Is It Bad To Sleep With a Dehumidifier On? It’s Okay.
Sleeping in high humidity is not good at all. The recommended bedroom humidity level is 40 to 50 percent. Likewise, sleeping in a room with low humidity is unhealthy as well.
It is perfectly okay and safe to sleep with a dehumidifier in the bedroom. Since the unit comes with a humidistat, it will power off automatically as soon as it attains the humidity level you set. Just make sure your dehumidifier is clean so that it won’t blow bacteria-laden air back into the room. Also, know the right distance from where to place the unit in relation to your bed.
Where to place dehumidifier in the bedroom
The key to the best humidity level in the bedroom is knowing the correct position for a dehumidifier.
There are several things to consider here:
First, a dehumidifier blows hot air, so placing it too close to the bed could make the bed uncomfortably warm.
While we said that a dehumidifier will not heat up a room, well, it still adds some warmth, so you need to keep it a good distance away. Place the dehumidifier 3 feet from the bed, or longer.
Secondly, place the dehumidifier in an elevated position. This can be on a small table with a waterproof material covering it. Do not place it directly on the floor, as it could get everything around it wet.
Thirdly, there is other furniture in the bedroom, so you will need to keep the dehumidifier away from the furniture and from the walls.
The recommended distance from the walls or furniture is 1 foot or longer. You need proper airflow around the grille.
Most likely, the dehumidifier will not work all night. The built-in humidistat will shut it down when it reaches the set humidity level.
The dehumidifier noise level matters!
How loud or quiet is your dehumidifier? Well, if it is too loud, you will need to keep it a longer distance away from the bed.
The compressor and the fan make noise. Thankfully, the modern small dehumidifiers for bedroom have low noise levels, so you can sleep through the night while the unit runs.
I would say anything above the 53 dB noise level is too loud, and it can interrupt your sleep. Mostly, dehumidifiers will come with noise levels of 50 to 67 dB. Get the lowest one you can find.
If you have a large bedroom, placing the unit in the middle of the room should be okay. If you have a medium-sized bedroom, keep the unit at least 3 feet from the bed.
To help you further, it would be better to place the dehumidifier on the foot side of the bed as opposed to the head side. That way, the noise from the compressor won’t be getting to you too much.
Close the doors and windows in the bedroom
The problem with humidity is that humid air moves from a place of high concentration (source of wet air) to a place of low concentration (area with dry air).
If you do not close the windows and doors, the humid air from outside will flow into the room. Remember, outdoor humidity affects indoor humidity levels.
Ideally, running a dehumidifier for a few hours should be enough to lower the humidity level in the bedroom.
But this is not going to happen if you have left the door open and the humid air from the other rooms is coming into the bedroom. It will keep running until all the air in the house has been dehumidified.
Humid air can also come from the basement, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Thus, you can run a dehumidifier with a drain hose for the basement.
How long should you run a dehumidifier in your bedroom?
You can run a dehumidifier all day and night, especially if you live in a highly humid place in Florida. You can also run it for a few hours, or, as mostly recommended, for 10 to 12 hours.
Ultimately, the time that a unit can take to dehumidify the air in a room depends on:
- The dehumidifier size: small units will take longer and vice versa
- The humidity level: if it is high, say, up to 80 percent, it will take longer to lower it to 40%
- How well sealed your home is: humid air can get in from outside
- The settings you have entered on the dehumidifier
The good thing is that with a built-in humidistat, the dehumidifier can run as long as necessary, and it will shut off automatically once the set humidity level is achieved.
But for your dehumidifier to run for many hours, you will need to use one with a drain hose. This is because a dehumidifier that uses a bucket requires frequent emptying. With a drain hose, the dehumidifier can run for as long as necessary.
If you need a unit that can dispose of the water over a vertical height, get a dehumidifier with a pump. It will remove the water over a longer distance than one that uses a drain hose with gravity.
What is the purpose of a dehumidifier in a bedroom?
Ultimately, a dehumidifier does much more than lower the humidity level in the bedroom. Remember, if you have 70 percent humidity inside, it is going to cause mold growth.
Having runaway humidity in any part of the house will expose you to mold, and eventually, this is going to cause symptoms of mold toxicity, and you don’t want that.
So, apart from lowering the air moisture content level in your bedroom, what more can the dehumidifier help you with?
- It prevents musty smells that come from mildew and mold
- It makes the air comfortably dry and not sticky
- Manages the humidity level, protecting your clothes
- Prevents the development of mold
By removing the excess moisture from the air in the bedroom, the room will cool down considerably. Sure, a dehumidifier shouldn’t blow cold air, but humid air seems to hold more moisture than cool air.
A dehumidifier can help with dust mites
Some indoor allergens, such as dust mites thrive in high humidity. Therefore, when the air is drier, they do not thrive.
Dust mites are bad news for people with asthma, as they can trigger serious attacks. They can also cause skin irritation and infections.
How to know you need a dehumidifier in the bedroom?
It is not hard at all, because the telltale signs of high humidity in the bedroom will be all over. If you see any of the following, please run that dehumidifier as soon as possible.
- There is condensation on the window panes
- Your skin feels sticky and damp
- You can smell mildew in the closet and under the bed
- If the room feels extra warm, humid air seems to hold more heat than cold air
- When you see mold spots on the ceiling and the walls,
- There is mold and mildew on the carpets
There are more signs to look for, but the surest bet for you is to check a hygrometer. If the humidity level rises above 50 percent, turn on the dehumidifier.
Best yet, get a unit like the Midea dehumidifier, which can turn on automatically when the humidity exceeds what you set.
Wrapping it up: The dehumidifier won’t dehydrate you as you sleep!
That is right, running a dehumidifier in the bedroom is safe, and it is not going to dehydrate you as you sleep.
However, keep your unit at the right distance from your bed, from the walls, and from the furniture. Also, make sure there are no spills.
A modern unit such as the Frigidaire dehumidifier is so well-built that it produces white noise, which helps you sleep.
Remember, modern units are more energy-efficient; they will not rack up the electricity bill.
Finally, place the unit as close to the source of the high humidity as possible. That way, it can suck in the damp air before it can spread to the rest of the bedroom.
If you would like a high-quality and affordable dehumidifier for your bedroom, you can order the NineSky Dehumidifier on Amazon.com. It is rated for 800 square feet and has an auto-shut-off function.
