Anyone that has a home office or bedroom in the basement knows how valuable a dehumidifier can be. Without it, the basement would be damp and useless, mold and mildew would grow promoting ill health and insects would have a perfect place to live. Your basement is underground, humid and in constant contact with the cool damp earth. If you don’t control the moisture and humidity throughout the year through dehumidifiers, your carpet and furniture could be ruined, even photographs can be destroyed. I have always found that I am more comfortable when the humidity is lower. I don’t like hot weather, but I would rather have it be dry and hot than cool and damp. What is it they say? “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” You might want to consider installing a ceiling fan to work in tandem with the dehumidifier. They help circulate the air, will dry out the basement even more and you will feel much more comfortable. Ceiling fans don’t cool the air, but you will feel better because of evaporation than if no fan were there at all.

Excessive moisture can be present in the air any time of the year, so it is important to have a dehumidifier that can deal with hot and cold climates. In order to dry out all parts of the home, consider a portable dehumidifier with wheels and a handle for ease of movement from room to room. Place your portable dehumidifiers in various positions around your apartment or home.

Experiment with the settings depending on the local forecast and the time of day. Generally, the humidity level decreases at night as a result of cooler temperatures. When using a dehumidifier in rooms that are especially damp such as a basement, keep the doors and windows closed as much as possible. Keep closet doors open to dry out shoes and clothing. Also make sure you put only clean clothes in the closet or in enclosed places as just a little bit of soil is enough to breed mold and mildew. You must clean your dehumidifiers on a weekly basis. Mold spores, bacteria, mildew can accumulate in the dehumidifier’s grate. Make sure you unplug the unit before removing water or doing any cleaning.

Living in a home with mold and mildew is terrible for your respiratory system. All kinds of allergy symptoms can arise when your home is too humid. When you take control of your environment through the use of a dehumidifier, ceiling fan, air conditioner, or other cooling system, you will have a better place for your family to live and work. Portable cooling systems also reduce the strain on the environment. You are only working with one small space and not a complete home so you are using less energy, saving you money and power usage for the community. If you have a particularly hot and humid summer, this can really make a difference. The technology we have today gives us many reasonably priced options for keeping cool, dry and comfortable.