6 Fresh Reasons to Have Your Own Dehumidifier

March 21, 2022

If you haven’t realized it by now, indoor air quality is a critical health, comfort and maintenance factor for your home. When excessive levels of humidity exist in dwelling spaces, the problem becomes significant enough for the EPA to characterize it as a pollutant. This particular pollutant can wreak havoc on our lungs and belongings by causing a variety of indoor environment problems — issues like material deterioration, pest accumulation and allergen harboring.

Of course, this issue doesn’t affect everyone. If you live in hot arid climates like Arizona, you likely have the opposite issue to deal with. However, if you live in areas of the country that are warm and muggy, near warm bodies of water, or frequently experience rainy or foggy weather, maintaining a lower humidity level throughout your home can become a challenge — and also a good reason to consider installing a home dehumidifier.

The Benefits of a Home Dehumidifier

Controlling humidity levels is about even more than preventing mold, mildew, rot or pests. It’s important for keeping you, your family and your home healthy through superior air quality and ventilation. For many homeowners and especially those across the South, installing a dehumidifier is a straightforward solution that helps balance and maintain the proper level of humidity in the indoor environment, all while offering other quality of life benefits:

Reduces Mold and Mildew Growth: Moisture is what allows mold to thrive and release microscopic spores into the air. Those spores can cause asthma, headaches and other respiratory reactions and may even be life-threatening for immunocompromised individuals. Mold can also be a source of mold mites that use mold as a food source. As their numbers multiply, these pests often expand their colonies in search of high-protein or high-fat food sources.
Reduces Dust Mites: Dust mites are extremely tiny, but they’re also described as “eight-legged creatures that belong to the same family as spiders, chiggers and ticks.” Like other arachnids, they thrive in warm, humid conditions. Favored habitats include everything from bedding and clothing to upholstery and furniture as well as soft toys and pet fur. One speck of dust can represent hundreds of mites — and they can cause health concerns the more they thrive in your living space.
Reduces Rot and Deterioration: In addition to problems like mold, moisture takes a toll on both construction materials and home furnishings. Damp conditions can compromise everything from structural components like floors and walls to cosmetic elements and the actual furnishings in your home. Wood may rot, composite materials may crumble, doors may stick, and finishes on trim or furniture can become flawed. Even electronics, musical instruments, guns and artwork can suffer in exceptionally humid indoor conditions.
Reduces Musty Odors: Dampness often has an accompanying musty smell that can permeate an entire house. These types of odors are often a key indicator that moisture levels are supporting the growth of mold, mildew and rot.
Reduces Pests: Moisture are draws for a number of pests—silverfish, centipedes, cockroaches, termites, booklice and woodlice, for example. The dampness affords them food sources like algae, mold and rotting organic materials. Larger pests like rodents can take advantage of rotting structural materials for entry to a home, as well, and may feed on the smaller pests that already exist inside the home.
Reduces Energy Bills: Warm air holds more humidity, yet humidity makes air feel warmer. By removing excess humidity, a dry 70 degrees, for example, will feel significantly cooler than a moist 70 degrees. Drier air will feel cooler without the sticky, cold clamminess associated with overcooling. Ridding your home of excess moisture improves the efficiency of your HVAC unit and boosts the overall comfort level of air quality in your home.

How Whole House Dehumidifiers Work

Home dehumidifiers integrate and work with your home’s HVAC system and ductwork. Dehumidifying systems pull humid air either from outside or from a humid internal space. Quality systems often draw it through an air filtration system to clean it of particulates.

A heat exchanger brings the air closer to the dew point, so when it’s circulated over cold evaporation coils, the water precipitates out and can drain away. The treated air then circulates back through the heat exchanger and condenser coil, ready to be distributed throughout a home at the proper temperature and humidity concentration.

Get the Best with Santa Fe

One of the best home dehumidifiers on the market currently is the Ultra98 Whole House Ventilating Dehumidifier by Santa Fe. It integrates easily with your existing HVAC system, has user-friendly controls, and is the most energy-efficient model in its category. It’s also no surprise that this model is one that Coburn’s representatives recommend often to homeowners seeking a humidity control solution.

Flexibility Focused Features:

Its compact insulated cabinet design allows either a vertical or horizontal installation suited to your current HVAC system. With the intake and output collars on, it measures just 14½” wide x 19½” high x 32⅜” long.
The unit weighs just 81 pounds.
All air is drawn through a MERV-13 filter to remove particulates.
It’s Energy Star Rated and efficient. In a home up to 2,300 square feet, for example, the Ultra98 can remove up to 98 pints of water a day.
A convenient digital control lets you set optimal moisture levels, regulate fresh air ventilation and monitor air filtration.
The dehumidifier allows you to introduce fresh air into a home while maintaining healthy humidity levels.
Slight pressurization of the home dilutes indoor pollutants and reduces the likelihood of backdrafts of combustible gasses from appliances.
The Ultra98 is made in the USA.

The Ultra98 is perfect for whole homes up to 2,300 square feet as well as basements, crawlspaces, garages, home theaters, workshops and gun rooms, exercise rooms or other applications where humidity control is essential. If your square footage exceeds 2,300 square feet, Santa Fe manufactures larger units suitable for both residential and commercial applications.

Discover Superior Air Comfort at Coburn’s

Living in a warm, humid climate doesn’t mean that your home has to be sticky or clammy. If you’d like your home to be more comfortable — without worries about mold, rot, pests and their associated health concerns — a whole-home dehumidifier is a wise investment. Stop by your nearest Coburn’s Kitchen & Bath Showroom to see your options, and let our consultants show you just how easily you can integrate it with your current systems for a perfect home environment.