It’s important to keep your home free from damp, which can cause dangerous mold and damage the fabric of your home – but how long should a dehumidifier run per day? It depends a lot on the situation in your home, but many experts recommend running them for twelve hours each day.
This gives the dehumidifier enough time to work effectively. If you only run it for a few hours each day, it is only having a small impact on the air around it, rather than on the air in the rest of your home. It is important to keep it going until the right humidity is reached.
How Long Should I Run My Dehumidifier For?
You will need to make an assessment of how damp your home is and how powerful your dehumidifier is. You may wish to buy a hygrometer, which measures humidity if you aren’t sure.
You should also look at the relative humidity in your home (RH). The relative humidity is the percentage of water in the air at a given temperature.
This is not the same as humidity (which is how much vaporized water is in the air), but it is important to think about. A comfortable relative humidity level will be between 30 and 50 percent. You should check what sort of relative humidity your reptile prefers, and take this into consideration too.
It is a good idea to run your dehumidifier for at least a few hours per day, and you should increase this if people are showering, drying laundry, or boiling the kettle a lot. The dehumidifier will help to suck the excess moisture from the air, leaving your home drier.
Should I Leave a Dehumidifier On Full Time?
It is not a good idea to leave your dehumidifier on all day every day if you can avoid this. In some circumstances, it may be necessary – if the room is very wet – but this will use a lot of electricity, and can burn the unit out more quickly. Dehumidifiers don’t last forever, so try to turn yours off every so often if possible.
Most dehumidifiers come with an auto shut-off feature for when their reservoir is full, but make sure you check on this occasionally. If yours does not have this feature, remember that it can’t operate with a full tank, and you will need to empty it in order to keep the unit going.
A dehumidifier works better with an empty tank than a full one, so emptying it regularly is a good idea.
Can I Leave A Dehumidifier On Overnight?
A dehumidifier can safely be left on overnight, yes. However, if the unit does not have an auto shut-off feature, you will need to make sure that the tank is empty before you go to bed, to avoid the risk of water spilling onto the floor if it gets too full.
Be aware that dehumidifiers do make some noise, so you shouldn’t leave yours running in your bedroom if it will bother you.
Does A Dehumidifier Make My Home Warmer?
A dehumidifier can make the home feel warmer. Dry air is much easier to heat than wet air, so if you run your dehumidifier, you may find that you don’t need to use as much heating to make the home feel a comfortable temperature.
A dehumidifier doesn’t output heat itself, however, and it isn’t an alternative to having central heating in your home.
Should I Use A Dehumidifier To Dry Laundry?
A dehumidifier can help to get clothes dry more quickly. Many people run their dehumidifiers when they are drying laundry. This ensures that the moisture evaporating from the clothes gets removed from the environment, rather than making your house damp.
It is also a good idea to crack windows open when drying laundry, ensuring that it does not make your house too damp inside. A lot of water comes out of wet clothing!
Conclusion
There are no set rules about how long you should run your dehumidifier each day; it depends on the conditions of your home and the power of the unit. However, twelve hours is often a good rule of thumb, getting your home dry without overworking the unit.
