A dehumidifier serves to make your life healthy by making your environment fresh and clean. It also fights against mold, mildew, and bad odor that gives your house or office a pleasant atmosphere to live in. it creates a protective bubble for your furniture and infrastructure too.
A common question for beginner users is how much water a dehumidifier should collect in a day. The answer is that it depends upon several different factors. There is no ideal amount to make your house free of extra moisture and mold.
The factors impacting the daily water collection of a dehumidifier
- Area
The factor on which your need for daily moisture extraction of a dehumidifier depends on your room’s area. If you need the dehumidifier for your smaller area such as a bathroom, walk-in closet, safe, you need less water collection daily.
Suppose you want it for a larger area such as garages, basements, living rooms, or large bedrooms. In that case, you need a higher daily moisture extraction ability so that you can enjoy a healthy and fresh environment.
In commercial areas, you need a dehumidifier that must be commercial grade so you can help the extra moisture. The stock is expensive, and you should make a little investment in a good dehumidifier to avoid any loss.
- Humidity Level
The second factor that impacts your daily moisture extraction rate is the humidity level of your area. If the humidity level is very high, you need a more efficient dehumidifier to keep it optimum.
In case of water damage, you would need a commercial-grade dehumidifier to restore it in a short period. If the humidity is higher on a medium level, you can make your atmosphere healthy and extra moisture feature with an averagely efficient dehumidifier. So, before you buy a dehumidifier, you should thoroughly check the humidity details of your rooms.
- Conditions
The conditions of your area, such as temperature and its weather, also impact your need for daily moisture extraction. If you live in a cold area, there would be not very high humidity levels as the rooms tend to be drier.
If you live in a hot area, the humidity would be high as the rooms are moister and more water vapors need extraction. If you have extreme temperatures that include very cold in winters and hot in summers, you need a highly efficient dehumidifier that can work the best in both kinds of weather.
So, you should install a dehumidifier that is relative and appropriate for you.
- Pint Capacity
The daily water collection of a dehumidifier mainly depends upon its pint capacity. It is the ability to extract a certain amount of moisture daily.
A good pint capacity starts between 20 to 200. You can choose the dehumidifier with any pint capacity between this range according to your needs. A normal area with average temperature conditions and humidity needs a pint around 40 to 50.
If there is water damage and you need to remove the standing water, you should go for higher pints above 100 to make the process efficient.
- Fan Speed
The fan speed in a dehumidifier helps make your rooms dry and free of extra moisture. There are three fan speeds and two fan speeds dehumidifiers. You can choose them according to your room needs.
The lower fan speeds put the dehumidifier in sleep mode to make the consumers’ sleep comfortable and peaceful. You can use the medium fan speed all day long in normal conditions.
If there is water damage in your room, you should put the fan speed at a higher level to make the area dry faster.
A fan speed impacts the restoration in water damages. So we suggest you buy the dehumidifier with three fan speeds that include an ultra high speed too so you can fight in worse water conditions.
- Area Capacity
The area capacity of a dehumidifier is very important to consider for the buyers. It determines that whether it is appropriate for your room or not.
If you need a dehumidifier for your small areas such as closets, kitchens, bathrooms, and small bedrooms, you may choose a small dehumidifier with a low area capacity. Still, you should find the larger area capacity dehumidifier for larger areas.
It is entirely relative to your need, and you should measure your area first before you look for the dehumidifier, as you might end up wasting your money.
- Water tank Capacity
The water tank capacity is also important to consider while buying a dehumidifier. Compare it with the pint capacity so that you can know how many hours it will be full.
It would be best to get a dehumidifier with two times larger capacity than the daily pint capacity, as it will put you at ease. You would not have to empty the bucket over again or supervise it all the time. In this way, the tank could be emptied after one or two days.
We suggest you go for the automatic shut-off featured dehumidifier because it will prevent the water tank from overflowing and save energy.
Best Time to Use a Dehumidifier
The best time to use a dehumidifier depends upon your needs. You can switch on the operation whenever you feel at a convenient time for you. If you have a low noise level of less than 60 dB, then you may use it all the time, even when you are around.
If it has a higher noise level, it is hard to sleep with its operation. In such cases, you can choose a timer and run the machine at your convenience. The dehumidifier also comes with a sleep mode that produces lower noise and less efficiency. This provides a continuous operation and comfort at the same time.
In floods, you should use all the damage to restore the water damage and get your place back to its original condition. We suggest that the best time to use a dehumidifier is when the humidity exceeds the optimum level. You can keep in mind the noise level of a dehumidifier while buying the unit so you can enjoy a pleasant and healthy environment continuously in the future.
How Fast Should the Dehumidifier Collect Water?
A dehumidifier starts collecting water as soon as the users switch on the operation. You can see the minor difference in your air in the first few hours.
When you use the dehumidifier for the first time in a very wet place, you should wait for two to three days to see the progress in your room. You can also check the water tank too to see if it is collecting the expected water amount or not.
Usually, a certain amount in the water tank is collected in twenty-four hours according to the particular pint capacity under normal conditions.
Conclusion
Dehumidifiers are essential to switch to a better and healthy lifestyle for both your health and the protection of your rooms. The daily water collection of the dehumidifier entirely depends upon the relativity between the needs of your room and the features of the dehumidifier. It includes the area capacity, pint capacity, fan speed, room area, water tank capacity, weather conditions, and humidity levels.
You can follow the above guide to get the best dehumidifier to enjoy a pleasant atmosphere both at your office and at your house.
We wish you luck with your next purchase of a dehumidifier.
FAQs
No, you cannot drink the collected water in the dehumidifier. It is so because it is the extra moisture of your room that is untreated and might contain a lot of germs and other infectious particles.
It is never suggested to drink it as it is not clean, drinkable water. It would be best if you drained it in your bathroom or garden. There are options for gravity drainage, too, as you don’t need the collected water in the tank. It must be wasted properly in time.
There might be different reasons for the slower water collection of your dehumidifier. It can have a technical default, or you are using it inappropriately. The area capacity might not be relevant, or the weather condition is incompatible.
You should first check the relativity of its features with your room, and then you might call the customer service if the company to help you in repairing your unit or replacing it with a new one.
If your dehumidifier has stopped working, but the water tank is not full yet, then there are two reasons for it. The first reason is that your room might reach the ideal humidity level, and the smart technology of the dehumidifier has stopped the operation.
The second reason is that it might have a technical fault that needs your attention.
The reason dehumidifiers fill up fast could be because there is excess water in the air. This could be due to a rise in humidity level, water leak in the crawl space rom a cracked pipe, excess moisture in the laundry room, mold and mildew, etc.
Hi, my name is Fahad. I am the Electrical MEP Design Engineer in Dubai for over Two years now. Fahad is experienced in the HVAC industry, installing, maintaining, troubleshooting malfunctions for all sorts of complex heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems. Fahad started his website to share his past experience and knowledge in the field of humidity control. He has a lot of valuable advice for visitors and writes great articles with lots of information about home humidity control .