Where is the best place to put my dehumidifier, on the floor or hanging from the ceiling in my basement?

Question

Where is the best place to put my dehumidifier, on the floor or hanging from the ceiling in my basement?

Answer 1

You got hot wet air or cold wet air..........I'm not being a wise donkey...........but hot air raises........and I've never lived in a place that has your type of humid conditions. But why don't you seal the basement floor.......the moisture has to be coming from the cold basement slab.......or a lot of it anyhow. All the best.......solve it big guy.

Answer 2

There are two ways to answer this question The first is to consider the air output and the second is to consider the condensate produced.  The second first:

All dehumidifiers produce condensate:  water that has been taken out of the air.  This condensate is typically deposited drip by drip from the coils to a tray into a bucket in the back of the machine.  From there you have to empty it when it fills up or the high water level will turn off the machine to avoid overflowing the bucket.  A better way is to remove the condensate continuously.  The best way to do this is using gravity and attach a hose to the tray allow it to drain downhill to an existing drain.  So this means you have to have the machine higher than the drain you intend to drain it into.  There is a way around this and that is to also install a condensate pump to pump the water uphill through a small tube to a nearby drain.  There are special condensate pumps made for dehumidifiers that cost under $100.

The second consideration is that hot air rises.  Air coming out of the dehumidifier is dryer but warmer.  That air will naturally rise as cold air replaces it.  A dehumidifier on the floor would then promote that convection circulation in the room while one on the ceiling would limit it.

Best then to put your unit as low as possible to allow the condensate to gravity feed into a house drain or put it on the floor and if necessary install a condensate pump.