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Internet
Shopper
Using all the Ladybug
tools but with a conventional boiler is the new
Li’l Bug vapor steam cleaner at a much more affordable price
point of $699.95. This is a very respectable entrant steam cleaner from
this manufacturer who always does things the right way. |
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| We’re getting
good reports back about the new Delonghi line
of low temperature dehumidifiers. The Delonghi
50 pint model at $329.99, comes with a built-in
pump. |
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| My own research in the
basement of my new summer home tells me that for
the best value in dehumidifiers, the Comfort-aire
dehumidifiers win hands down for sucking moisture
out of the air and have an auto-restart if the
units shut down because of a power outage. Prices
start at $249.95 for the 30
pint model. And if you can automatically drain
the water out using a pump then do yourself a favor
and buy an external condensate
pump. |
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Top
Dehumidifiers
- Most Often Asked Questions
By Bob Cobe
AllergyBuyersClub.com staff
1. The manufacturer says this dehumidifier
will cover 1000 square feet. Is this really true?
No, it is usually about 1/2 that
amount. Apparently the manufacturers feel that if
you bring the humidity level from, let’s say,
80% to 70%, you are dehumidifying. At AllergyBuyersClub.com
we recommend the proper size dehumidifier for you
to bring the humidity level to 50% or just under
so that mold won't grow. Our concern and goal is
to prevent mold, which is an allergen to many people.
2. What is the ideal humidity I should
be looking for in my basement?
In order to prevent mold from
growing or to put existing mold into "hibernation",
the humidity level should be at 50% or less. However,
reducing the level much below that such as 40% is
a waste of your electricity.
3. I bought a dehumidifier at a store and
it runs all the time - why?
The dehumidifier that you purchased is probably not
capable of removing the amount of moisture in this
area. If your area needs to have 50 pints of moisture
removed from it daily and you have a 40-pint unit,
you will never catch up and the machine will run continuously.
4. I want a quiet dehumidifier for the
main part of my house - what do you recommend?
The very best quiet
dehumidifier is the Santa
Fe RX Whole House Dehumidifier at $1749.95.
While it is pricey, it is quiet, has a built
in pump to remove the water so that you don’t
have to empty a bucket all the time. The Santa
Fe not only uses less electricity to operate
than many smaller units but will need to operate
far fewer hours to remove the moisture. It is
a true "set and forget" machine. It
also has a replaceable filter that unlike most
residential smaller units is actually capable
of removing particles as small as 1 micron, which
would include most mold and pollen.
Of the lower end dehumidifiers, the new Delonghi
dehumidifiers starting at $199.95 are
all fairly quiet. |
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5. Ouch, my old dehumidifier is costing
me a small fortune in electricity. What do you have
that is energy efficient?
Almost every dehumidifier that we sell is energy
starred, but this does not mean that it will necessarily
save you money. Properly sizing your unit so that it
does not have to run all the time is actually going
to save you the most money. A telephone call to one
of our product specialists at 888-236-7231 will give
you answers as to what size and brand would work most
efficiently for your situation.
6. Do dehumidifiers raise the heat in my
house?
Yes, but this can be either good
or bad. The warmer the room, the easier and more
efficiently you can remove moisture so the machine
will have to work less. If you have air conditioning,
this added heat that has to be removed will be mostly
compensated by the air conditioner not having to
work as hard because it is easier to cool dry air
than moist air. On the other hand depending on the
size of the room, you could raise the temperature
by 5– 10 degrees.
7. I have a second home. What happens if
we have a power outage, will the machine turn itself
back on?
| That depends on the
brand and model that you buy. Most dehumidifiers
with manual humidistat controls will turn themselves
back on. With the electronic controls it varies.
The Comfort-Aire
50 and 65 pint units will turn back on and
will continue to remove moisture at the humidity
level for which you had set the machine. This is
true also with the Millennium low temperature units.
The Delonghi
electronic units will turn themselves back
on, but will go back to the factory default of
60% that is not sufficiently low to prevent mold
if that is your concern. The Danby
dehumidifier will not turn back on and needs
to have the "on" button pushed, and while
it is a quiet and excellent machine, it would not
be a good choice for a second home or if you plan
to be away from your house for extended periods. |
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8. Can a dehumidifier cover multiple connected
rooms?
That depends on the total square footage of all the
rooms, the configuration of the rooms, and the openness
between the rooms.
The more open the rooms are to
each other (not 3’ doorways),
the easier it is. Having ceiling fans in the rooms
to move the air would certainly help. If you don’t
have ceiling fans you can add small, inexpensive fans
in the rooms to help move the air in these satellite
rooms into the main area where you have placed the
dehumidifier.
9. Emptying the dehumidifier 3 times a
day is driving my crazy. How can I pump it out automatically?
| Most dehumidifiers have
a drain hole at the bottom of the bucket from which
you can continuously drain the water. You use gravity
to empty the bucket by positioning the dehumidifier
close to a drain hole or sink so that the water
can flow downhill into this drainage area. You
might have to elevate the dehumidifier to have
the water flow downhill because the bottom of the
bucket is usually only about 2 inches from the
ground. One can also purchase
a pump that would be positioned under the drainage
point in the bucket that would allow you to pump
the water as high as 15 feet vertically or about
100 feet horizontally. |
Condensate
Pump
for continuous drainage |
Some models such as the Comfort-Aire
allow you to set up continuous draining through a
tube that exits at the back of the machine about
10" from the
ground, which due to this height allows you to drain
to a drainage area a short distance away or into the
pump box without having to elevate the dehumidifier.
10. My dehumidifier does not have a digital
humidistat display. How do I know whether it is doing
a good job?
| If you want to prevent
mold by bringing the humidity level to 50%, you
need a hygrometer to measure the actual humidity
in the room. This is a measuring device about the
size of a pocket calculator that measures humidity
just as a thermometer measures temperature. You
place this device somewhere in the room and keep
adjusting the setting on your dehumidifier until
the hygrometer measures 50% or less. (This could
take you a few days to get it to the setting you
want.) You have then calibrated your dehumidifier
to go on and off at a point where the humidity
will be maintained at 50%. We carry a very good
digital hygrometer/thermometer at
$39.95 on our website. |
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Check out all
of our dehumidifiers on our website.
Top
Portable
Air Condititioners - Most Often Asked Questions
By Bob Cobe
AllergyBuyersClub.com staff
1. When should you use a portable AC unit?
These are best used to spot cool
smaller rooms. They can be used if you are not able
to use a window AC unit; don’t want to lift a heavy unit in and
out of your window and destroy the paintwork; or want
to move it from room to room as needed and don’t
want to purchase multiple window units. We find that
people like them to augment inefficient central air
conditioning systems, especially when the bedrooms
are hotter upstairs. Menopausal women find the extra
spot cooling to be a real boon.
2. What capacity portable air conditioner
do I need to buy to equal the performance of a window
air conditioner?
Since our general rule is that a portable air conditioner
will cover only half as much space as a window unit
of similar BTU capability, you need to double the strength
of a portable unit to cover the same area.
3. Do portable air conditioners dehumidify
a room?
All air conditioners will dehumidify
a room somewhat, but often not to the humidity level
that feels as comfortable as you would like. The
reason for this is that an air conditioner turns
itself on and off depending on the temperature that
you have set and will often turn off before the humidity
is removed to the level that you want. A dehumidifier
on the other hand, turns itself on and off depending
on the humidity level that you want to achieve and
doesn’t care what temperature
you have set. We often sell humidifiers to "coastal" people
where their homes might be a comfortable 72 degrees,
but the humidity still remains high.
4. Are portable air conditioners energy
efficient?
It depends on the brand and model,
but many are not. You will save the most money by
properly sizing your unit so that it doesn’t
have to work as long or as hard as a small unit might.
5.
What is your best recommended portable air conditioner
and why?
Our best unit is the ARP
1200 EX 12,000 BTU unit at $899.95 and it has a double hose which helps
cool the room faster.
6. Do I have to vent these air conditioners to the outside?
Yes, you always have to get rid of the heat that these produce while
cooling the air. |
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7. Can I increase the length of the exhaust
tube that comes with the machine?
No, the manufacturers correctly determine the hose
length and adding to it makes it more difficult for
the air conditioner to remove the hot air. You need
a smooth and easy exhaust flow or backpressure will
develop which would reduce the efficiency of the machine.
8. The installation diagrams show the exhaust
hose exiting horizontally. Can I install this vertically
to exhaust into a ceiling?
This would not be a good idea
because you would either have to lengthen the hose,
which we don’t recommend,
or raise the unit on a table so that the hose would
reach. Additionally, since the exhaust air is carrying
the moisture out along with the hot air and exhausting
to a ceiling, this could produce condensation of this
moisture above the ceiling.
Editor's Note:
As mentioned at the top of this
newsletter, portable air conditioners with either
8000 or 9000 BTU are now on sale starting at $464.95 – save
up to $350 off the retail prices! Great for spot
cooling an apartment or home, the TD
8K Portable with manual controls and the RA
9KE with electronic keypad are easy to move from
room to room. While supplies last!
Check out all
of our portable air conditioners on our website.
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