Growing up an a desert I never had a need to buy a dehumidifier. Even when I lived in other states I didn’t mind the humidity. I didn’t understand why people complained about it. It prevented static electricity make chapstick and lotion less important, and in general seemed a nice thing.

Then I moved to NYC and sometimes almost 100% humidity. Again I am not complaining but I noticed that when people have AC that is older, it doesn’t really remove the moisture as efficiently out of the air as newer units. So since I have 1 old AC and 1 new AC I thought it might be interesting to experiment on how much humidity contributes to a persons sense of comfort.

Now you probably realize that there is a balance between too low humidity and too high humidity that doesn’t allow you to sweat efficiently. I learned that higher than 80 degrees F we tend to sweat about 2 L per hour! Amazing isn’t it?

What this means is that if you don’t have access to AC above 80 degrees, you are really in danger of losing too much water to sweating. If you can lower the amount of humidity people feel more comfortable which is why AC units remove humidity.

I bought a small dehumidifier and it worked amazingly well. I could see the water dripping into the container below. It was in 70% humidity and when I went outside the apartment in the hall, I could feel it warmer and more humid. It was an interesting sensation. Now I am not suggesting that getting a dehumidifier is any replacement for AC. However if you have an AC unit in the wall you can’t remove, or it is several years old, it will make your space more comfortable.

Who shouldn’t get this? In a humid climate I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from a dehumidifier.