In any house, moisture can come from many sources. Cooking, bathing and even
our own breath puts moisture to the air. Also, sources outside your home can
increase the moisture inside.

How do I know if I have a moisture problem in my home?
Some of the most common indications of excess moisture are:

• Wet stains on walls and ceilings
• Stuffy feeling in room
• Rotting wood
• Condensation on windows
• Musty smells
• Allergies (if the air in your home is too moist, it will encourage the growth of bacteria and mold, common allergens)

What can I do to reduce moisture in my home?
Moisture can enter your home from many places and many homes have more than one source of moisture. Reducing the amount of moisture entering your home is the best way to solve moisture problems.
Simple actions you can take to avoid excessive moisture are:

• Keep basement and crawl spaces sealed off from the outdoors.
• Install gutters and divert roof runoff away from the foundation.
• Improve grades around the foundation to drain water away.
• Cover dirt floors in crawl spaces and basements with heavy duty plastic.
• Ensure that clothes dryers are properly vented to the outdoors.
• Wrap cold water pipes with pipe insulation to eliminate sweating.
• Use exhaust ventilation to remove moisture generated by showering, bathing and cooking.
• Reduce the number of plants in humid areas.
• Do not store wet firewood in the basement.
• Do not open basement windows and doors in the summer to dry out the basement. This can make the problem worse by allowing moist outdoor air into your cool basement, causing increased condensation.

If you find the moisture problem still persists, a dehumidifier may help reduce the moisture level in your home.

What size dehumidifier should you buy?
Sizes range from about 9 pints to over 40 pints. The size you'll need depends on the size of the area to be conditioned and the amount of moisture present in the air. Use the chart below to determine what size dehumidifier you should use. If the number of pints you need falls in the middle, choose the higher capacity dehumidifier.

View and print a $25 dehumidifier rebate, to use when purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified dehumidifiers, available starting May 1, 2009.

For a list of qualifying appliances in Excel, please click here.

Questions?  Call Customer Service at 888-921-5990, select 0 at the main menu.

What is the correct way to run a dehumidifier?
During summer months, humidity generally runs between 60 and 80 percent. An indoor relative humidity of up to 70 percent is generally comfortable for most people and acceptable for basements or long-term storage. Basements are typically damp, and a dehumidifier can effectively reduce humidity levels once the moisture source is under control. You can use a hygrometer, an inexpensive humidity gauge, to measure your humidity level. Hygrometers can be purchased at most local hardware and electronics stores.

During winter months indoor relative humidity will naturally be lower than in summer months - relative humidity of 30 percent to 40 percent in winter will reduce moisture problems. It is unlikely that a dehumidifier is needed in Vermont during the winter. If a dehumidifier is needed, the problem can generally be solved by following the earlier advice to reduce moisture in your home.

Keep an eye on the relative humidity. Contain the area to be dehumidified by closing windows and doors. Once the desired level of humidity is achieved, continuing to remove moisture will increase energy consumption and over-dry the space. Do not use a dehumidifier when the temperature is under 60oF in the area in which you are
conditioning.

Dehumidifiers and Electrical Usage
Dehumidifiers can cause an increase in electrical usage. Before purchasing a dehumidifier you should look at the appliances EnergyGuide (a yellow form attached to the appliance) to check the overall yearly energy consumption for that model.

When purchasing a dehumidifier, look at its energy factor information. In general, a higher energy factor means a more efficient dehumidifier.You may want to consider replacing an older dehumidifier with a new ENERGY STAR® qualified model. ENERGY STAR qualified models remove the same amount of moisture as similarly sized standard units, but use at least 10% less energy, and in some cases up to 23% less.
An ENERGY STAR qualified dehumidifier would use 142 kWh per month and would cost approximately $18 a month to operate.*

*Based on removing 12 pints of moisture from your home
each day with an energy factor of 1.2 and electricity costs
of $.13/kWh.