High humidity is one of the major threats against your house’s structural integrity. Most homeowners, today have invested in dehumidification systems to get rid of the excess moisture in the air. Dehumidifiers are used for both commercial and residential spaces. These spaces may differ in need thus, the dehumidification system needs and requirements are different.
While larger spaces require higher capacity Dehumidifiers, the more the Dehumidifiers are required to be operational the higher the chance of the dehumidifier malfunctioning. Malfunctioning of a dehumidifier may lead to increased humidity in the room making it the perfect environment for the growth of mold, mildew, fungi, and dust mite.
For commercial/business premises, a defective Dehumidifier will create a warm uncomfortable workplace. This will not only low the productivity levels of your employees but, will also lead to unhappy customers, who will give your business a bad review. This will lead to your business losing its customers and even worse the bad reviews will put off any potential new customers.

Dehumidifier Diagnostics.

Once you identified that the dehumidification system you have installed is not effectively maintaining the relative humidity levels at the desired levels, you need to follow the following procedure to simply decide whether to repair or completely replace the dehumidifier.

1. Check to see if the dehumidifier is operational.

At this initial step you need to determine where your dehumidifier is either:
a) Operational and ineffective – the dehumidifier turns on and sounds to be operational but the relative humidity levels remain while the unit fails to extract any water.
This is a common problem experienced by many dehumidifier owners. This problem is usually easily fixed by simply cleaning the dehumidifier.
Here are some of the steps to follow while cleaning the dehumidifier:

• Unscrew the dehumidifier cover. Follow the unit manual guide.
• Clean the unit compressor. Ensure you remove all the frost on the compressor.
• Clean the condenser coils. Remove all the dirt, because the dirt causes the extracted moisture to freeze on the coils hence decrease the dehumidifier's effectiveness.
• Clear any dirt or dust on the fan blades. Lubricate the fan motor. Once done cleaning the fan ensures the fan motor is working effectively if not, replace the motor.
• Check the humidistat functionality – a defective humidistat could be the reason your dehumidifier has not extracted any humidity from the air.
• Screw back the cover on to the unit.

If the dehumidifier’s performance does not improve consult your local service center for professional help, before buying a new dehumidifier.
b) Completely un-operationally/won’t turn on – if you dehumidifier fails to turn on completely, here are the step to follow :

• Unplug the unit and Check whether the dehumidifier power outlet is fully functional.
• If the power outlet is fine, firmly plug the dehumidifier back to power and turn on the switch.
• If the dehumidifier still does not turn on, unplug the unit from power and check for any damage on the power cord. If any damage is spotted, please replace the power cord.
• If the dehumidifier still does not turn on, remove the unit cover, and check for ice on the dehumidifier parts. Let the ice melt before trying to turn the dehumidifier back on.
• If the dehumidifier still the dehumidifier does not turn on, remove and check the humidistat.
• If the dehumidifier still the dehumidifier does not turn on, remove and test the overflow cut off. Most dehumidifiers are built to have an overflow cut off to avoid the water spilling when the collecting tray is full. If the overflow cut off is defective the dehumidifier won’t turn on.
• Check burn spots on the main circuit board.

If all the above steps fail to restore the dehumidifier functionality, please call a repair person before buying a new dehumidifier.

2. What are the humidity changes that have occurred in the space?  

An increase in humidity can be the cause of the ineffectiveness of your dehumidifier. For instance, if you add an indoor pool to your house, there will be a sharp increase in humidity levels in the house. These increased humidity levels might require you to invest in a higher capacity dehumidifier.

3. How long has the dehumidifier been in service?

Typically most dehumidifiers have the following service life:

• Residential dehumidifiers – most home dehumidifiers are built to last between 10 to 12 years. They are built with relatively low capacity because the unit is required to service less humid and small spaces. These dehumidifiers consume less power while operational.
• Industrial or commercial dehumidifiers – commercial dehumidifiers are largely inbuilt, they consume more power and have high capacity thus are able to maintain the humidity levels below 50% in large spaces. Commercial dehumidifiers are built to have a service life of between 7 to 10 years.

The service life is of any dehumidifier will be affected by:

• The dehumidifier has to be correctly installed and placed. - – the dehumidifier should be placed at least 6 inches away from any wall, for easy air intake. The air exhaust should also remain clear, for the dehumidifier to remain effective.
• Airflow problems – the entire airflow and all dehumidification systems including ducts and additional air vents, should be maintained to allow adequate airflow within the space. For a dehumidifier to be effective there needs to enough air circulation in the room to ensure all the air in the room is processed by the unit.
• Power connections – the dehumidifier should be connected to a reliable power outlet to avoid straining the switchboard. This protects your dehumidifier from erratic power problems.
• The dehumidifier capacity should be slightly above the required capacity. – One of the main reasons why most dehumidifiers break down fast is overworking. If the room's humidity levels are higher than the capabilities of the dehumidifier capacity. In this situation the dehumidifier will remain operational 24/7, this will make the unit overheat and some parts will wear out fast. Your best option in this situation is to invest in a new high capacity dehumidifier.
• Operational conditions – if the dehumidifier is installed in the pool room, where the pool water contains chemicals like chlorine, the dehumidifier's service life is greatly reduced. This is because chemicals like chlorine react with metallic parts in the dehumidifier causing them to rust faster, hence the part break or wears out much faster.

It is therefore important to ensure the dehumidifier capacity is powerful enough to completely lower the humidity levels.

4. Failing dehumidification system.

Signs that a dehumidifier requires to be replaced?

• The one clear sign of a dehumidifier that requires to be replaced is if the dehumidifier requires professional service more than twice a year. 
• If the dehumidifier has had multiple part replacements, especially the compressor.
• If after all the repair the dehumidifier’s performance remains below par. You don’t need a unit consuming power for no good use.

If your dehumidifier has any of the above re-occurring issues, you will have to invest in a new dehumidifier. It may seem like an expensive option but in the long term, it will be the best and cheapest option.

What should you look out for in your new dehumidifier?
We at Baseaire are dedicated to helping all our customers easily pick out a dehumidifier that will cater to all their needs. Here are some of the features that set Baseaire dehumidifiers apart:

• Auto humidistat – this feature allows your dehumidifier to automatically turn on and off depending on the humidity levels of the air. This will save you money because the dehumidifier will consume less power.
• Reusable air filters – all our dehumidifiers have a reusable air filter that can be easily cleaned and re-used.
• Auto defrost – this feature is very helpful to people in colder places because the auto defrosts feature turns off the unit when there is ice on the coils. This allows the ice on the coils to melt and the coils warm up and are able to extract moisture at low temperatures.
• Auto-restart – the dehumidifier is able automatically to restart in case of a power interruption. The dehumidifier will also be able to maintain the user pre-set requirements.
• Low noise production – our dehumidifiers produce little or no noise when operational.
• Continuous drainage system - our high capacity dehumidifiers are built with a continuous drainage system that allows collected water to be emptied out of the unit via a hose and poured out to a safe place.
• Energy star rated dehumidifier - all Baseaire dehumidifiers are built to consume less power while extracting more moisture compared to conventional dehumidifiers.