Choosing A New Dehumidifier

Are you looking for a new dehumidifier? We recently needed to replace our old dehumidifier and we would like to share some things we learned along the way.

What Happened?

At the start of this summer, the basement where James the Administrative Assistant has his office space became uncomfortably humid. The dehumidifier in the basement was supposed to be keeping that under control, but stopped working sometime this spring without any of us noticing. Rest in peace old dehumidifier.

Dehumidifier Shopping

There are many places to purchase a dehumidifier and many different kinds of dehumidifier to choose from. The dehumidifier we were replacing was a garden variety one from a big box store that had worked adequately for probably ten years before it quit without providing notice.

I was not in a hurry to replace our old dehumidifier, so I took some time to find one with interesting features that could be useful in the future if they are needed. In the end, I bought a Midea Cube 20 Pint, Smart Dehumidifier. 

By the way, this is not sponsored content. When I mention a product in this blog post, I have not been incentivized to do so by anyone. These are just my thoughts about any products mentioned here.

Get The Right Size Of Unit!

When you are choosing a dehumidifier for your home, the unit size may be listed in square feet. For example, the Midea Cube I bought is rated for 1,500 square feet. The model one size larger is rated for 4,500 square feet. Please check the capacity of the dehumidifier when you are shopping so you get a unit that will be able to keep up with the dehumidification needs of your home. 

Dehumidifiers can be small like the Peltier module models that can be found online, to regular compressor models from big box stores, to industrial units that can dehumidify a whole warehouse and be found from industrial supply companies. When it comes to dehumidifiers, size does matter!

Dehumidifier Features

Humidity Sensor

Dehumidifiers come with a humidity sensor that is supposed to maintain humidity at a specific level, for example 50%. For the Midea Cube, this sensor can be set in 5% increments from 35% to 85% relative humidity. This way, the dehumidifier cycles on and off to maintain humidity at the set value.

Bucket or Tank and Hose Drainage 

This can be very important if you will be emptying the bucket or tank often and have a place to let a hose drain the dehumidifier water away instead. Hauling a bucket or tank of water away to a drain every day could be difficult, especially if it is full. Being able to set it up to drain via a garden hose to a nearby drain could save you a lot of work.

A dehumidifier will likely state if it has a hose attachment. Also, the volume of the bucket or tank can be an important consideration, as a larger volume could allow for the dehumidifier to work for 24 hours uninterrupted without needing to be emptied in even the most humid conditions.

Bluetooth

Some dehumidifiers can connect via an app to a smartphone. These use Bluetooth to achieve this. If you want to monitor and control your dehumidifier with your smartphone, you can do that, if that’s your preference. This feature will likely be marketed by calling it a “smart device”.

I for one do not need any household appliance in my home attached to something via Bluetooth or going on the internet, so I am happy to report that the Midea Cube keeping my office space comfortable has Bluetooth and an app available, but works fine using the buttons on the device.

Continuous / Max Dehumidification

Continuous dehumidification means the dehumidifier will run regardless of the actual humidity in the environment it is in. It can help dry out areas that are damp, because it won’t stop dehumidifying when the usual minimum relative humidity of 35% has been reached. It will just keep trying to take all the humidity out of the air until the operator changes the settings. 

Continuous dehumidification mode is not as common on residential dehumidifiers as other features. This is usually found on industrial models that are for drying out damp houses. The Midea Cube has this feature. 

Max Dehumidification is used in an enclosed room with the door closed to dry wet clothes that are hanging in the room. While I have not tried this, it seems like an interesting feature to have available. I haven’t thought about drying clothes inside my home using a dehumidifier, but the right machine can do that! The Midea Cube has this feature, listed as Max on the indicator panel.

Timer

A residential dehumidifier can come with a timer, where the user can set how long they want the device to run in a 24 hour period. This could be important if the dehumidifier does not need to run all the time, for example in the winter, or if electricity cost is an important factor. Using the timer function could allow the dehumidifier to operate for a limited amount of time each day so it uses less electricity.

Wheels

Small things can sometimes make a big difference, like having wheels on a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers can be pretty heavy and so can the drainage bucket or tank. If it has wheels, this can help if you need to move it around.

Let's Review!

• Get a dehumidifier large enough to dehumidify your home / area.

• Dehumidifiers usually have a bucket or tank and a drain hose attachment, but it's a good idea to check if the drain hose feature is present if that is important to you.

• All dehumidifiers should have a humidity sensor so you can set a relative humidity value for it to aim for.

• Some dehumidifiers are “smart devices” that can connect to your smart phone via an app using Bluetooth.

• Some residential dehumidifiers offer a continuous dehumidification mode, which could be a useful feature depending on your situation. If you need to dry out a damp area, this could be a feature to look for.

• A timer can be a feature used when the dehumidifier may only be needed for a short time each day.

• Remember that whatever you get, don’t forget about it when you have it running! Empty the bucket or tank regularly. Clean the filter. Make sure it keeps operating.

Conclusions

Each person’s situation is different for their home dehumidification needs. The information provided in this blog hopefully helps you to research and find the best dehumidifier for your use case. 

For me, the Midea Cube rated for 1,500 square feet has been a great choice for my work space. It is fairly quiet, has the features I need, and does a good job. It also has extra features that could be useful in the future too.

Uplift Cleaning Company provides residential and office cleaning, as well as dog waste removal (poop scooping) services in the Niagara region.