Posts Tagged ‘air dehumidifiers’

Dehumidifiers are your first port of call for preventing overly humid conditions in your work place or home. humidity create a perfect breeding enviroment for many undesireable things such as mould, musty smells, rust and such like. The harmful effects of moisture in the atmosphere can be completely negated through the use of a home dehumidifier. Here is our short buyers guide to getting the best dehumidifier for you:

Firstly a short explanation: if how dehumidifiers work will enable you to gain some valuable insights to allow you to find the best dehumidifier for your needs:

Most dehumidifiers work by absorbing excess moisture and water vapour from the air. Through a small air vent air will be drawn in, its temperature is then greatly lowered hence it condenses. A fan then helps expel the air. The collected condensed water then flows into a collection tank or through a hose leading to a drain. The best air dehumidifiers are not however only useful for lowering the humidity level, they are useful in order to:

Save energy– When the air around you is less humid you can feel cool regardless of whether the temperature is warmer, thus saving you on energy billing costs.

Supplement ACs To feel cool two things need to happen 1) cool enough air 2) dry enough air. Many times people leave their air con running because the air is musty, they will never actually reduce the air humidity significantly. Whereas if you used a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity then the air conditioner would become more effective and it would reduce the need for you to leave it running for long periods of time.

If a house is excessively humid in the long run then it may cause structural instability. Buckling floor panels, crimbling support beams can be very costly to renew not to mention the fact that it may decrease the value of your real estate.

These day there are many different types of dehumidifier on the market. most commonly functionality plays a role in their categorisation. The categories usually are: residential, industrial and  commercial. When deciphering which is the best dehumidifier for you it is worthwhile considering the following elements:

Size: Dehumidifiers are designed in order to remove a  set amount of water out of a set amount of air per day. It is most easy to think about the size of the area you wish to be dehumidified as opposed to the volume of water you wish to have removed as this is far easier to estimate. Often square foot guidelines are provided but even these may be inaccurate because your area depending on your location may have more or less than the average humidity level.

It may well be worth your while buying the next model size up than the guidelines suggest should your room be towards the higher end of the scale given. This will stop your dehumidifier from becoming overstressed and ensure its longevity.

Areas that have very high humidity levels may be served better by commercially sized dehumidifiers. If a smaller home dehumidifier is used then it will have to work for a greater periods of time which will affect its longevity and the amount of breakdown costs it may require. There are indeed special dehumidifiers designed for particularly humid areas like basements and bathrooms.

Lots of dehumidifiers are not meant to be ran in cold conditions so again you should take this into consideration whilst making your purchase, the best dehumidifiers are often fitted with anti-frost sensors so they will turn themselves off if they are getting too cold thus stopping themselves from getting damaged. These are even mores important for places like outdoor buildings and basements.

As naturally there are high end and low end dehumidifiers. The main variances are due to the range of features that are present on the dehumidifier and the amount of litres each hour they are able to draw out of the air. What you ideally need to do is think about what exactly it is that you want and then match these features up with an existing product to find the best dehumidifier for you. Of course shopping around for a home dehumidifier is essential to make sure you are not paying over the odds and get the best dehumidifier (ebac dehumidifiers are highly recommended). Prices start from 0 to upwards of 00 so there will always be an adequate choice.

Musty odor is clearly not a desirable quality for a house, it tends to give the impression of a dirty place and whilst it might actually not be noticeable to the owners it will almost certainly be so to visitors creating entirely the wrong sort of impression. What is more musty odors may indicate the presence of mould which in turn can kick off allergic reactions.

Musty odors may well come and go mainly dependent on the current climate and the season of the year. For example in the summer time, often the air conditioner is left on continuously which may well get rid of the musty smell yet the cause remains and the smell may comeback in the winter season. Home dehumidifiers can definetely help here.

Basements are often then source of such musty odors and the odor may have been caused by problems such as high humidity, cracks in walls allowing moisture in or merely from condensation. In order to prevent and stop the musty odor it is important to find the primary cause although bear in mind there may well be more than factor causing the problem. The following will enable you to track down the cause of the problem most quickly:

To prevent condensation on water pipes which can be a source of moisture particularly in winter months is to cover the water pipes with an insulated pipe wrap, these are relatively cheap and are an easy w3ay to prevent moisture dripping of the pipes and onto the floor.

Often due to lack of flowing air household basements will build up high humidity levels and be the cause of dampness, this may give rise to a musty smell which can permeate through the entire house. Installation of a basement dehumidifier can prevent this problem from occurring and remove excess moisture, just make sure you have a drain available in order to take away the excess water gathered by the air dehumidifier otherwise you may have to purchase an air dehumidifier with a hose pipe and pump.

Make sure that the suspected condenstion is not water that is not just coming out of pipes with really small holes. Problems like this can be solved by fixing on a pipe leak clamp, or if the hole is very small, purchasing an epoxy compound from your local building supplier.

A more serious problem is that of weeping walls where moisture simply seeps through from the outside. This next technique should restrict the amount of water entering the house through the walls
Ensure that there is a dry forecast.
Run home dehumidifiers and fans to dry the walls.
Go to a home improvement store and purchase trisodium phosphate then scrub the weeping walls down with it to cleam it, allow them to dry afterwards.
Use latex concrete sealer to completely seal the walls and obviously follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
This single procedure is usually enough to prevent anymore weeping, if this isn’t the case then give the professionals a bell.

Wall cracks can also be the cause of moisture entering a house, this is possible in new houses too. The cracks may be classed as active and likely to widen further or hopefully inactive and not likely to widen. Most cracks in walls are not difficult to repair with ready mixed concrete and a knife.

By following the suggestions provided above, dealing with your specific probelms and with the use of a dehumidifier it is quite possible that you will be able to cure the problem for even the most pesistent musty household smells. Remember that home dehumidifiers and an air portable dehumidifier can help considerably

So, you’ve just settled into your new home and are getting towards the last few boxes to unpack. You open the door to your cupboard to find the last of the boxes but are alarmed to discover a rather nasty and musty scent coming from somewhere. After a little searching you find it…mould.

There are tons of different types of mold but all of them will thrive in damp moist enviroments that may be moist due to damp surrounding materials, seeping walls, damp fabrics and such like. The area that you stay in is a big factor in your houses humidity level especially in particular seasons or extreme climates. Air dehumidifiers can help in all these cases

Mould can cause allergic reactions in some people and also trigger lung irritability in people who aren’t normally allergic to these things. It can damage anything it is near and start a bad smell appearing which can be ongoing and awkward to get rid of. It could be a sign of a problem with the drainage inside of your house or possibly an air moisture problem.

To confront mould arm yourself with a mask and eye shield so that you don’t expose yourself to potentially harmful mould spores. After removing as much as possible wash to area several times with first soap and water and then either a commercial mildew remover/cleaner and/or one gallon of water mixed with ¼ of a cup of chlorine bleach.

Obviously depending upon the level of damage any damaged materials will have to be replaced and unless you solve the original moisture problem it will most likely need replacing again from further damage.

It may well be worth purchasing a humidity meter () which if it shows a reading of more than 50 then you should really look into buying a dehumidifier. On the market today there are a wide range of dehumidifiers for sale starting from the 0 price. Here are a few pointers to remember when selecting a dehumidifier: If you require a dehumidifier in more than one room then consider buying a whole house dehumidifier rather than a single room dehumidifier. It will do the job better keep working for longer and on top of that you won’t have to fork out for the maintenance costs so often.

Also don’t forget that if you will be running your home dehumidifier in particularly cold places that it has an auto-switch off when it starts to freeze. Not having one of these means that it t will keep running a damage itself if the temperature drops below freezing. Make sure you check that the noise level is not too high before you buy anything.

Further more it may well be worth getting a trusted builder/contractor to take a look at the area to check for possible causes and remedies of the moisture problem. Also having a word with your family doctor about any allergic symptoms and further dangers it may pose should also be done in order to consider how seriously you need to take into account the mold problem.

Despite the cost of doing the above in the long run the value of your house and the health of your family should be your priority and taking a few simple steps such as buying a home dehumidifier (ebac dehumidifiers are particulary highly recommended) would be well worthwhile in the long run.