Dehumidifier options
Four ways to dry a house.
One sentence each, then what each needs and where it falls short. We name the one we would choose after the readings.
A portable unit
One room, one tank or one drain hose.
Good for a closet, a spare room or a stretch between visits
Needs emptying or a drain line
Won't dry a whole house
A whole-house dehumidifier
Ducted into the air handler, draining to a condensate line.
Good for a house that stays damp all summer
Needs ductwork it can connect to, and a drain
Sized from the readings, not the square footage
A crawlspace dehumidifier
Sits under the house, in a crawlspace that has been closed in.
Good for a raised house with damp air under the floor
Needs the vents sealed and a ground cover first
Without those, it dries the neighborhood
A better-matched air conditioner
A system sized to the house that runs long, steady cycles.
Good for a system that is oversized or short-cycles
Needs a load calculation before anyone picks a size
A replacement, so the largest cost of the four
Two of them side by side
Whole-house or portable?
The choice most Charleston homeowners are weighing.
| Portable unit | Whole-house, ducted | |
|---|---|---|
| What it treats | Portable unitThe room it sits in | Whole-house, ductedThe whole house through the ducts |
| Where the water goes | Portable unitA tank you empty, or a hose | Whole-house, ductedA condensate line to a drain |
| What it needs | Portable unitAn outlet and floor space | Whole-house, ductedDuctwork and a drain, installed once |
| Noise | Portable unitIn the room, running | Whole-house, ductedIn the mechanical space, not the room |
| Upkeep | Portable unitA tank, a filter and a coil to clean | Whole-house, ductedA filter and a check each year |
What we choose first
The cheapest fix that the readings support.
Sometimes the answer is a thermostat setting, a closed-in crawlspace or a longer fan run time. We try those first and measure again.
A dehumidify setting
On the thermostat, where the system supports one.
Sealed vents and a ground cover
In a crawlspace, before any machine goes under it.
A bath fan that vents outside
Not into the attic.
A drain that reaches a drain
A condensate line that ends where the water can leave.
Questions
Dehumidifier questions.
Can a portable dehumidifier do the job?
For one room or a closet, often yes. For a whole house, or the air under it, a portable unit runs constantly and still leaves the rest damp. The readings show which case you have.
Does a dehumidifier remove mold?
No. It lowers humidity so conditions are less friendly to mold, but it doesn't remove mold that is already growing. If you can see mold, ask a mold professional to look at it; we are not mold remediators.
Will a bigger air conditioner fix a clammy house?
Usually not. An oversized system cools the air quickly and shuts off before it has removed much moisture. We time your cooling cycles before suggesting any change.
Not sure which one you need?
Book the humidity check. The readings choose, and we write down why. What it costs is on the pricing page.