that are wet and dark.

  1.  Allergies

Many allergens (like dust mites and mold) thrive in humid environments. Lowering the moisture levels in your home will stop mold growth dead in its tracks. Mold and mildew can trigger symptoms similar to pollen allergies, or even asthma-like breathing difficulties. Dust mites reproduce rapidly in humid, warm places, so by keeping your home humidity low, they never get the chance to survive long enough to trigger your allergies.

  1. Pest Control

Don’t you just love coming home to find spiders, moths, roaches, and other small crawling things making themselves cozy in your house? What about the microscopic ones that feed on dead skin and love living under your bed? No? Well, they love your humid home.

While the occasional bug is no big deal, you don’t want to be creating the moist, warm environment that they and their families and babies will want to take up residency in. A dehumidifier can help chop existing bug numbers in half, keep them from reproducing, and keep the others away.

  1. Energy Cost

If you’re like 84% of America and use an air conditioner in your home, your energy bill might get a little pricey. Using a dehumidifier in conjunction with your AC unit seems like it would just use more energy, right? Not quite. With the addition of a dehumidifier to your home, your AC won’t have to work so hard to maintain the temperature you set it to (not to mention your unit might be working overtime to try to keep up with high humidity levels in your home). With a dehumidifier keeping moisture levels in the air low, your air conditioner will be able to run smoothly at its most efficient, all while using less energy to do so.

It’s also worth noting that humidity can make warm temperatures feel even hotter, so with stable moisture levels in your air, you could probably turn your AC down a few degrees. With an estimated savings of 1-3% for every degree you turn the temperature up, those savings can really add up!

  1. Keeping Humidity Under Control Will Make Your Things Last Longer

With damp air comes damp whatever-the-air-is-touching. That means your antique furniture, your hardwood floors, the first edition books your grandmother left you, the fancy expensive silverware set you never use… They all come in contact with the moisture in the air.

Things like hardwood floors, wallpaper, and anything metallic (pipes, jewelry, electronics, silverware) don’t play well with excess moisture. Rusting, warping, and mold growth can occur and cause some serious damage, which, in turn, causes for replacement or repair.

From cooking to hot showers, some condensation of water is normal in a home. Steamy windows and mirrors after a long hot shower don’t seem so menacing, but the water is collecting in places other than the glass. Repeated exposure to condensation can warp your floorboards, peel your wallpaper, and collect as permanent wet spots on your ceiling.

Even a small-capacity portable dehumidifier can remove about 25 pints of moisture in the air per day, whereas those with large capacity can remove about 75 pints. Whole house dehumidifiers, which can be tied into your existing heating system, can remove up to 150 pints per day. So adding a dehumidifier to your home could really prolong the lifespan of your household appliances, belongings, and even your house itself.

There you have it. Five great reasons to install a dehumidifier in your home.

Have questions about what kind of dehumidifier to use? Contact our team for help.