How Long Should I Run a Dehumidifier After a Flood?

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While there are different ways of drying out a house, a dehumidifier is undoubtedly up there with the best ways to go about it. Dehumidifiers come in handy, especially if your household is recovering from a flood. However, you might ask yourself, how long should I run a dehumidifier after a flood?

We have the perfect guide here on how to use your dehumidifier after a flood. This might seem relatively straightforward, but you’d be surprised by the number of people who do not know how long to run a dehumidifier after a flood. Let’s get on with answering you right away.

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How Long Should I Run a Dehumidifier After a Flood?

The answer to this question is simple, really. If your house has experienced a flood, it would be best if you ran for your dehumidifier for as long as possible. That will depend on how fast your home dries up or how severe the flooding was.

Therefore, use the dehumidifier every day for 12 to 14 hours for about two weeks to dry your house. Persist with the dehumidifier if you don’t see any results after running it for over two weeks.

You will also need to have a relatively strong dehumidifier to dry out your house completely. You can also keep the dehumidifier running overnight if you can. The goal is to get rid of as much water as possible.

What Else Do You Need to Do to Dry Your Home faster?

Although a dehumidifier might make the drying process faster and easier, you still need to do some things besides that. The dehumidifier by itself might take a long time to dry your home completely.

However, the below steps will enable you easily use the dehumidifier and speed up drying time.

Evaluate Your Houses Dampness and Temperature

Dehumidifiers work with relatively high temperatures. As a result, you will need to see how damp or cold your house is. Depending on the type of dehumidifier you own, you will need to evaluate the room temperature to ensure faster drying times.

The typical dehumidifier will require the temperature to be somewhere above 5 degrees Celsius to extract water efficiently. It thus follows that warmer air will see you dry your house faster.

Commercial dehumidifiers are usually powerful and can dry up houses under lesser temperatures. Still, you will need to have removed any other water from the house.

Depending on the level of dampness, you will need to get a suitable dehumidifier. If your house isn’t that damp, then a regular dehumidifier could be an excellent option.

Establish the right draught

Draught refers to the currents of air that might blow into your house through windows and other openings. That’s why it is best to establish the right draught to ensure the dehumidifier works well.

That might mean you locking windows or any other openings that might bring in more moisture. That means you should avoid placing your dehumidifier next to a window. That could undo everything the dehumidifier does to suck out the moisture and replace it with dryer air.

Fans, however, are an excellent way to improve the draught since they don’t bring in any moisture.

Choose the Right Dehumidifier

So, your house just got flooded, and you need it to dry as fast as possible. The only issue is you don’t know what you will need to have it dry as fast as possible. You’ve heard dehumidifiers can help. What you don’t know is that you need the best kind of dehumidifier.

As with all other equipment, dehumidifiers also vary in strength and functionality. That’s why you must select a dehumidifier that will capably deal with all the moisture in your house.

But how do you choose the best humidifier? When choosing a dehumidifier, consider the below factors.

The type of dehumidifier (desiccant or refrigerant)- the kind you choose will depend on your preferences. There are situations desiccant dehumidifiers work best. The same applies to refrigerant dehumidifiers.
The dehumidifier’s cost will go hand in hand with how good the dehumidifier is.
Automatic Capabilities- automatic dehumidifiers perform better at drying homes than their mechanical counterparts

Ease of Operation- it should be easy for you to operate and mount.

What Would Happen if you Don’t Properly Dry Your House after a Flood?

Drying your home after a flood is vital because you need a place to sleep, and is crucial to protecting your home from damage. That’s water from the flood could lead to the growth of molds and mildews in your house.

Molds and mildews thrive in damp environments. That’s why you need to ensure you dry your house as soon as possible after a flood.

You need to dry your house after a flood to avoid damage to the house’s walls. Depending on the level of the flooding, the walls and plaster could sustain a lot of damage and might even need you to replace or repair them.

That’s why it is a good idea to start drying your house immediately after the flooding subsides. However, it is worth noting that it isn’t only floods that might make you need to use a dehumidifier.

Water leaks on a larger scale might need you to get a dehumidifier to dry all the moisture out. There is other equipment you can use to dry out a house. They, however, wouldn’t remove all the moisture, especially in hidden places.

A dehumidifier gets to the nooks and crannies in your house and gets rid of any moisture there. That’s why they are such a piece of suitable equipment to have.

Here are some dehumidifiers that are popular and efficient. But we advise before buying any swamp cooler, it is advisable to do some research.

-BEST AUTO MODE-

Honeywell TP50WK Energy Star Dehumidifier for up to 3000 sq. ft.

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—BEST VALUE—

FRIGIDAIRE FFAD5033W1 High Humidity 50 Pint Capacity Dehumidifier

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—SMART & VOICE CONTROL COMPATIBILITY—

Emerson Quiet Kool High-Efficiency Smart Dehumidifier with Wi-Fi & Voice Control

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—COMPACT—

Pro Breeze Electric Portable Mini Dehumidifier

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—OTHER OPTIONS TO CONSIDER—

SEAVON Dehumidifiers for Home

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Gocheer Upgraded Dehumidifier

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SEAVON Dehumidifier Wardrobe Closet, Kitchen, Office, RV

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In The End

if the question of how long should I run a dehumidifier was bothering you, we hope you now know what to do. If you don’t adequately dry your home after a flood, it could cost you thousands in repair costs.

Running a dehumidifier for a healthy amount of time will help you avoid the repairs and damage that flood water brings. Follow the tips we have outlined here to ensure you dry your house even faster.

As an Amazon Associate, We may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post at no additional cost to you.

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