Best Home Dehumidifiers for Basements Buying Guide & Reviews

Although it is one of the least visited parts of your house, the basement is still there to reckon. Add to it the fact that a basement can easily absorb moisture from the soil surrounding your house, since it is situated below the ground level.

As a result of this, your basement can easily become damp and also emit a foul musty odor if you do not take proper care of the room. Increased moisture levels in the atmosphere can also give rise to mold and mildew that can cause breathing issues and various allergic disorders. Increased levels of moisture can also damage the wooden furniture in your rooms.

Types of Dehumidifiers

There are 3 primary types of dehumidifiers in the market. These operate differently, and it is true that some operating methods may suit the high humidity levels of your basement better than others.

1. Desiccant Dehumidifiers: These types of dehumidifiers draw in the moisture from the air through a special filter, which is made of a special desiccant material. It traps the moisture that later drips gradually into a collection tank. These types of dehumidifiers are best suited for small sized rooms that are located above the ground level. These are not too powerful for basements.

2. Compressor Dehumidifiers: As the name suggests, these humidifiers use a fan that draws in the moisture from the air over cold coils. This causes the moisture to condense and it slowly drips off into a tank. This tank needs to be emptied on a regular basis. These types of dehumidifiers are powerful enough to suit basement conditions.

3. Thermos-Electric Dehumidifiers: These are also referred to as Peltier dehumidifiers named after Jean Charles Peltier, a physicist who had discovered the thermo-electric way of absorbing moisture from the air. Moisture is drawn in along the surface of small heated surfaces where it later collects and gradually drips off in a collection tank. These dehumidifiers are best suited for warm rooms and are also smaller in size.

Different Capacities

Dehumidifiers at BestDehumidifiersReviews.net are primarily categorized based on their capacities. This means the amount of water a dehumidifier is able to remove from the air on a daily basis. These are labelled as small capacity, medium capacity, and large capacity. The small capacity ones normally collect 15 to 30 pints of moisture each day. These are small in size and also portable. The medium capacity dehumidifiers collect around 30 to 45 pints of moisture every day. These are well-suited for medium sized rooms but do not work well in basements. Large capacity ones are able to remove 75 pints of moisture daily.

Noise Level

A good quality dehumidifier normally emits a noise that is quite like the hum of a window air conditioner. The larger the appliance, the greater will be the noise of the dehumidifier. A majority of the dehumidifiers produce noise between 53 decibels and 65 decibels. However, makers of dehumidifiers do not mention the noise levels on their products. Thus, it is always better to check the packaging before buying.