While high humidity causes severe health issues, only a dehumidifier does a great job to fight excessive moisture, mold, and mildew. However, since they’re typically priced high at around $1000, renting one can cost only $50 a day.
So, Should I Buy Or Rent A Dehumidifier? To make a generous decision, you must be conscious of the overall cost of both buying a machine or rental dehumidifiers. If the overall rental cost sums up at nearly the amount to buy one, there’s no point of renting a dehumidifier.
Well, there’s more to it, such as repair costs, insurance, whether you’re a permanent resident, or a tenant if you have a damp garage, etc. Let’s discuss the whole thing which will help you to make a wise decision.
What Is Dehumidifier Used For?
A dehumidifier is an electrical appliance that removes moisture from the air. It maintains the level of humidity in an indoor environment for ensuring health benefits. A dehumidifier also eliminates odor, prevents the growth of mildew, and decreases the damp problem in the home or water damage in the basement.
According to Chris Barnes, who is an expert in household and Product Testing At Choice, A dehumidifier is a good option for those people who are facing persistent humidity or dampness problems. He added that it is useful when restorations to improve airflow aren’t possible. Dehumidifier advantages and benefits make it worthy as Air Conditioners.
However, you can use a dehumidifier for several reasons/purposes in your house, shop, or office. Here are the common causes when you might need different types of dehumidifiers more than anything:
1. Keeping the humidity in control
Maintaining the specific controls of water in the air is needed for ensuring a healthy environment. Therefore relative humidity is used to measure the amount of water needed in the air.
According to Mayo Clinic, the relative humidity should be 30-50% for health and comfort. A dehumidifier controls relative humidity under 40%. So, a dehumidifier does all those great things for you.
2. To control nasty odor
It is common in a damp area like the basement and in a garage due to water damage to smell a nasty odor. Actually, the cause of bad odors is spreading by mold. In a dark area such as in a garage, mold grows due to the flood of water in the rainy season.
A dehumidifier for garage can remove up to 70% of water and make the area moisture-free. It also forbids the rise of mold and mildew. Improves the quality of smell of the air and also removes harmful bacteria as well.
3. Protect Household Items
The humidifier is also used to protect household items from fungus, rot dust mites. Valuable household items such as photos, books, cameras, lenses, and musical instruments often get damaged due to low relative humidity. Dehumidifiers increase the longevity of those items by controlling the moisture.
A dehumidifier draws out the extra water from the air and can dry your laundry. Some manufacturers claim dehumidifiers can collect 10 to 20 liters of water per day. Overall it speeds up the drying process.
4. To reduce allergy symptoms
People who suffer from asthma or allergy, mold can trigger the symptoms like outdoor pollutants. A Compact Dehumidifier decreases the growth of the excess moisture level in the air and keeps your indoor environment under control. Therefore, it will certainly reduce allergy symptoms.
Doctor suggests using a dehumidifier for Seasonal Allergies, pet allergies, and dust mite allergies treatment. Because a Small Portable Dehumidifier sucks the warm air from the room and improves dampness condition. Which is the cause for most of the mentioned allergies.
Should I Buy Or Rent A Dehumidifier?
Imagine you live in an area with high humidity, and it’s late spring or early fall. You have faced a mold spores issue in your basement and want to prevent it in the future. You’re stuck with the question Should I Buy Or Rent A Dehumidifier.
We know this question creates much confusion when there’s a ton of disadvantages of renting dehumidifier. On the other hand, dehumidifier buying decisions don’t go ahead because of high dehumidifier cost. Well, here we have discussed some factors that might guide you to take a wise decision.
Understand your needs
Different people have different needs. And all the needs become fulfilled only when you can specify your needs and purposes. How frequently will you use your dehumidifier? Whether you will use it on a flooded home, damp basements, or not.
Because when you clean up after a flood or leak, the unit you should take is dehumidifiers for industrial use. Since this kind of appliance costs a high amount of money, it’s obvious you should go with renting dehumidifiers.
Maintenance and Cost
According to your need, you may decide to purchase a desiccant dehumidifier. Besides, you may also need a large dehumidifier because of the excess humidity level and affordable dehumidifier rental cost.
But a large unit comes along with a lot of operation and Maintenance. You must keep the coils or refrigerant free from frost buildup. Otherwise, there is a risk of breaking your unit.
In addition, commercial high-end Industrial Dehumidifiers often require less maintenance and come with more reliability. But to operate high-end dehumidifiers units require skilled technicians. So contact a Rental Agency, compare the units that fit with your budget, and make a wise decision.
Final Thought
Who doesn’t want to go with an affordable option? If you find a desiccant portable unit or a large refrigerant unit that fulfills your demand, you don’t need rental dehumidifiers. Rent a humidifier when your humidity is insane and need to run it for a long hour. Because Crawl space dehumidifiers are designed to run 24/7 while a portable one can run for a maximum of 12 hours.
So, from the above discussion, hopefully, you will find your answer on Should I Buy Or Rent A Dehumidifier. If you are still confused, take your time, understand your needs. Then go with that option that is cost-efficient. Only then your decision will be an educated decision.