The Benefits of Refrigerant Dehumidifiers.

Let's face it; almost everyone has a bathroom, millions of folks have a basement, and there's scores of businesses that have a room (or several rooms) that has no windows, no ventilation and enough moisture for a mushroom farm. However, it's usually not until harmful amounts of bacteria and mold growth occurs that we are compelled to do something about it.

And what causes a room to turn into a Petri dish for bacteria and mold? In the case of a bathroom, something as simple as taking daily baths and/or showers. Also, rainy, cold days mixed with indoor heating might cause condensation to form on household windows, thus raising the indoor humidity factor. And we all know that basements collect moisture.

So this compelled me to research the benefits of a dehumidifier. First, there are basically two types of dehumidifiers; Refrigerant Dehumidifiers and Desiccant Dehumidifiers. Let's start with refrigerant dehumidifiers.

The refrigerant dehumidifier is cost effective, easy to operate, is energy efficient and works great for most environments. The way it works is that humid air is drawn into the dehumidifier and is passed across an evaporator coil, cooling the air enough to cause condensation. The condensation is then collected into a tray or pumped out through a hose. After the air goes across the evaporator coils, the air then moves across the condenser coil, making the air both warmer and drier. The result — dehumidified air and a hostile environment for both bacteria and mold!

Then there is the desiccant dehumidifier. These dehumidifiers are mostly used in sub-zero temperatures. The dehumidifiers are much more complex and costly machines than the refrigerant dehumidifier, and nowhere as energy efficient. These machines use a rotor comprised of alternate layers of flat, corrugated sheets integrated with an active, or "desiccant," component. The result is a vast number of axial air channels running parallel through the dehumidifier's structure, making the passing air transfer moisture between the air and the desiccant in its vapor form. In layman’s terms, it takes the very cold, wet air and turns it out into just dry, cold air.

I found the most economical and practical form of dehumidifier — the one I'd use for my everyday needs — is a refrigerant dehumidifier. Most refrigerant dehumidifiers are portable, energy efficient and easy to use, which are three very important features I look for in a machine I plan to use in more than one area.