What should i set my dehumidifier at?

It is important to have some humidity in the room/house to avoid issues like dry lips or cracked woodwork. However, it is also true that too much humidity can cause some problems like dampness, and mold growth. Dust mites, allergies, etc.

That’s why maintaining the humidity level of your room is one of the most important things that you should always keep in mind. Although there are many ways to decrease humidity levels in your room but having a dehumidifier will be the best solution for you since with a dehumidifier you don’t have to do anything else except for checking the machine.

You can also read this article to know If your dehumidifier is working or not.

For your kind information, you should also know that the basement of any house is one of the most crucial reasons for high humidity, and if you won’t set your dehumidifier properly then you may face different issues at once or even won’t see any improvement at all.

Basically, the ideal setting for a dehumidifier to reduce humidity is around 30% to 50%. Since if the humidity level will be up to 65% then it will be a good environment for Mold growth and other issues like this. However, based on the humidity level at your house you can change the settings for better results.

Note: Based on the seasonal changes and location of your place you may see different humidity levels at your house, so it will be always better to know the humidity level of your room/house… before doing any changes in settings.

Also as we will advance, I will also answer all the queries that you may have regarding dehumidifier settings for the basement, living room, etc. So make sure to read the article until the end to have all the answers.

So without any further ado let’s just dig into the main topic…

what should I set my dehumidifier at?

The most common setting for a dehumidifier to set at is around 30% to 50%, which allows you to prevent any kind of bacteria/ mold growth, asthma, allergies, and all sort of issues that comes with high humidity. On the other hand, the most common time to run a dehumidifier is when the humidity rises above its normal percentage.

Now the question is…

How do you set the dehumidifier?

Well, most dehumidifiers come with a built-in device called humidistat,  and with the help of this device, you will easily be able to set it at your desired humidity level.

However, if you find out that your dehumidifier doesn’t have any then the easiest way to operate it is by keeping the operating temperature above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the ideal setting is between 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Let’s assume that you have a humidistat in your device, and now the question is how to operate it and what setting will you need to set for better results…

As I said earlier…According to energy star, the optimal RH(relative humidity) level of a house/room is around 30 and 50 percent, and if your room/house has higher humidity than this level then you may face dust mites, mildew, mold, allergies, etc. However, the percentage can be different based on your location and seasons, and that’s why I suggest you set your dehumidifier around 30% to 65% based on the humidity level at your house.

In case, if you are still not satisfied with the answer yet then let’s just say that the most appropriate dehumidifier setting is 40%, and for basements, the most appropriate dehumidifier setting is around 45% to 50%.

Dehumidifier Settings Chart

How Should I Set My Dehumidifier In The Summer And Winter?

No matter what the season is the most common and recommended indoor humidity levels are around 30% and 50%. If the humidity level goes higher than this then you may face the old issues once again, and if the humidity level goes below it then it can cause dry skin and itchy eyes.

So In other words you don’t have to do any changes in the settings, just based on the humidity level you may have to run your device more or less. It’s just, in the summer you may have to run your device for a long time since this is the time when the humidity levels are naturally high.

In the winter, you may need a humidifier rather than a dehumidifier since this is the time when the air is already dry and the temperature is low. Well no matter what the case is… if you feel the humidity in your house/room then just turn it on as long as you need or else you don’t have to.

In any case, the device should be set at 30%-50%.

When do you use a dehumidifier? (Winter or Summer)

As I said earlier, it doesn’t matter what season you have, just use your dehumidifier whenever you experience high humidity in your room/house. Although the runtime of the device might change based on your season since during the summertime you may feel high humidity and the opposite in winter.

Fact: In the 68 F air you may notice 10 times more water than the air with 32 F. So you say that this is the reason why you need a dehumidifier in summer with more runtime than the other seasons.

How To Set Up a Dehumidifier

Setting a dehumidifier at a certain level is easy but placing it somewhere and doing some other things to get the most out of the benefits from the device is also a crucial part that you should know…So without further ado let’s just get into this 😉

Choose the perfect location:

To get a good result from your device you must have to find the core of your problems like where you feel the most humidity in your house. Because in most cases if you will able to find the core of this issue then you may easily get rid of the humidity from your home since that might be the place where the humidity is spreading.

You can also use a hygrometer or any other humidity checker to measure the humidity level of your home in different places easily, and after finding the place just place your dehumidifier near it and you will see something better than before.

Set Its Humidity Level:

As I said earlier that a dehumidifier comes with a humidistat which allows its user to see the level of humidity and with the help of this you can set the dehumidifier manually or just let the machine decide the desired level that you will need. However, you must know that the recommended setting of a dehumidifier is between 30% to 50%.

Runtime:

If you will turn off the dehumidifier before reaching the desired level then you may also see very less results since the work wasn’t complete and you stopped the dehumidifier already so make sure that you are turning it off after reaching the desired level you wanted.

Check the Water Bucker:

If the water bucket of your dehumidifier will full then the device may stop working since there’s no place for the water that the dehumidifier will collect while reducing humidity. So just make sure that the dehumidifier has an empty water bucket.

FAQs

Q: What’s The Best Setting For A Dehumidifier?

You can set the dehumidifier anywhere between 30% and 50% to get the most efficient result.

Q: Is it better to run dehumidifier on high or low?

Well depends on the humidity level at your home you have to set this so make sure to check the humidity level. For example, if you feel too much humidity then the higher setting will be beneficial but if you will run at a lower setting then the run time of the device will be high.

On the other hand, if you run your dehumidifier at a high level even when the humidity level is too low then you may face issues like dry lips/skin and itchiness.

Q: Do dehumidifiers use a lot of electricity?

Mini models can use as little as 22 watts, while high-volume dehumidifiers go up to around 500 watts. For example, a dehumidifier that can extract up to 20 liters per day, with a wattage of 480w will use 0.48 kWh, which means an hour’s use will cost just under 16p.