Why use a desiccant dehumidifier?
When you’re faced with drying in cool temperatures or drying dense materials like hardwoods, brick, or plaster-and-lath construction, nothing beats the efficiency and power of desiccant dehumidifiers. Here’s why: Desiccant dehumidifiers produce much drier air than refrigerant dehumidifiers, making them ideal for pulling moisture out of dense materials and complex construction assemblies.
Powerful drying in low RH conditions. Desiccants remove moisture down to 0% RH. A standard refrigerant dehumidifier can no longer operate efficiently below about 30% RH, and a Low Grain Refrigerant unit will begin performing poorly below 20%.
Cold temperature performance. Desiccants easily outperform refrigerant dehumidifiers in low temperatures. In those conditions, refrigerants tend to freeze up, or else remain in defrost mode for extended periods of time. In either case, they're not removing much water from the air. Desiccants, however, continue to remove moisture even at 0° F. Drying with a desiccant is an especially effective (and cost-effective) option in an unheated garage, a crawlspace during the winter months, and in unfinished basements.
More effective drying of dense materials. Because desiccants can produce such low RH values, they are ideal for pulling bound water out of dense materials like hardwoods, plaster, brick, and concrete. They can also effectively dry down construction assemblies like walls, stairs, cabinetry, etc.
Desiccant dehumidifiers can play an important role in your drying strategy, especially during the colder, drier months. If you don’t have one already, consider adding a desiccant to your professional restorative drying equipment lineup.