Even though humidifiers are excellent at removing extra moisture in the air, their placement can improve or reduce their efficiency. If you live in a house with multiple floors, then you might be asking yourself, ‘where should I put my dehumidifier upstairs or downstairs?’
There is no simple answer to this question since a few factors will affect your decision on where to place the dehumidifier. They include the moisture source, floor temperature, nearest power outlet, and your preference. You want to make sure you check all these boxes before placing the dehumidifier upstairs or downstairs.
As you can see, it’s not a simple decision to pick a spot. Even though personal preference can rule over everything, you still need a convenient, effective area that will increase the dehumidification efficiency of your unit. Continue reading to understand more about dehumidifier placement.
How to Determine Where to Put Your Dehumidifier – Upstairs and Downstairs?
After buying a dehumidifier, the most common question in people’s minds is, “where do I place my dehumidifier?” The question is valid as where you place it affects your dehumidifier’s performance and efficiency. So, you have to decide where to place your dehumidifier, starting with deciding on which floor to put it on, upstairs or downstairs.
But then, a few factors will affect where your placement decision. If you’re having the same problem of deciding where to keep the dehumidifier, here are a few things to consider and how they influence the placement.
1) Which Floor is Moisture Air-Filled More?
It is a consensus amongst experts that moisture is more readily absorbed in materials located on the ground floor. This is because heat rises and the upper floors are warmer, drying the air.
So, putting it downstairs is ideal if you’re looking to place your dehumidifier in an area where it will absorb more moisture. And even though humid air is lighter than dry air at the same pressure and temperature, the moisture source must come first.
If you’re trying to avoid moisture in certain areas, such as your living room or bedroom, placing it upstairs might be better. If the humidistat says your basement is the more wet room in the house, then that’s where you should place your dehumidifier.
Suppose you bought the dehumidifier to dry an area affected by a leak and restore any water damage. In that case, you want to place the dehumidifier in that specific area for quicker, more efficient dehumidification.
By default, the ideal dehumidifier spot is a moisture source, mostly the basement. Most homes with a basement suffer from high humidity levels. The basement walls tend to leak in moisture, which moistens the air in your home.
As time goes by, the moisture level rises to dangerous levels. So, if you cannot identify the high humidity areas upstairs, consider placing the dehumidifier downstairs in the basement.
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2) Which Area has the Best Possible Airflow?
The best place for your dehumidifier is in an area with good air circulation. You want the dehumidifier to pull as much air as it can from your home, both upstairs and downstairs. If the air around your dehumidifier isn’t circulating well, it will take longer for the dehumidifier to dry out the air.
Therefore, if you’re trying to improve the area’s airflow, place your dehumidifier in an area with open windows or doors, which lets fresh air enter and circulate the room.
If there are no openings, make sure to use a fan for better circulation within your home. If the moisture is coming from upstairs, place the dehumidifier near the stairs to help pull up any moisture downstairs.
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3) Accessibility to Power Source
The location of your dehumidifier should include easy access to an electric source. You do not want your dehumidifier to be moved every time you need to plug it in or unplug it when you’re done using it. A good location is near an outlet you can easily reach.
Suppose you’re placing it in a high humidity area that receives high traffic such as the kitchen and there is no outlet nearby. In that case, you might want to improvise – you’ll need an extension cable enough to handle the dehumidifier power draw.
However, you will have to mind cables running on the floor which can be tricky if you have pets and kids. In this case, the best place to place your unit is the floor with the slightest movement and play, which is mostly upstairs.
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4) Which Area Needs More Air Cleaning?
If you want fresher air throughout your entire home, place dehumidifiers in multiple locations without one floor having more than another. However, if you notice that one area has slightly better air quality than another but still wants cleaner air for both sites, then consider cleaning the air upstairs while dehumidifying the whole house.
You can also create a split-level system by using two units for each floor and operating them separately. But, if your bedrooms are upstairs near the bathroom(s) and you feel the air moist when sleeping, well, place the dehumidifier upstairs.
5) Temperature on the floor
Another thing to consider is the temperature of the floor. You do not want to place your dehumidifier in a hot environment as it will work harder and use more energy. The best place to put it is in a cool area. This is something you’ll need to keep in mind if you’re placing it in a high-traffic area where people are constantly walking by it.
Also, check which floor is colder and which one is warmer using your humidistat. If you have a hot floor, place the unit there if humidity is a problem. But, if you have a cold floor or one that’s being heated by under-floor heating, then putting your dehumidifier on it would be counterproductive.
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6) What’s Your Personal Preference?
Some homeowners prefer using whole-house dehumidifiers as they feel more comfortable knowing that their home will not be too moist and moisture won’t gather in any one area at all. Others prefer to use individual units for specific rooms because they can control which room needs extra attention from moisture removal.
So basically, no matter how many units you decide to use – single or whole-house – choose a device with a built-in humidistat so you can customize it to your needs and monitor the humidity levels in your home.
Pro tip: If you have a large home that is becoming tough to humidifier with a single dehumidifier no matter the placing it in a moisture source, you might want to consider getting an extra unit or installing a whole-house dehumidifier. What’s more, check your humidistat after the dehumidifier has been running for a while to make sure you don’t have a leak as that would cause a problem in the long run if you don’t fix it soon.
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Related Questions
Do I need a whole-house dehumidifier or just one unit for each room?
Some homeowners prefer to use the whole-house units as they feel more comfortable knowing that their home will not be too moist and moisture won’t gather in any area. However, you can also use individual units for specific rooms to control which room needs extra attention from moisture removal.
