Whole House Dehumidifier
Dealing With High Humidity In The Home
Its true that a house with a humidity level that is too high will eventually create problems. These problems may include health problems for the family and structural problems for the house. Generally it wont be a pleasant place to live.
The first question that must be answered is: when it comes to humidity how high is too high? Humidity is a measurement of the moisture content in the air and the reading is described as the relative humidity which measures the water content in the air relative to the maximum amount the air can hold at that temperature. It is generally agreed by experts that an indoor relative humidity level of 30 per cent to 50 per cent is acceptable. This level may change depending on the outdoor temperature but generally if the humidity level in your house is above 50 per cent it is too high.
You can measure the relative humidity level by using a tool called a hygrometer. The hygrometer should be placed in parts of the house where you believe there may be a problem.
If you find that there is a humidity problem in the house there are some basic courses of action you have open to you. The first is to try to identify the reason for the excessive water content. The problem may be because of a leak in the roof or water pipes that had gone undetected for a long time. Failing to repair these problems first could result in greater damage down the track so it is best to tackle the source of the problem.
It the problem occurs every summer due to a major flaw in the way the house has been constructed and is something that cannot be easily fixed your best course of action might be to buy a dehumidifier for the whole house. Alternatively, the problem may be solved by installing equipment such as an exhaust fan in the bathroom or kitchen or a heat recovery ventilator.
The main thing is to identify the fact that the humidity level is too high so that you can begin the process of improving the conditions that you are living with in your house.
November 11th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
For those of you who tried, do whole house dehumidifiers and taking the carpet out work for dustmite allergies
November 11th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
How to fix a damp house?
I am renting a very old house that stinks! Every morning the windows are covered with condensation on the inside, and if the heater is off for even one day the whole house stinks like mildew. Are there any cheap fixes for solving this problem all winter? I am in a lease for 6 more months and I can’t keep the windows open (it snows here) and don’t really want to buy a dehumidifier, any other suggestions? THANK YOU!
November 12th, 2011 at 7:34 am
Cost to install whole house dehumidifier?
Hello
I am interested in installing a whole house dehumidifier that ties into my HVAC’s ductwork.
In checking out prices, it seems that Aprilaire has a good model for the square footage of my house that goes for $1100
I live in the Philadelphia suburbs, so what would I expect an HVAC contractor to charge me for this job with labor assuming the dehumifier costs $1100 ?
I am going to get estimates of course, but want to know upfront if the prices are reasonable…
Thanks very much !
November 12th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
What size dehumidifier to buy for 2 bedroom terraced house?
We need to buy a dehumidifier but want one that will be good enough to do the whole house. What sort of size do I need to buy? I live in a 2 bedroom terraced house (upstairs and down). Thanks
November 12th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
HRV vs. whole house dehumidifier to decrease winter window condensation?
We live in Wisconsin, in a house that is about 7 yrs old. Every winter we battle dripping condensation on the inside of windows. We run bathroom fans, kitchen fan, keep window coverings up, etc. So we are at the point of installing an HRV system or a whole house dehumidifier for sure–the question is which one is going to be more beneficial to help stop the excessive window condensation during winters? Thanks.
November 12th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Hi, I’m in property development so often use dehumidifiers.
The more efficient dehumidifiers are designed for commercial use but you will find these are fairly bulky, loud and (as a previous answer stated) can be fairly expensive to run. I think a better option (if you will be using it regularly) is to find a dehumidifier that has been designed for the home but is slightly more attractive and concentrated (as in area/floor space). Is it your whole house that is damp or just a certain area? If it’s just a certain area (which I suspect it is) try and contain it by reducing air flow in and out of the room and install a smaller more attractive unit.
If you’re in the UK, I regularly use 4air which is a small company who sell to the trade and I assume homeowners too. I’m sure they will give you some good advice on an attractive unit that will get the job done. I always love a bit of a haggle too and they tend to be relaxed about it.
Try and get the area (m2) or even better the volume (m3) before you speak to them so they can narrow down the units with the power required.
November 12th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
What size dehumidifier do I need?
I am looking for a dehumidifier for my house. It’s so humid that all my spices and salts are clumped together and besides that it’s just altogether uncomfortable to live in. Are there units big enough to take the moisture out of the air in my whole house, or will I need to buy individual units for each room?
My house is around 1500 sq. ft.
Thanks!
November 13th, 2011 at 12:47 am
I have no carpets in my home. The only rugs are small washable rugs for the kitchen and bathroom sink areas. It makes a tremendous difference. At my work we have carpet, but I spray it every week with the ADMS Spray so it doesn’t bother me. I don’t run a dehumidifier at home because I can control the humidity there very well. At work I have a dehumidifier and I must empty it every 3 days or so.
November 13th, 2011 at 1:29 am
Everyone itchy in house..from Dehumidifier?
Have a small dehumidifier in basement but wouldn’t think it would dry the whole house out and make everyone have dry skin?
November 13th, 2011 at 4:07 am
make sure the dryer vent is clear, hooked up and working properly. Make sure the furnace vent is not obstructed. Usually the problem in winter is dry air. The windows will fog up and condensation will form on them if they are single glass. Also if it has a crawl space, the moisture could be coming from there. Most people put a layer of plastic on the ground to keep the moisture from the ground out. In fact it is required most places. If there is a basement, be sure there is no standing water and the floor isn’t wet.
November 13th, 2011 at 7:18 am
I want to get a dehumidifier. Do I need one for each of the 2 floors +basement? R there any whole-house ones.
We live in NYC and have only window units that we use one room at a time. It’s just my husband and me and our 2 pugs. Our 2nd floor is 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. We mostly stay in one bedroom upstairs except when we go down to fix and eat supper. The pugs stay in the 3rd small bedroom when we are at work, because that’s the smallest room to run the a/c that they need. Does moisture move up, like warmer air? or does it stay pretty constant from floor to floor, except the basement of course?
Also, do you have to connect the dehumid. unit to a hose for drainage? I know they have a bucket, what’s the hose for?
November 13th, 2011 at 8:37 am
Will the temperature inside my house feel better if I install a whole house dehumidifier?
I live in Columbus Ohio. My house is 4bdrm, 2 story, 1770 sq ft. It was built in 1999 and has really crappy windows (ACORN brand, standard new build windows). I can’t afford new windows at this time so that’s out of the equation. My A/C unit has been checked by three different companies. They all say it’s the right size for my house, is fully charged, and working just fine. I don’t have mature trees to provide any shade so the house just bakes all day in the sun.
However, in the summer it is unbearable inside. You feel the cold air when you first come inside but after a few minutes you’re sweating like a pig (Funny thing too – pigs don’t sweat). It’s almost as humid inside as it is outside. The basement is cool but humid. First floor not as cool and just as humid, Second floor not very cool at all and really humid.
I thought if I installed a whole house dehumidifier an hooked it inline with my duct work the reduced humidity would make it more comfortable inside. I know it won’t increase to cool air from the A/C but you won’t sit and sweat while doing nothing. Maybe I won’t have to go around naked all the time just to feel comfortable (but is that really a bad thing?). LOL!!
November 13th, 2011 at 10:05 am
it should be a free estimate for this in your area as every house differs in available space and duct systems.
If your AC system is installed correctly a dehumidifier should not be nessasary as 1/2 of the air conditioners job is to cool the other 1/2 of its job is to dehumidify.
Id an ac system is oversize it will cool but the humidity will actually go up creating an uncomfortable feeling as well as mold issues.
New higher end ac systems are using computerized variable speed motors and matching thermidistats that monitor temperature and humidity and will adjust its operation to remove more moisture from the air. April Air makes good products and many humidifiers but I am unaware of their dehumidifier product line as I have overcome every summer dehumidifying issues with correctly sizing the ac system to the home.
Call for some estimates, look for N.A.T.E qualified technicians
http://www.NATEX.org
November 13th, 2011 at 10:24 am
Winter window condensation problems are a symptom of a well-insulated, airtight home. Outside air is very dry in the winter in WI. Old homes had a lot of leaks, and were therefore very dry in the winter, so Grandma boiled a pot of water and our parents installed humidifiers. To be more energy efficient, today’s homes are built so tight that the dry air from outside can’t get in to dry the space. Moisture builds up from everyday activities – breathing, cooking cleaning, plants, pets, etc. Since the window glass is the coldest surface in the home, that’s where condensation occurs.
If you built to WI code, you have good windows. The solution is to warm the window glass, reduce the inside relative humidity (RH) or both.
Options for warming the glass include removing inside screens, raising blinds, adding storm windows, moving air over the glass and avoiding setback thermostat overnight. Sounds like you’ve tried many of these tricks. Look for ways to reduce inside RH by first avoiding obvious sources of moisture in the home – but don’t stop breathing!
If reducing moisture sources doesn’t solve the problem, you will need to ventilate. This will reduce RH by introducing dry air from outside. There are a variety of ways to do this, including ERV/HRV’s or whole-house ventilating dehumidifiers. Don’t try to solve the problem with dehumidification alone – you need the ventilation for the winter problem.
ERV/HRV’s will cost a bit less to operate than the whole-house ventilating dehumidifier in the winter. But they will not address moisture problems you might experience at other times of year, such as spring and fall – that’s where the dehumidifier makes the difference.
Good luck!
November 13th, 2011 at 10:51 am
I need to buy a Dehumidifier for my home in New England, any recommendations?
I recently moved to New England and have a house outside of Boston. The basement is dry, but you can definetly feel the humidity especially on those snowy/rainy days. I would like to get a dehumidifier, and have seen price ranges that run the gammit from cheap to super expensive. Curious what peoples experiences have been with both the smaller/portable units and the larger/whole house units. Thanks.
November 13th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
I bought mime at Walmart. It is a 50pint. I put it in my basement. It works very well. I have a very moist basement. I don’t name the name of the brand off the top of me head. It is a smaller portable unit with a drain hose that I can have go directly to my sump pump. I only spent a little over a $100 for my unit and have had no complaints. My husband used the same brand unit up where he works. He only used 2 of them in a big open factory building and it worked really well. Unless you have major water/moisture issues or have a gigantic basement the portable units should be fine.
November 13th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Is there a whole house dehumidifier?
I have hot water baseboard heat and our house gets very humid in the winter and will get a lot of condensation on the windows. Is there such a thing as a whole house dehumidifier that will take care of this problem. I have a portable 70 pint dehumidifer,but I have to move it from room to room. I am looking for something that will take care of the humidity in the entire house of about 1500 sq ft, one story. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks
Thanks for your help but you are all on the wrong track. I live in an area where it gets very cold and a/c is not needed so I don’t have that and installing an a/c would not be a wise move financially since I will most likely NEVER use the a/c. Also, I have 2 working CO detectors and do not have that problem. I don’t have mold or mildew, but will condensate on windows when cold. Windows are new, double pane. Humidity level is sometimes above 70%, the portable dehumidifier will bring it down to 50% but I don’t like moving it from room to room. I am wondering if there is a duct type system I can install in house, similliar to what you find on a forced air furnace but without the furnace. I did insulate my home recently and think that may have added to the problem although, I had this BEFORE I increased the insulation. With that new info, any help is appreciated
November 13th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
i would try one and see what happens it will not do any harm
November 13th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
.
Your indoor cooling coil does your dehumidifying, as well as lowering the air temperature. If your unit really is properly sized AND if your airflow volume is ok, your whole house should be cool and comfortable.
It would seem that either you have a source of moisture inside your house or your airflow is obstructed or both. Things to check include:
> Where is the condensate from your cooling coil going? Make sure it’s going outside.
> Do you have any wet walls or a wet floor in your basement?
> Are your air filters clean and unobstructed?
> Do you have an old filter lurking someplace in your ductwork?
> How many return air ducts do you have and are they properly located?
I recommend that you have a reputable a/c person do a heat gain calculation and then figure what amount of air should be flowing into each room. When that’s done, walk around with him/her with a flowmeter to see what you actually have.
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November 13th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
D M knows what he is talking about, even if thats not your problem, I am going to give credit to the guy for thinking, right on. Alll I wanted to say is you can get a high efficiency air conditioner with a variable speed blower for dehumidification, and they are made to do that, but I really think there is more to the story here. How cold is it there? Have you had alot of rain?
November 13th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
No, but the rest of your house is pretty dry in the winter. You may even want to put a humidifier upstairs. Drink lots of water. Your skin and hair will benefit. Use a little extra moisturizer after bathing and before bed. Again, I stress, drink lots of water!
November 13th, 2011 at 11:44 pm
try a swamp cooler