Dehumidifiers are extremely useful appliances that absorb or otherwise balance out the moisture in the air, which can lead to things like breathing easier or suppressing allergy symptoms.
However, dehumidifiers can demand a high energy usage if used for long or continuous periods of time and so having a dehumidifier that shuts off after a certain length of time or when the dehumidifier has done its job can be beneficial.
A dehumidifier will typically shut off automatically when the desired amount of moisture has been removed from the room. By using components like a humidistat, a dehumidifier will operate on its own and automatically shut off when the target humidity has been reached.
However, having an understanding of how a dehumidifier works and having one with the right features will help ensure that it’s turning off when you need it to.
Not setting the humidity threshold properly can cause it to run for too long and make the room dry.
We’ve explained how and when our own dehumidifier shuts off in more detail below.
A Dehumidifier Shuts Off Automatically
Dehumidifiers are intuitive little machines that have one sole purpose—take the moisture out of the air.
Unfortunately, this excess moisture can cause dust mites to reproduce or mold to thrive. There are also allergens that tend to survive in high humidity.
Here’s what you should know about dehumidifiers:
- Dehumidifiers often turn off on their own because they meet a humidty threshold that you can set internally.
- The threshold is set because at a certain point, the dehumidifier can no longer take any moisture out of the air effectively, therefore not needing it to operate until the humidity goes back up.
- Running your dehumidifier for too long runs the risk of drying out the room, which is an entirely new brand of frustration. It is best to have a happy medium of the two for healthy living.
All of this might sound intimidating, but thankfully many dehumidifiers shut off on their own.
Dehumidifiers take the guesswork out of monitoring and maintaining how humid you should keep a room and do not require any studying ahead of time.
All you have to do is set the threshold and let the dehumidifier do the rest. It can be that easy.
We can set our desired humidity (in 5% increments) on our dehumidifier by pressing the up and down arrow buttons next to the display on our dehumidifier.
The dehumidifier can turn off when this humidity has been reached and turn back on when the humidity has gone back up again.
However, when we select 35%, which is the lowest, the dehumidifier will run indefinitely until the tank is full of water.
Our dehumidifier also has a ‘Smart’ mode where the target humidity is set at 50% and it will just carry on working as an air purifier when this threshold has been reached.
Dehumidifiers Should Turn Off On Their Own
A dehumidifier has a little fan inside of it, and that fan is connected to coils. The fan welcomes the warm air into it, and then the coils cool the air down. Think of it as if it were to “squeeze” the moisture out of it.
The dehumidifier then drops this moisture into its basin, and the released air is cooled down and dehumidified.
The dehumidifier will shut off if this basin is full or if the desired threshold is met.
- You should be aiming for a 30%-60% humidity level in whatever room you have your device in. If the threshold is met, a dehumidifier may turn off automatically as it’s no longer needed.
- If it is not, then empty the tank or continue to let your dehumidifier work. The dehumidifier does everything itself, so the indicator on it should let you know where the threshold is at with a display.
By monitoring this display system, you’ll be able to comfortably find a humidity threshold that will work wonders for your home.
Just be sure to keep an eye on it and make a judgment based on how you or whoever else lives in the house is feeling after a couple days of usage. You should be able to figure out pretty quickly what is working and what isn’t.
Dehumidifiers Cannot Remove Moisture Indefinitely
Your dehumidifier only needs to take a certain amount of moisture out of the room until it starts working against itself.
This is super easy to avoid, albeit through a little bit of trial and error. Simply come to a decision as to what percentage of humidity you would like left in the room and set the threshold to that percentage on your dehumidifier. The machine will do the rest of the work.
This will cause your dehumidifier to turn off on its own.
It will turn back on when the humidity starts to pick back up; however, this will be a good chance for you to empty it, so it is ready to get back to work without stopping again.
By setting the threshold, waiting for it to stop, emptying it, then letting it run again, you will have a reliable system to keep your room comfortable.
Dehumidifiers Dry Out Rooms
Dehumidifiers take moisture out of the air. While this is the goal, a dehumidifier can also extract too much moisture out of the air and consequently cause problems.
Since you are mostly made of water, your body appreciates some moisture. It’s difficult to stay comfortable in arid places since the lack of moisture can cause complications to your breathing and other problems.
Leaving your dehumidifier on for too long leads to undesirable consequences for your living space.
- Drying out the room too much could cause coughing, wheezing, dry skin, or other unnecessary issues that could have been easily avoided if you had just monitored your dehumidifier.
- While it is tempting to just leave the machine on all of the time, you are much better off checking the humidity percentage now and again to make sure you are in the most comfortable environment.
If you notice that your dehumidifier has dried a room too much, there’s a simple solution to this problem. Either simply shut it off for a few days while the humidity builds back up to a decent percentage or set the percentage ahead of time on your dehumidifier to a setting of your choosing.
These methods will give the room time to recover lost moisture and return to a comfortable humidity level.
Again, you are looking for something in the 30-50% range for maximum comfort. It should have a display system that provides you these numbers.
Staying within the 30-50% range is comfortable for most people, but you can increase or decrease this range based on your preferences.
Once you reach the 30-50% humidity percentage, you can wait until the room reaches above the 60% humidity level before turning back on the dehumidifier again.
Does A Dehumidifier Shut Off?
A dehumidifier will turn typically off on its own when a set desired humidity has been reached or when the water tank is full.
This feature allows a dehumidifier to avoid drying out rooms too much, waste unnecessary energy, or overwork the dehumidifier and reduce its longevity.
Just remember to monitor the humidity threshold and make sure it’s creating the right environment for your home.
Further Reading
How Quickly Does A Dehumidifier Fill Up?
Does A Dehumidifier Work With The Windows Open?