Whole House Dehumidifier
A whole house dehumidifier is an appliance that is an absolute must if you have any severe respiratory problems. They suck any excess humidity from your home's ventilation system, and even some from your home, to give you an easier breathe. A high quality model can keep your entire home at the recommended humidity levels as set by the EPA, while some lower quality models will struggle with meeting even three fourths of that requirement.
These are attached to your heating and air conditioning system and force any excess water into the dehumidifier. It is recommended that you keep your whole house dehumidifier somewhere safe like a basement. This is because of the humidity it will collect and cause as well as the fact that there is always a chance of a leak, which will do quite a large amount of damage to anything in the vicinity. It is much better to be safe than sorry with your large dehumidification system.
Some models can do more than just pull the air out of your home. Some of the newer, more high-end models can now also act as air purifiers. While house-wide air purifiers are not as effective as dehumidifiers, it is still some help with the air in your home and can help you breathe significantly better if you live in an area that is highly polluted.
If you have a whole house dehumidifier system installed in your home, you might also want to think about having a dehumidifier pump installed as well. When a dehumidifier's intake reservoir gets full, it stops working. One of these pumps pulls the water from the system when it is getting close to being full, so that your dehumidification system will never stop. These often come with an automatic function so that they do not pull any power when they do not need to be used.
Dehumidifiers that work on your entire home hold quite a bit of water: over 80 pints, with some reaching numbers above 160 pints. Be sure that you know the facts before you purchase one, and know what additional equipment you may need to keep it working like a charm, such as the pump. These machines are a big convenience in their own right, but they need to be taken care of to work efficiently.
Keep your options open while searching and if you are on a budget, try to make room in it for anything else you may need to upkeep your new whole house dehumidifier. Investing money in a machine that is supposed to help you only to have it break down is always a let down, and a possible money sink.