The sweltering heat of midsummer’s blaze outside of the house brings with it an overabundance of condensation within. A variety of nasty side effects can occur from inflated levels of humidity throughout your home, none of which are pleasant to you, your family, or any individual that stops by to visit. When the air indoors is thickened with moisture and stifling to experience, it isn’t just you who is impacted by it, either – your air conditioner is struck by the effects just as profoundly.
That level of humidity inside anyone’s abode progressively introduces glaring issues, little by little. Like an insidious virus, it encourages the growth of mildew, and can lead to issues with breathing. However, what is perhaps most seldom known of all is that the aforementioned air conditioning in your home is forced to be ever more active in order to counter and chill the heaviness and torridity of the ventilation inside.
Cooling costs from air conditioners add up over time.
Running at lower temperatures is pricey, and every degree that the thermostat is turned down costs you more – something that would be necessary in humid air, as the machine has to work harder to get the results you want for your home. In removing the excess that causes your air conditioner to use a greater amount of energy, dehumidifiers bring a steady balance back to the system, and enhance the comfort of staying indoors along with your health in general. By allowing for a constant stream of cold, crisp, and fresh air, dehumidifiers conserve energy, and offset the reduction in air exchange caused because of houses being constructed in a tighter way – a benefit that these top rated dehumidifiers are ideal at providing.
Even factoring in all of their practicality for your life, however, dehumidifiers aren’t thought of nearly as often as air conditioning or even humidifiers are. It’s an appliance that lays off the beaten track, so to speak, as its benefits are not immediately obvious to those it would be assisting the most.
For instance, those that are afflicted with allergies would observe a significant increase in personal comfort due to the positive effects of a dehumidifier.
Numerous allergens and triggers that cause allergic reactions (dust mites, mold, and mustiness) thrive in the damp, oppressive, and stuffy atmosphere that an abundance of humidity in the air leads to.
A space that is afflicted with poor air flow and is constantly in contact with or in close proximity to water is particularly susceptible to the substances that cause allergies, and can then go on to infest the entire house. These appliances perform admirably when it comes to decreasing the dampness that may permeate the air and lead to the circulation of allergens throughout the house; and in addition to improving the condition of the air itself, it also can rid the area of certain forms of pathogens.
Beyond the assistance it provides in that department, when it comes to the possibility of infestations in your home, dehumidifiers can reduce the likelihood of that as well.
Pests – from silverfish, millipedes, centipedes, and cockroaches – crave moisture, and a warm, humid home provides that for them in spades. If the problem becomes extreme enough, mosquitoes and fleas could even begin to breed and cause the nascent infestation to become that much more of a pressing concern for you and those around you.
Thus, operating even a single dehumidifier within problem spots throughout your home reduces the favorability of conditions for bugs infesting your house, and can alleviate the issue altogether. Removing moisture from the air naturally results in a dry environment, which isn’t very conductive to their needs. Ultimately, an infestation can then be finished off by hiring an exterminator to come and handle the insects still residing within the darkness.
Your personal health, safety, and comfort is one massive upside to dehumidifiers, but an equally positive result is the effect it has on the ‘health’, so to speak, of your home itself.
Other things in your house benefit from a reduction in the moisture of the air, such as an increased level of speed for the drying of your clothing. Any kind of fresh food will also have its freshness retained for longer than it would be under wetter conditions, like bread taking longer to stale – conserving precious time and freeing up funds to be put towards something else.
Sometimes, the hallmarks of a space that is in desperate need of a dehumidifier are blatantly obvious elsewhere in your home, must be dealt with as soon as possible, and should be done in an efficient manner. If you commonly deal with condensation collecting on the glass throughout certain rooms in the house, notice a certain proneness to water stains on the walls, observe dark, minute mold spore spots emerging across the house in areas with a high level of moisture, or frequently smell a sort of fusty and moldy smell, you should consider investing in a dehumidifier to alleviate these issues.
Even if none of these problems are present in a clear way throughout your home, that does not mean that it wouldn’t help fight against their emergence, even if you’re diligent in keeping the ‘health’ of your living space high.
If you live in an apartment rather than a house, the habits and personal lifestyles of others can have a very real impact on your own well-being. Spores that are infesting other apartments can make their way towards you through ventilation systems, and can result in buildup between the walls of the entire structure if you turn your attention away for too long.
At the same time, practical electronic devices around the house, computer equipment, and personal entertainment devices would no longer be as susceptible to issues like corrosion and rusting from the humidity of the air around them, as a dehumidifier would dry their immediate surroundings, and result in a longer period of life. In our increasingly interconnected and electronic-dependent world, keeping the longevity of your devices secure and preserving their ability to operate at an acceptable level is more important than it’s ever been, and this is one great way to do so.
In the end, there are a variety of established advantages to purchasing dehumidifiers for use in your home, and the benefits would render the investment to be well worth the price.
Largely, which ones you should choose come down to where you would plan on making use of them, as there are a variety of options for you to consider. From models that come with a small capacity – meant to be dedicated to individual rooms – to those that come with a greater capacity to them – for usage in apartments, more large scale spaces, or basements – there are selections that function for anyone’s needs, even more specified ones.
Dehumidifiers are one factor out of many that can contribute to a flourishing, satisfying life, and they are something that everyone should consider for their own use. Budget correctly, choose wisely, and this often overlooked appliance may end up doing more good for you than you might have once thought.