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What Size Dehumidifier Do You Need?

One of the most important aspects to consider when buying a dehumidifier is its size. I’m not talking about its physical size, but its capacity and effectiveness at removing excess moisture although the two usually go hand in hand. Maybe you need a dehumidifier for your basement or bedroom? Perhaps you’re trying to eradicate mold and mildew in the crawl space of your home?

Of course, all of these rooms in your home generally differ in size, so on this page of my site (as you might have guessed) I’m going to focus on how to find the right size dehumidifier.

Check out the Capacity

Like I said the term “size” does not apply to the dimensions of a dehumidifier, but rather its capacity or how many pints of water it’s capable of removing from the air during a 24 hour period. The ones that have larger capacities do tend to be a bit bulkier, but it’s not a hard and fast rule.

Measure the Square Footage of Your Home

The capacity is usually given out for a specific number of square feet. Unless you skipped elementary school, measuring the square footage of your home shouldn’t be a problem. If the room in which you want to place the dehumidifier in is 30 feet long and 10 feet wide, this works out at 300 square feet.

Check out this table. It should give you some idea about the capacity and how it relates to the size of the room, or basement. These numbers were established by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM):

Dehumidifier Sizing

How Does This Translate to Real Life?

The numbers above are (as said), from AHAM but it’s a bit different in real life. For example, dehumidifiers that are able to collect up to 30 pints of water per day are very common on the market. This size is ideal for homes or areas of up to 2,000 square feet, provided the space you’re treating is moderately damp. If you plan on using it in your basement, the number will drop slightly since basements are more humid. A 30-pint dehumidifier is suitable for basements and crawl spaces of up to 1,500 square feet.

40 to 50-pint dehumidifiers tend to fall somewhere in the middle of the range as far as capacity is concerned. Again, they are suitable for spaces up to 2,000 square feet in size much like the 30-pint units. However, these are more suitable if the room or basement is really damp with clear signs of excess moisture such as musty odors, damp stains and visible mold growth.

The largest home dehumidifiers can collect up to 60 or 70 pints of fluid in a single day, and they are suitable for homes, basements, or crawl spaces larger than 2,000 square feet regardless of the conditions and level of humidity.

The Conclusion

There are some less important factors to consider as well such as fan speed or the number of people living in the house, but you should always measure the space and check out the capacity of the dehumidifier first. Finally, you need to check out the damage you already have due to humidity. Only then can you decide which size dehumidifier you really need. Of course, it’s always wise to have some extra dehumidifying power at your disposal (just in case).

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