Dehumidifiers are a great appliance for removing excess moisture from your home and are one of the best ways to prevent mold in your home. They are also able to reduce condensation and mold in your home, purify the air around you, and dry clothes. But even buying one of the best dehumidifiers won’t solve your moisture problems if you don’t place it in the right place. There are many ways your dehumidifier can get clogged, so it’s essential to minimize any risk of this. In fact, poor placement is a very common reason why your dehumidifier may not be doing the job you want it to do.
To ensure you get the most out of your dehumidifier and allow it to reach its full potential, we’ve compiled a list of expert tips from dehumidifier brand experts. We asked them where you should place your unit in your home and why. Here’s what they had to say.
1. Away from walls and furniture
First of all, avoid placing your dehumidifier too close to walls or furniture, as this can affect the operation of the device. The vents can become blocked and the dehumidifier will not be able to draw in or expel the air necessary for its proper functioning.
To address this problem, Chris Michael, CEO of Meaco says: “Make sure there is plenty of space around the dehumidifier, typically at least 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) from walls, furniture, and other obstacles to allow for proper air circulation.”
2. In a central location in your home
To ensure your dehumidifier has the best airflow distribution and can control humidity levels, it’s important to find a central location to give your dehumidifier space from all angles. To do this, Michael suggests: “Hallways are good places to consider, especially near the bathroom, so the machine can treat air from multiple rooms.”
Clark Lambert, Senior Buyer for Avallaadds: “If you are dehumidifying a large area, placing the unit in a central location without obstructions could increase circulation and make the drying process more efficient. Always consider airflow and look for obstructions that could prevent proper circulation.”
3. In areas with high humidity
Unsurprisingly, the best location for your dehumidifier is where it can do its best work: in the most humid areas of your home. Signs of high humidity include condensation, dampness, mold growth, and cold air.
Marc Duckworth, Product Manager, Product Care Group for Russell Hobbs, says: “For best effect, we recommend placing the dehumidifier as close as possible to the source of moisture, for example in a utility room or outside the bathroom. DO NOT place a dehumidifier in the bathroom as this can be a safety hazard. If there is no specific area to treat, place a dehumidifier in the hallway to ensure an even reach throughout the home, avoiding pockets of moisture.”
We spoke with a Pro Breeze representative who added, “To ensure the unit is working as efficiently as possible, we recommend placing the dehumidifier near the most humid area of the room. For example, if you have a wall with mold, a condensed window, or cracked paint, the unit should be installed near the wall. If you are using the dehumidifier in your laundry room, place it near wet laundry.”
4. Optimize placement for drying clothes
If you choose to use your dehumidifier to dry laundry, it is also very important to optimize the placement of the unit to ensure that it accomplishes the task at hand. To do this, you should place it close enough to your laundry, but not so close that circulation is obstructed.
According to Lambert, “Location is key when drying clothes. If you’re using a clothes dryer, directing the air outlet to the side of the dryer instead of the front will allow more air to pass over your clothes, increasing efficiency and reducing drying times.”
This is especially useful in the winter, when humidity is higher in your home and you have much less opportunity to dry your clothes naturally outside. Some dehumidifiers even have a laundry mode, specifically designed to dry clothes.
5. Next to closed exterior doors and windows
Finally, to get the most out of your dehumidifier, you also need to make sure that you're not drawing extra humid air into your home. So keep your exterior doors and windows closed.
Michael explains: “For best efficiency, close the doors and windows of the rooms where the dehumidifier is operating. This prevents outside moisture from affecting the dehumidification process. But leave interior doors open so that humid air from the house can migrate to the dehumidifier at all times.”
If more humid air enters the room where your dehumidifier is trying to operate, this will also affect the humidity levels and disrupt the humidity levels you have set. Keeping interior doors ajar is, as Michael says, always necessary so that “the humid air in the house can migrate to the dehumidifier at all times.”