How Long Should a Dehumidifier Run per Day?

A dehumidifier is going to remove excess moisture from your indoor air. But should you run a dehumidifier all the time in, say, the summer?

In a relatively dry place, there is no need to run a dehumidifier all the time. You only need to keep the indoor humidity at 50%. When there has been basement flooding, you might want to run a dehumidifier day and night, with breaks every 7 to 10 hours.

If there has been flooding in your basement, you might need to run your Frigidaire 70 Pint Dehumidifier all the time until the humidity lowers.

To make it even better, you can connect a hosepipe to the outlet on the dehumidifier side so that it drains out the water automatically. You do not have to keep emptying the 70-pint bucket all the time.

If there has been no flooding in your basement, usually a properly sized dehumidifier should do the job in 10 to 12 hours, and then you can switch it off for the rest of the day.

The best thing is that modern units have built-in humidistats for sensing humidity, so you just need to set your desired humidity level. The dehumidifier will then automatically switch on and off appropriately.

Should I run my dehumidifier all night?

Should I run my dehumidifier all night

While you do not want to experience the warning symptoms of sleeping in a dry room, you also do not want to sleep in a very humid room.

Therefore, YES! You can run your dehumidifier at night if the humidity level is above the recommended 50%. Remember, mold, and dust mites thrive in high humidity.

Do you have a modern dehumidifier with a function such as a humidistat? You do not have to worry about forgetting to turn off the dehumidifier.

Once it attains the set humidity level, say 50%, it will turn off automatically. Thus, it will not continue to dehumidify, making your air too dry.

Thus, even when you are traveling, the dehumidifier will not make your indoor air too dry. Another thing is that once the dehumidifier bucket is full, it will stop pulling moisture out of the air until you empty the bucket.

So, instead of asking whether you should run the unit all the time, the right question would be the best time to run the dehumidifier.

Is it better to run a dehumidifier at night or during the day?

There is no specific preference here since it depends on when you are in the house and the level of humidity.

For instance, if the humidity inside the house is 85%, I would run the dehumidifier all the time, during the day and at night.

However, if the level of humidity in my home is 60%, I would run the dehumidifier a couple of hours a day, say about three hours in the day and three hours at night.

For this, you would need a unit that has a timer so that you can set the number of hours that you want it to run.

When you should run dehumidifier all the time?

Unless your dehumidifier is faulty, there is no reason to run it all the time. However, sometimes the circumstances might demand that you run the unit all the time. These are as follows:

1. When the basement has flooded

If there has been flooding in the basement, you might want to run the dehumidifier day and night. That way, it will help dry out the walls and the floor quickly.

Image of should a dehumidifier run constantly

To do that, you need to use a unit that has an outlet to attach a hosepipe so that it can dehumidify continuously.

When you want to dry out a flooded basement, it is best to set the humidity at a low level, say, about 25%. The unit will keep running hour after hour, extracting excess moisture from the air in the basement.

Please pay special attention to the basement, as that is where most of the mold infestations at home start. Keep monitoring the humidity level and run the dehumidifier as the need arises.

2. When you live close to the sea

If you live in a place such as Florida, which is the most humid place in the USA, you will need to use a dehumidifier for more hours than a person who lives in a dryer place.

Seattle is also humid, but not as much as Florida. Because of the warm climate and the proximity of Florida to the oceans, it is unusually humid. In the summer, you might need to run a dehumidifier continuously during the day and night.

In a very humid place, you will have to run your dehumidifier for at least 12 hours a day. But you can always use a hygrometer to find out the humidity level in your house at any time.

The best thing is to run your unit as long as you need to until you feel comfortable enough in your space.

3. When you experience very humid summers

Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Alaska experience the most humid summers, with humidity levels approaching 80%. Thus, if you live in such a place, you might need to run your dehumidifier for more than 12 hours a day.

4. When you are using a dehumidifier to dry laundry 

You can use a dehumidifier to dry your clothes. If this is the case, you might have to leave it running higher than on normal days.

You want to extract as much moisture from the wet laundry as possible. Wet clothing makes the air in your room more humid. Thus, you can crank up your dehumidifying unit to help dry the clothes faster.

Conclusion

As you have seen here, the answer to whether you should run a dehumidifier all the time is, it depends.

It depends on where you live. In the most humid areas, you need to dehumidify the air for a long time. In less humid areas, you need to run your dehumidifier for a maximum of six hours during the day and six hours at night.

Usually, if the indoor humidity level is 70, and you need to lower it to 50%, 6 to 10 hours of running the dehumidifier will do. If it is high, say, about 80 to 90%, you need to run a dehumidifier for up to 12 hours.

Remember to prevent the air from outside from coming in because outdoor humidity affects indoor humidity levels.