Dry air is all that is left after the water vapor turns to liquid. The dehumidifier sends the dry air back out into the room to reduce the overall humidity level in the environment. If your dehumidifier is freezing up, you shouldn’t ignore it, as it can impact the functionality.

As dehumidifier system experts, our team at How To Filter has helped readers fix a frozen dehumidifier that isn’t working. Keep reading further to learn why your dehumidifier is freezing up and the solutions to the problem.

Frozen Coils Indicate a Problem

A dehumidifier uses a refrigeration system to keep the coils cold. However, the coils will never become frozen if they are functioning normally. So, if you see ice forming on the coils of your dehumidifier, it means that your dehumidifier is not working. Unless you fix the problem, the dehumidifier won’t produce dry air for the room.

Below are the top five reasons why the coils of your dehumidifier are freezing up:

Unstable or Inconsistent Airflow

A dehumidifier depends on constant airflow to travel over the coils to function normally. If air continues to pass over the coils, they won’t get too cold and freeze up. Unfortunately, there can be situations where something is blocking or restricting the airflow into the dehumidifier.

Remember that dehumidifiers have air filters that can accumulate hair, dust, debris, and other airborne particles from your room. If there is too much debris covering your dehumidifier’s air filter, then it will be difficult for air to pass through it.

Solution

Luckily, most dehumidifier air filters have washable screens. All you have to do is clean your air filter to remove all the debris and then put it back in your dehumidifier. That should solve the frozen coil problem in this scenario.

If your coils are still frozen after this, try repositioning your dehumidifier somewhere else in the room so that it is not too close to your furniture, walls, or any other object. Most experts recommend keeping the dehumidifier at least 12 inches away from anything else on all sides.

Cold Room Temperature

You’re supposed to use dehumidifiers in rooms with warm air, preferably above 65°F. If you use dehumidifiers in rooms with colder air under 65°F, the air cannot condense into water vapor when it passes over the coils. Instead, it will cause the air to freeze over the coils, which is why ice forms on them.

Solution

Check the thermostat to verify the temperature of the room. If the temperature is under 65°F, turn off your dehumidifier because you don’t need to use it when it is that cold in the room. Additionally, you can purchase a dehumidifier that has frost-control features for colder temperatures.

Sometimes, you may have warmer rooms in your home or building that don’t have access to air vents. If that is the case, place your dehumidifier in a warmer room above 65°F. Otherwise, wait until the normal room temperature gets warmer before using your dehumidifier.

Related Article: Does a Dehumidifier Work with the Windows Open?

Dirty Coils

Dehumidifier coils get dirty fast while they are in use. Even if you clean your air filter regularly, the coils could still be exposed to some level of dirt and dust particles in the air. Over time, the coils will accumulate too much debris, making it difficult for warm air to make contact with them directly. Once this happens, the coils will become too cold and form ice.

Solution

Make it a habit to clean your dehumidifier coils regularly. You should also clean the filter, fans, and exterior to ensure that all dirt, dust, and other debris particles are out of your dehumidifier unit. It is the best way to ensure that your coils remain as clean as possible for the air passing over them.

Worn Out Fan Motor

If you have been using your dehumidifier for many months or years, there will come a point when the fan motor eventually wears out. The fan motor, of course, is the primary component that allows the fan and blower wheel to function so that they can pull in air and let out air.

If the fan motor fails, the dehumidifier cannot circulate air through its coils to remove moisture and produce dry air. That means the coils will freeze up because they are not exposed to constant airflow. 

Solution

The only two possible solutions in this situation are to repair or replace the fan motor. If you have had your dehumidifier for a long time, then you will probably need to replace the broken fan motor with a new one. The repair technician can make this determination after examining your dehumidifier.

A functional fan motor will allow air to circulate through your dehumidifier again. Then, your coils won’t freeze up anymore.

Worn Out Blower Wheel

Some airflow problems in your dehumidifier may be attributed to a worn-out or broken blower wheel. A dehumidifier depends on a blower wheel to pull in warm air and push out dry air. So, if the blower wheel doesn’t work, then warm air cannot flow over your coils.

Solution

The first thing you should try to do is clean the blower wheel. Sometimes, the blower wheel may accumulate too much dirt and debris that needs to be removed from it so that it can function normally again.

If cleaning the blower wheel doesn’t fix the problem, then you will likely need to replace it because it is broken. It is much cheaper to replace a blower wheel than a fan motor, so this problem is less severe than a faulty fan motor. 

Conclusion

It takes some effort to maintain the function and integrity of a dehumidifier unit. The main things you must remember are to keep the room temperature above 65°F and clean your air filters, coils, fans, and other internal components.

It is also recommended to keep your dehumidifier activated for a minimum of ten minutes before shutting it off. Otherwise, the unit won’t have time to drain the water vapor from the coils. Following these tips will ensure your dehumidifier stops freezing and continues to function properly.

The post 5 Common Reasons: Why is My Dehumidifier Freezing Up? appeared first on How To Filter.

If you think about the environment of a window air conditioner, it has all the elements needed to stimulate mold growth. These elements include moisture from the humid air and organic materials like dust and pollen. Together, the moisture and organic materials will cause mold growth quickly throughout your home.

The air conditioner will blow the mold spores into the indoor air that everyone breathes. Inhaling mold spores can cause you to develop several symptoms, including throat irritation, eye irritation, coughing, difficulty breathing, fatigue, allergic reactions, and asthma attacks. Nobody wants to experience these health issues, right?

6 Tips to Stop Mold in Your Window Air Conditioner

The good news is that you can prevent mold from accumulating in your window air conditioner. All you need to do is take the appropriate precautions to ensure mold doesn’t have a chance to grow in the air conditioning unit and spread throughout your home.

Below are the top 6 tips to help you get started:

Dehumidify the Room

Is there a high level of humidity inside your home? If so, that can increase the likelihood of mold forming in your window AC unit. The best solution to this problem is to install a dehumidifier in the room with your window air conditioning unit. It will help reduce the moisture levels around the unit to prevent mold growth from forming.

Set the humidity level on your dehumidifier to anywhere between 30% and 50%. That should be low enough humidity to prevent mold growth without making the air uncomfortably dry. Remember that too much dry air can also be bad, so you need to have a small humidity level in the room.

Related Article: Does a Dehumidifier Work with the Windows Open?

Clean the Filters Frequently

As indoor air passes through your window air conditioning unit, its filters block the contaminants before the conditioned air emerges. The filters help improve the air quality in your home by removing common contaminants like dirt, pollen, insects, carbon, odors, and anything else floating in the air.

If you’re like most people, you keep your air conditioner unit activated for 8 to 12 hours a day or more. The constant use will cause the filters to get dirty quickly. Once that happens, too much dust and debris will get trapped inside the unit. These organic elements will become food for mold.

Therefore, you must frequently clean the filters of your window air conditioning unit to prevent dust and debris from building up inside it. Not only will this prevent mold growth, but it will also improve the airflow inside your home.

Set a Moderate Cooling Temperature

An air conditioner uses coils to absorb the heat inside your home and transfer it to the outside. That is why the air conditioner must stick halfway out the window; it needs to release the indoor heat to the outside. Once the heat is taken out of the air, condensation forms on the coils.

Condensation is water produced when humid air encounters a cold surface. Water, of course, triggers mold growth in any environment, so too much condensation on the coils will increase the risk of mold growth in the air conditioner.

Don’t set a very low temperature on your air conditioner because that will cause a high level of condensation to form on your coils. Keep the air conditioner at a moderate cooling temperature to avoid excessive condensation and moisture on the coils.

Seal Any Cracks or Gaps

Your air conditioning unit must be installed tightly in the window. If there are any cracks or gaps around the perimeter of the unit, it will allow outdoor humidity to enter your home. That will make your indoor humidity problem even worse, resulting in a higher risk of mold forming in the unit.

Double-check your window air conditioner installation to ensure no air holes around the unit. If you see any, readjust the position of the air conditioning unit to eliminate all the air holes. If you cannot eliminate them, try sealing all the cracks and gaps with a sealant or insulation tape. That will help stop the outdoor humidity from getting inside.

Turn on the “Fan” Setting for 30 Minutes

Most window air conditioning units have a fan setting. When you turn on this setting, the air conditioner no longer produces cool air for your home. Instead, it simply blows room-temperature air back out into your home like any normal household fan.

Sometimes, it is a good idea to run the fan setting for 30 minutes after using the AC’s cool setting for a long time. With the fan setting on, the coils will no longer extract heat and humidity from your indoor air. The fan will help dry out the coils and the other internal components of the air conditioner to eliminate any moisture in the unit.

Clean the Coils Regularly

Dirt and debris can build up on the coils from all the contaminants in the indoor air. You don’t want clogged coils because they won’t be able to extract heat from the air efficiently. As a result, heat and humidity will build around the coils and increase the likelihood of mold growth.

Use a soft bristle brush and an AC-safe foam cleaning solution to remove all the dust and debris accumulation from the coils. Try to do this at least once a year, depending on how much you use the air conditioner and the contaminants in your area.

Conclusion

It is not too hard to prevent mold growth from forming on your window air conditioning unit. All it takes is easy home remedies and DIY tasks to keep your unit mold-free. The primary goal is to reduce humidity and allow smooth airflow through the AC unit.

However, if you’re still not confident in this process or don’t have the time to maintain your air conditioner, you could always hire a professional technician to oversee the maintenance of the unit for you. If you have any additional questions, leave us a comment below!

The post 6 Important Tips: How To Prevent Mold in a Window Air Conditioner appeared first on How To Filter.

A dehumidifier transforms humid air into dry air. In other words, it removes moisture from the air and reduces the humidity within the immediate environment. As you may know, humidity attracts mold and microbes, which are microorganisms that can cause you to get brutally sick or suffer severe allergic reactions. So, using a dehumidifier can keep the air dry to prevent the growth of microbes and mold in a room.

However, you may be wondering if you can use an air purifier and dehumidifier in the same room. This article will cover if it’s a good idea to use both in the same area and any things you should consider.

Is it Okay to Use an Air Purifier and Dehumidifier Together?

Purified, dry air in a room may seem perfect for establishing a healthy indoor environment. On the other hand, you may wonder if it is okay to use an air purifier and dehumidifier together in the same room to produce purified, dry air.

Theoretically, you can use an air purifier and dehumidifier together in the same room because they each have different functions. The air purifier cleans the air, while the dehumidifier dries the air. So, one machine will not affect the other’s primary functionality.

However, there are some considerations you need to make to ensure both appliances perform their functions at maximum levels without impeding one another. Below are the top considerations before setting up an air purifier and dehumidifier in the same room. 

1. Consider the Placement of the Appliances

The locations where you place your air purifier and dehumidifier in a room will factor a lot into their effectiveness. One important tip is to keep a distance between your air purifier and dehumidifier. Don’t keep the appliances too close together because one appliance may interrupt the airflow going in and out of the other.

Think about the area of your room where you spend the most time, such as your bed or computer chair. Putting an air purifier in this area would be a great idea to keep the air purified around you. Then, keep the dehumidifier on the other side of the room to extract the humid air and turn it into dry air.

2. Do You Really Need Both Appliances in the Same Room?

If you only have one dehumidifier and air purifier, use them where they are most needed. For instance, the basement is the most common area of a home to suffer extreme humidity. So, placing a dehumidifier in your basement is critical to eliminate the higher humidity levels it often suffers.

When humidity levels have been high inside a room for too long, you can expect mold spores to be in the air already. A dehumidifier may remove moisture, but it will not remove the mold spores in the air or the mold growth on your walls.

First, you need to clean your walls to mold growth. Next, you should use an air purifier to remove the mold spores after dehumidifying it. If the room is aboveground, keep the windows open to ventilate the room and prevent more humidity. But if it is the basement underground, you must dehumidify and purify the air regularly.

3. Do You Have an HVAC System?

Most people don’t realize this, but HVAC systems have some air purification and dehumidification functions. For example, every HVAC system has an air filter that blocks large debris particles from circulating through your indoor environment. An HVAC system can also cool off the air, dry it out, and prevent mold growth.

Unfortunately, an HVAC system can only do so much when purifying and dehumidifying the air. Although it can filter out large airborne contaminants, the HVAC system’s air filter cannot filter out smaller particles of dust, mold spores, and other debris. It also cannot fully dehumidify a room suffering from high humidity levels.

In this case, you will still need to install air purifiers and dehumidifiers in rooms that need them the most.

4. Use Separate Electrical Outlets

Air purifiers and dehumidifiers are both major appliances. If you put one of each in the same room, it is best not to plug them into the same electrical outlet. Otherwise, the energy consumption could overwhelm the circuit breaker and cause it to trip.

For this reason, plug the air purifier and dehumidifier into separate electrical outlets when putting them in the same room. Then, you don’t have to worry about changing a fuse or resetting a circuit breaker after setting the appliances at their maximum speeds.

5. Consider the Noises from Both Appliances

Some air purifiers and dehumidifiers are less noisy, but not all are. One of the most annoying things about using an air purifier and dehumidifier in the same room is all the noise you might hear coming from the fan mechanisms of the appliances.

If it is a bedroom, you will probably want to sleep in a different room because of all the noise. Either that or you could run the appliances in the room during the day when you are not in it. Then, when you come home in the evening, you could turn off the appliances to eliminate the noise before you go to sleep.

Conclusion

You can definitely use air purifiers and dehumidifiers in the same room. Both appliances may cycle air in and out of them, but they treat the air differently. Air purifiers filter out airborne contaminants and debris particles, while dehumidifiers use cooled coils to absorb water from the air and dry it out.

All you need to remember is to position your air purifier and dehumidifier in separate locations in the same room. There must be enough distance between them to use different electrical outlets and ensure each appliance doesn’t disrupt the other’s airflow. If done correctly, you can enjoy the purest and driest air in the same room.

Similar Article: Does a Dehumidifier Work with the Windows Open?

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Dehumidifier machines can eliminate these problems by removing the moisture from the air before it leads to more severe issues. However, you may be curious if a dehumidifier works in different conditions, such as when you leave the windows open.

As a research-based publication, we test products in various conditions and document our findings for our readers. This article will cover whether a dehumidifier works with the windows open and whether it’s an effective method.

Should You Use a Dehumidifier When You Have Open Windows?

Many homeowners leave the windows open to remove moisture from the indoors and let in fresh air from the outdoors. Opening windows will produce some ventilation in a room filled with humidity, but it will not remove all the moisture if there is a lot of it. That is why dehumidifiers are a better option.

It may seem logical to leave your windows open and use a dehumidifier simultaneously for maximum ventilation. However, opening your windows will draw more moisture indoors if the humidity levels are high outdoors. A humidity level of 55% or higher can impact the levels in your home.

The smallest amount of outdoor moisture can go through open windows and get inside your home. If that happens, your dehumidifier will be ineffective since new moisture will keep coming inside as existing moisture is eliminated.

The best way to use your dehumidifier is to keep your windows closed. It will prevent new moisture from entering your home, while the dehumidifier eliminates indoor moisture. Then, you can enjoy faster results without consuming as much electricity.

How Does a Dehumidifier Work?

The typical dehumidifier machine is designed to remove airborne moisture from a single room or a small area of your home. It does not remove moisture from all the rooms in a home because it is not a centralized machine like a central air conditioning system.

Instead, a dehumidifier is an individual machine that plugs into the electrical outlet on the wall, allowing you to install it in any room of your home. Depending on the model’s size, the costs of a dehumidifier are generally in the $50-$300 range.

Science Behind Dehumidifiers

The technical side of a dehumidifier is quite fascinating. A dehumidifier removes airborne moisture by pulling it into the device and pushing it over refrigerated coils. The coldness forces moisture out of the extracted air and into a condenser, causing water droplets to form on the coils.

From there, the water droplets fall into a tank and bucket. A fan blows the remaining dry air out of the dehumidifier and into the room to create a dryer environment. This process is referred to as the refrigeration dehumidification method.

The traditional dehumidification process is still used today in many home dehumidifier machines. Another dehumidification method is desiccant dehumidification. Rather than refrigerating the airborne moisture, it passes it over hygroscopic substances that rotate in a wheel.

Desiccant dehumidifiers consume more electricity than refrigeration dehumidifiers. They also produce more heat, which could be a bonus if you want to heat up and dehumidify your room simultaneously. That way, you can save on electricity by not turning on your central heating unit.

Should You Close All Windows When Using a Dehumidifier?

Yes, closing all the windows in your home is highly recommended, even if you are only dehumidifying one room. Since airborne moisture can travel from one room to another, an open window in another room could still send moisturized air to the room you want to dehumidify.

In fact, you should close all doors and windows in your home as the dehumidifier runs in one of your rooms. The more you can seal off the airflow coming to the room from other places, the faster it will dehumidify.

When Should You Not Use a Dehumidifier?

The whole purpose of using a dehumidifier is to remove airborne moisture and produce dry air for a room in your home. The most common reasons for moisture accumulation in a home include high humidity levels outdoors, roof leaks, and pipe leaks.

The leakage issues require a professional roofer and plumber to fix the leaks and stop the water from entering the rooms in your home. Pipe leaks should be fixed as quickly as possible, as they could lead to mold and mildew growth.

Humidity levels are often high between the spring and fall seasons, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Summer is the worst because you must deal with the heat and humidity together. Despite the heat, it is still appropriate to use a dehumidifier due to the risk of the outdoor humidity getting indoors.

The only time you don’t need a dehumidifier is in the winter or when there is no humidity outside or inside. Winter is known for its excessive coldness and dryness since humidity levels are often under 30% throughout the season.

Never use a dehumidifier in a cold, dry environment. It will extract the remaining moisture from the air and send it through the machine. If that happens, the water droplets will freeze after they form on the coils and will likely damage the dehumidifier.

How Many Hours Should You Run a Dehumidifier?

Most dehumidifier machines have timer settings. They let you set how long you want the dehumidifier to run before it shuts off automatically. The time you run your dehumidifier depends on the room’s moisture level. You don’t need to eliminate all the moisture in a room because that would require you to leave on your dehumidifier.

On the other hand, leaving the dehumidifier on all day may be a good idea if your room is extremely damp. The average homeowner leaves their dehumidifier on for at least 12 hours. That should be enough time to lower indoor humidity to around 30 to 40%, ideal for most homeowners.

Conclusion

In conclusion, using a dehumidifier with windows open can reduce its effectiveness. Dehumidifiers are designed to control humidity in a closed environment, and open windows allow outside air to enter, making it harder for the unit to maintain humidity levels. For best results, keep windows and doors closed when running your dehumidifier.

However, if you need fresh air, consider using it in specific areas with windows closed. Understanding the balance between fresh air and humidity control will help you maximize the benefits of your dehumidifier, ensuring a comfortable and healthy indoor environment.

The post Does a Dehumidifier Work with the Windows Open? appeared first on How To Filter.

The ideal air purifier must be large enough to filter all the air in a room but not too large to where it will consume excessive amounts of electricity. While a large purifier will work in a small room, you may not be optimizing the energy consumption based on the space.

We will address the issue of size regarding air purifiers and rooms as you continue reading the article. Our air purifier specialists will help provide calculations that you can make when choosing an option for your room. Keep reading further to learn more if an air purifier can be too big.

Is Your Air Purifier Too Big for a Small Room?

A large air purifier can undoubtedly work in a small room in your home or building. Large air purifiers have more than enough power and technological resources to purify the limited amount of air space in the environment. These air purifiers are designed to handle larger areas in home like a living room or basement.

But why would you want to use a large air purifier in a small room when it will consume too much unnecessary electricity and increase your monthly power bills? You are better off choosing a small-to-medium size air purifier for a small room so that it consumes less electricity while still being able to purify all the air in the room.

The Different Sizes of Air Purifiers

Here is a general rundown of which air purifier you need for rooms of varying sizes:

• Small-Sized Air Purifiers – Recommended for rooms no more than 200 square feet in size. Typical rooms of this size include bedrooms, bathrooms, and home offices.
• Medium-Sized Air Purifiers – Recommended for rooms up to 400 square feet in size but no less than 200 square feet. You may have a large bedroom, bathroom, or small studio condo which fits this size category.
• Large-Sized Air Purifiers – Recommended for rooms up to 1,500 square feet in size but no less than 400 square feet. Rooms of this size usually include kitchens, living rooms, basements, attics, and large studio apartments.

Every air purifier unit has a square footage capacity to help you determine whether it can effectively filter all the air in your specific room. All you need to do is find out the square footage of the room and compare it to the square footage rating of the air purifier. Once you see a match, then you will know which air purifier is best to use for that room. 

Some air purifiers can even purify an entire house rather than one room. These kinds of whole-house purifiers can save you the trouble of having to purchase a separate air purifier for each room. Just make sure the size rating on the whole-house air purifier matches the total square footage of your home to ensure it can purify every room.

Along with a square footage capacity, the air purifier will have a CADR rating that determines the amount of air that is cleaned in cubic feet per minute. If the air purifier does not display a square footage capacity, you can find it by using the formula CADR x 1.55 to find the maximum room size.

How to Calculate the Square Footage of a Room

You don’t need to hire a property surveyor to figure out the square footage of a room if you don’t know it already. Grab an extra-large tape measuring tool and measure the length and width of the room. Then, multiply the length and width together to determine the square footage.

Let us go over a couple of scenarios which incorporate this formula:

• A bedroom 10’ x 12’ = 120 square feet
• A living room 25’ x 25’ = 625 square feet
• Two connecting bedrooms 10’ x 12’ each = 240 square feet

Of course, you may have a situation where you want to purify an open living room connected to your kitchen or a home with two stories. In these cases, you would add up to the total square footage of the open living room and kitchen or the two stories of the home.

Here is an example of these scenarios:

• An open kitchen (10’ x 10’) and open living room (20’ x 25’) = 600 square feet
• A two-story home (1,200 square feet per story) = 2,400 square feet

You can use one air purifier to purify the connecting open kitchen and living room. As for the upper and lower stories of a home, you would need two separate air purifiers with a 1,200-square-foot rating each to purify them.

Where to Position the Air Purifier in a Room

There is always a good and bad place to position an air purifier in a room. Even if the air purifier has a rating that matches the entire square footage of the room, it might not be as effective and efficient if you put the air purifier in the wrong place in the room. As a result, it will end up consuming more electricity than necessary to purify the room.

Here are some tips to maximize the efficiency of your air purifier to save money on electricity:

• Do not place the air purifier in a corner on the ground. Many people mistakenly think this will target the air in the entire room, but it only targets the lower airflow rather than the higher airflow where you sit and stand.
• Do not place objects or other obstructive materials near the air purifier because they could block the air going in and out of the machine.
• Clear out all humidity, odor, smoke, mold, and mildew from a room before using an air purifier in it. An air purifier is meant to target microscopic pollutants and toxins in the air only.

The most ideal places for air purifiers are the tops of dressers and tables. If you go this route, make sure no other objects are on the dressers or tables.

Conclusion

A large air purifier consumes just as much electricity to purify a small room as it does a large room. However, it may be overkill if you are placing it in a small room that does not have a lot of square footage. If you already have a large air purifier purchased, you can rest assured that it will clean the air in a small room like a bedroom.

But, if you want to save money on your monthly power bills, it is imperative to know the square footage of your small room and then purchase an air purifier with a matching square footage rating. That way, it will consume much less electricity while still purifying the entire room. 

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