Dehumidifiers are the best solution to fight against mold, extra moisture, mildew, bad odor, and infectious allergen that can cause severe health issues. Although the unit is easy to use, it needs maintenance.
Some of the dehumidifiers stop working efficiently after a certain time. It is because they need recharging to keep the operation efficient. It’s a popular question among users: how to recharge a dehumidifier? You don’t have to worry anymore because you have come to the right page.
Here it includes all the information you must be aware of regarding the recharging of a dehumidifier.
Steps in Recharging a Dehumidifier
Following are the few steps that you must follow to recharge your unit.
- The first thing you must have is the coolant as the dehumidifiers are charged with them. Find a good compatible piece.
- Now, remove the cover of the valve of the unit.
- In this step, you need to attach the filler line to the valve. Make sure that you don’t open it.
- Now, remove all the extra air from the pipe so that you can save the compressor of your machine from getting any damage.
- In this step, you need to tighten the valve to avoid any hazards during the process.
- Now it’s time to open the valve and check the gauge’s coolant level to know the numeric.
- Refill it short shots and keep doing it till it reaches the ideal level.
- Close the valve and remove the filler as you are done with the recharging.
Should I Recharge My Dehumidifier without Any Expert?
It was easy to recharge a dehumidifier in older times, but now, as the air pollution increases, it is getting hard to deal with it. So, the units have some dangerous chemicals that might result in a disaster while recharging without an expert.
We suggest you recharge a dehumidifier by hiring an expert so nothing can go wrong, and you get your unit back with its highly efficient operation.
The best Time to Recharge a Dehumidifier?
If you recharge the dehumidifier more frequently, it might lose its potential to efficiently remove moisture from the air. It would help if you recharged it only when it is needed. Following are a few signs that can tell you when it needs recharging.
No change in humidity level
The main purpose of the dehumidifier is to keep the humidity level of your room at an optimum level. You should check the humidity level of your room and then observe whether the operation of the dehumidifier is helping it change its level.
If it is not changing the level, you should first check the fans and filters. If you see no other issue, then it is time to recharge it.
Moist air
When the dehumidifier operates, it exhausts dry air because the moisture is condensed, and water is squeezed into the water tank. When you need to know the time for recharging, you can check the exhausting air; if it is not dry and you feel moist, then it is the time to recharge the unit.
Water tank
If you use the manual drainage option in dehumidifying, the water tank is another help to check the recharging need. If the machine is running, but the tank is not receiving the expected water amount, you should recharge it immediately to keep the operation running.
Indicator
The control panel can tell you about the recharging need in some smart units very easily. It has a light that turns red when recharging is needed. It is a light indicator and alerts the user without any great effort. So, buying an updated smart system is always a better choice.
Which Dehumidifier Needs Recharging?
The dehumidifiers with a coolant or a refrigerator need recharging. Most modern-day units have them, but you should confirm it from an expert. The two main types that need it are desiccants and refrigerator dehumidifiers.
How to Recharge a Desiccant Dehumidifier?
The desiccant dehumidifier contains silica gels. They absorb the moisture and change their color. When they completely change their color, the users need to recharge the unit by simply plugging it into an electrical socket.
Types of Coolants
Following are the types of coolants that are found in rechargeable dehumidifiers.
1: Freon / R-22
This one is used in an old dehumidifier designed before 1995. Even now, some of the units use them. They are rare, and it is hard to find them in the market.
2: Puron / R-410A
It is the replacement of the previous one. It is environmentally friendly, and almost every modern-day dehumidifier has it. You can use this new coolant with an old unit because the methane gas requires more pressure, and you might end up in a disastrous situation.
3: Silica gel beads
This is used in desiccant dehumidifiers, and they are beads that change their color when they absorb moisture. They produce more heat than other units, but they are cost-friendly and easy to maintain.
Safety Measure You Must Take while Recharging Dehumidifier
Recharging is a process that contains chemicals and other highly pressurized contents. You should follow these few safety measures so you can be saved from hazardous situations.
1: Keep it out of reach from children
If there are children at your home, you should take precautionary measures. Both the dehumidifier and the filler must be kept out of their reach as they might think it is a toy and fall into a damaging situation.
Although some of the units have a child lock, recharging doesn’t come with any such preventions, and the users must take care of it.
2: Choose an area with good ventilation
As told earlier, the recharging contents have chemicals, and you should avoid breathing in these fumes because they can cause any infection. You should do the process in a place where good ventilation and fresh air can pass through it. So, the harmful fumes cannot affect your breathing.
3: Stand the unit upright
You must stand the unit upright so the recharging can be done effectively. Additionally, plug in the recharging socket from the top, so you avoid any fire breakout.
4: Heat resistance
When you recharge the dehumidifier, it heats up. To avoid any harmful consequences, you should do it on a surface resistant to it.
Additionally, make sure that you don’t cover the unit as it can cause more heat. Open it as much as possible and let the air travel through it while doing the process.
5: Call an expert
This is both a safety and essentiality to call an expert for doing the process. Don’t expect that only watching a video can teach you recharging. You would need professional training to deal with the highly pressurized components.
Conclusion
A dehumidifier is now more a need than a luxury. It is essential to keep the air quality better for healthy breathing and goodbye to dust and other allergies. Some units need recharging and doing it the right way saves the unit. Otherwise, you may end up wasting your money.
The best way to recharge is by hiring an expert and following all the instructions and preventive measures. The best time to recharge can be observed by looking at different signs, including humidity level, moist air, water tank levels, and indicator.
We wish you luck with charging your dehumidifier the right way.
FAQs
- What is the cost of recharging a dehumidifier?
The cost of recharging a unit lies between 50 dollars and goes up to 200 or above. It entirely depends upon the system you need. If it is in a smaller size, it would need less money, and for larger systems, more money is needed.
Charging is not required very often, so you should never hesitate by looking at the price. It would make your machine efficient again, making it durable.
The units charged properly at proper times longer than those with improper charging.
- How long can a dehumidifier run before it needs recharging?
The recharging doesn’t have a certain time. You can know it by looking at different signs, such as the decrease in its efficiency. Sometimes you might need to recharge after a long time of one year if the unit is used properly and maintained well.
Depending on their quality and size, the desiccant dehumidifiers need to charge twice a week. The recharging is very easy as you, the users, need to plug the unit in the socket directly without needing any other chemicals or equipment.
- What if the recharging doesn’t work?
In some cases, the signs might direct you to recharge the unit, but even then, you see the machine’s efficiency is at a lower level. You should consult the technical experts in this situation as it might have a fault, leading to lower results.
Another reason can be incorrect charging. So, it would help if you looked into the problem deeply to diagnose it and treat it well.
A Dehumidifier enthusiast, who want to remove humidity from home. It is my hobby to collect Dehumidifier of different kinds and try to live life in comfort. This is all I do to explore happiness by magnifying my beautiful world.