Dehumidifier

The dehumidifier is a device that removes moisture from the air and prevents mold and mildew growth. It removes excess humidity to keep your home healthy, comfortable, and dry. The dehumidifier can also be applied in other situations such as hospitals, commercial spaces, homes with pets or smokers, basements, or crawl spaces with excessive humidity.
There are different types of dehumidifiers that work differently. Here we will discuss all you need to know about dehumidifiers to purchase one for your home.

Why dehumidifier is necessary

Humidity is the amount of water vapor present in the air. It refers to how much water can be held by air at a specific temperature. When humidity levels are too low, it becomes an irritant for humans, and dehumidifiers come to rescue us from this situation.
Dehumidifiers are appliances that remove excess moisture or dampness from the indoor environment. They lower the humidity level, making them particularly useful during winter when people face dry skin, static electricity shock, etc.
This phenomenon occurs because moist, humid air absorbs heat more readily than dryer surrounding air, thus leading to increased chilliness inside houses, especially at night time. If you or a family member suffers from asthma or allergies, a dehumidifier might help relieve symptoms and make breathing easier.

Working on an Air Dehumidifier

An air dehumidifier works by dehumidifying air by bringing warm air flows into its curls through a fan. Dehumidifiers are furnished with a condenser. This process uses an electric fan or compressor system to remove moisture by passing warm dry air over coils cooled by cold refrigerant gas (provided by a mini compressor).
This allows condensation of air and removes water from the air in droplets. There is a tiny bucket inside the dehumidifier that collects the water.

Process of Condensation

Condensation is the polar opposite of vaporization, and it occurs when a material transitions from a gas to a liquid form.

Types of Dehumidifier

There are two basic types of dehumidifiers:

1. Refrigerant
2. Desiccant

Refrigeration Dehumidifier

Works by condensing warm air into the water using a cold surface or coil, then collected. This type of dehumidifier rewarms the air through a condenser coil. A fan blows air over these coils.
This form of dehumidifier differs from a regular air conditioner in that it contains both the evaporator and condenser in the same room. The air conditioner functions by transferring heat energy out of the space. But because this dehumidifier does not remove any heat from the room, it heats the space instead.

Verdict

The dehumidifier’s deionization cartridge can be cleaned with water, usually activated carbon. This dehumidifier has a low initial cost, but its operational costs are higher than other dehumidifiers. It also emits some heat, so it might not be the best choice for areas with high summertime temperatures.

Desiccant Dehumidification

Instead of using an electric fan or compressor system as a refrigerant dehumidifier does, this type uses desiccants such as silica gel (which absorbs moisture) or zeolite (a naturally occurring mineral that absorbs humidity).
A motor or fan is used to pass air over these desiccant dehumidifying materials. The dehumidifier’s deionization cartridge can be cleaned with water and is usually made of activated carbon or zeolite, which comes in granules that need to be replaced periodically.

Verdict

This type of dehumidifier removes moisture from the air via adsorption (not by condensation like refrigeration dehumidifiers). So there are no issues about corrosion, minerals left behind on coils after drying the deionization cartridge, or humidity problems caused by standing water. However, this system uses more energy than other types because it needs a motor/fan and cold coil to work properly. There may be an issue where some humid air gets into deionization cartridges, which may need to be replaced more often.

Pakistan’s Prices of Dehumidifiers:

Starting Prices of Dehumidifier is around PKR 3,000/-. They are cheap and unreliable. A good air humidifier wouldn’t cost less than PKR 20,000/-. We won’t recommend cheap humidifiers which don’t fulfill their purpose. below is the price list of a few of the most reliable air dehumidifier

2025 pricelist of Air Dehumidifier

Possible Problems of Dehumidifiers w.r.t Air Quality

1. Dehumidifiers often emit some warmth while removing wetness from warm, dryer air. However, this shouldn’t affect indoor temperature levels unless used near people since these machines are much smaller than air conditioners. Even after dehumidifying an area, humidity levels will still be high if there are too many people in that room because of our breathing – similar to air humidifiers which emit some warmth into the air while adding moisture back into it.
2. Suppose a dehumidifier is used for continuous operation. In that case, the deionization cartridge may release its chemicals (some models use activated carbon) and make the indoor environment unhealthy, especially when the dehumidifier emits warm moist air out it continuously (dust mites can grow well on accumulated water vapor). Therefore, place the dehumidifier far away from living spaces or turn it off before leaving home for longer. It’s also best not to keep dehumidifiers running near bedtime since deionization cartridges can emit chemical odors.
3. It’s best to use dehumidifiers in dry seasons (since dehumidifiers will be running almost every day) and keep them far away from living spaces if you don’t want your skin, hair, or clothes to feel sticky because of high humidity levels when moving out of the house after using a dehumidifier for continuous operation. It would be better not to run air humidifiers at night so sleep won’t be interrupted by noise caused by the vaporizer, which emits warm moist air into the room continuously, especially during winter when heaters also naturally add warmth inside the home without needing this additional moisture added back into it.