How to Choose the Right Dehumidifier at Jon-Don

Dehumidifiers are an essential piece of equipment on a water restoration job. Their essential function is to remove moisture from the air. The rate of dehumidification must exceed the rate of evaporation to safely restore a structure to its previous state. There are three basic types of dehumidifiers found in today’s market:

Conventional/commercial grade refrigerant dehumidifiers (CGRs): CGRs remove water from the air by condensing it on cold coils (much like a cold pop can on a humid summer day). The water is then collected and either drained into a collection bucket or pumped out through a hose to a drain. CGRs have limitations such as low air processing, less water removal, and they have a bottom end around 55 GPP or about 35% RH at 70°F.

Low grain refrigerant dehumidifiers (LGRs): This is the most common type of dehumidifier used by restoration professionals. Unlike CGRs, an LGR unit will continue to remove water below 55 and even 40 grains per pound (GPP). LGRs were designed for flood conditions by the leading manufacturer specializing in water damage mitigation equipment. LGRs are the most energy efficient and popular dehumidifiers on the market because their performance is boosted by a built-in air pre-cooling process.

There are three types of pre-cooling systems, but heat pipe and heat exchange systems are the two most often used in the restoration industry:

Heat Pipe – a looped system surrounds the cold coil, allowing refrigerant to collect heat, condense and repeatedly re-circulate it.

Heat exchangers – corrugated plastic or aluminum plate-type, air-to-air units capable of pre-cooling incoming air thanks to its proximity to the cold coil. A new generation of high temperature LGRs removes water in ambient conditions up to 120°F!

Thermal siphon – similar to the heat pipe, this unit features a stacked coil design. These are typically used on small-sized dehumidifiers and seldom found on most LGRs.

Desiccant Dehumidifiers: Desiccants offer sophisticated technology that uses chemical attraction to extract water, so optimal dew point temperatures do not limit their performance. Used correctly, they produce the driest air (lowest GPP) of any dehumidifier and are capable of most closely approximating desert-like drying conditions. Choose a desiccant for dense materials like hardwood floors, for cooler or dry sites, or if location temperatures are cooler than 60°F (sub-zero desiccants work in temperatures as low as 0°F). Because desiccants represent state-of-the-art dehumidifying technology, these units run the gamut from small portables to huge mobile units.

For more information on how to choose the right dehumidifier or other restoration equipment, please contact a member of the Jon-Don Restoration Team at (800) 556-6366. Jon-Don is a leading distributor in the restoration and disaster recovery industry. Since 1978, thousands of contractors all across the country have trusted Jon-Don as their source for education, business building information, and high-quality restoration products, all backed by the industry’s best satisfaction guarantee.

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