Top Dehumidifiers to Prevent Mold

We'll tell you about the top dehumidifiers to prevent mold and why you need one if preventing mold is important to you. And preventing mold should be important to you. It should be important to all homeowners because household mold can cause serious damage to your home. Exposure to household mold is also associated with a wide range of health problems, some of them chronic, some of them serious, some even life-threatening. You can read more about mold-related health problems.

We'll tell you about the benefits of using a dehumidifier in your home (preventing mold isn't all they do). We'll tell you how to select the right dehumidifier for your needs and let you know which brand offers the best rated dehumidifiers.

How Do Dehumidifiers Prevent Mold?

Mold needs moisture to grow and thrive. Some strains of mold need more moisture than others, but few types grow well without a good amount of moisture.

Dehumidifiers prevent mold by reducing the level of relative humidity in the home. Relative humidity is a measure of how much moisture, or water vapor, is in the air compared to how much water vapor the air could hold at the current temperature. Warm air can hold more water vapor than cool air. You can read more about relative humidity in the home.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends keeping the relative humidity in your home at 50 percent or below and suggests using a dehumidifier to do so. Running your air conditioner in hot weather may prevent the need for a dehumidifier then, but it may not. A dehumidifier is the best way to maintain the relative humidity in your home at a constant level.

Of course, using a dehumidifier is not the only way to prevent mold in the home. You can find more mold prevention tips here. A good dehumidifier is one of the best, and easiest, things you can do in order to keep your home mold-free, however.

Other Benefits of Using a Dehumidifier in the Home

In addition to preventing mold, there are a number of other benefits to using a dehumidifier in your home. Rooms often feel uncomfortably stuffy when the relative humidity is too high. When the humidity is too low, on the other hand, you may develop painfully dry skin and chapped lips that crack and bleed. Very low humidity can also damage household furnishings, causing wood to warp and paint to peel.

Features You'll Find in the Top Dehumidifiers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends maintaining a constant level of humidity in your home and the best way to do that is to choose a dehumidifier that allows you to set the desired level of humidity. The dehumidifier then works to maintain the that level of relative humidity in the home. It's similar to how you can use your thermostat to set the desired temperature in your home and then your furnace or central air conditioner works to maintain that temperature.

For convenience and ease of use, choose a dehumidifier with a continuous drain option if you'll be able to place it beside a floor drain, like in a basement, or choose one with an internal pump that can drain into a basin if you can place the dehumidifier beside a sink. Otherwise, you will have to empty the water bucket each time it fills up.

Another feature we like are dehumidifiers with air filters. Look for a unit that tells you when the filter needs to be cleaned.

Many of the top dehumidifiers carry the Energy Star rating, meaning they run efficiently and are good for the planet as well as your wallet.

The Best Rated Dehumidifiers

Some of the top dehumidifiers available today are those made by Frigidaire. They are available in a variety of sizes and the size you will need depends on both the size and the dampness of the area for which you want a dehumidifier. Choosing the correct size is important because if a dehumidifier is too small, it won't be up to the job and won't prevent mold or other problems. You can read about how to select the proper size dehumidifier.

Frigidaire offers dehumidifiers with a variety of options, so you can find one that meets your needs and preferences. They all carry the Energy Star rating, which is one of the things we like about them. To learn more about our preferred dehumidifiers and to read reviews from people that have purchased them, just follow this link to Amazon. They have the best prices and the biggest selection.

Additional Reading:

Bathroom Dehumidifiers - Guide for selecting a dehumidifier for the bathroom. Tips to help prevent bathroom mold.

Basement Dehumidifiers - How to know if you need a dehumidifier for your basement; buying guide.

Dehumidifiers For Closets - Are they necessary? Which type should you buy? Features? Learn more about small dehumidifiers.

Central AC/Furnace Dehumidifier - How to know if you are better off with a portable dehumidifier or a whole house dehumidifier.

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Ref:
CDC - Humidity Levels