UPDATED **SIFO**Humidity, AC, and Health

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**UPDATE**

Just to let you know how it's been temp-wise in this apartment since I got the dehumidifier. For one thing, I can actually sleep through the night without having full-on sweats. I do still run both the ceiling and floor fans but I get the full effect of their cooling. I have not had to run my AC as much. I do turn it on if I have the curtains open (so the plants can get some sun) or if I am running the stove. I would estimate that before this, I ran my AC on the timer for around 4 to 5 hours a day. Since I got the dehumidifiers (I have more than one now), I have run the AC on the timer for about 3 hours total in the past 2 weeks. Of course, there were times before that I didn't run the AC but I was a hot, sweaty mess while I saved money. I can go without the AC now and it's very comfortable.

The reason I now have 3 devices is that the seller,  (who I can HIGHLY recommend because of their customer service) responded to a concern I had with the quality of the 2nd model (the MD303). I love the first model (the MD300) and I let them know that, while the MD303 worked, I didn't feel it was better or as good. What I wanted was to return the MD303 and replace it with another MD300. The seller was so responsive that they immediately shipped out a replacement and told me to just keep the MD303.  That is service. So I have 3 devices.

I keep the MD303 in a spot between the living room and kitchen and I don't check it as often. I emptied and turned the ones in the bedroom on at about the same time in the evening. This is where the AC covers when it runs so the dehumidifier doesn't have to work as hard. This is what it looks like after about running for about 16 hours:

MD303

This is what the device next to the bed looks like at 10 hours:

MD300

This is how much the device that is nearest the bedroom window collected in about 10 hours.

MD300
Maybe I should put
2 by the window!

So, yes this is working better than I expected. If I had been smart (or able), I would have gotten a mid-to-large size device. That's not feasible for my living space arrangement though. I wouldn't be able to place it out of the way or deal with draining it as needed.

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Sorry about that title. I wasn't quite sure how to get my point over in a few words. This post is about is my experience using a dehumidifier to cool the air inside my apartment.

The summer climate here is humid and hot. We get temps up to 95 degrees (sometimes more). Add in our humidity - currently 85 degrees with 44% humidity - and you get to experience living life in a constant sauna.**

By the way, I found some useful information about the effects of humidity on this website along with this useful graphic:

WebMD has an old article about high humidity potentially slowing the spread of flu. I have to wonder what effect it has on COVID. In the end, I decided that being able to breathe at all with less humidity is worth whatever the risk. And I knew that I needed to get myself a dehumidifier.

I hate shopping for appliances. They are pricier than most other household purchases and there are usually so many brands and types to choose from. I spent a couple of days searching for something affordable and with good ratings - you know, as I do with everything. I chose this one:

My plan - as always when I spend over 20 bucks - was to try it out for a couple of days to see if it was going to be a keeper. Thankfully, I got some birthday money to use on the purchase. I was supposed to get something "fun". Oh, well.

Man, this thing is working much better than I expected. First of all, I wasn't sure that it would actually affect the temps in the apartment. I read a lot of reviews for a lot of devices and more than a few customers complained that they noticed no difference at all. Of course, this particular device got a high percentage of positive reviews - which is why I chose it. It's not a well-known brand so...

I chose a spot on the bedside table because it's near where I use my computer during the day. Also, my main reason for getting this thing is because sleeping in all this humidity reminds me of my menopausal night sweats. Not fun.

I turned on the machine at around 11:40 in the morning and within half an hour or so I noticed that my room did feel more comfortable. I checked to see if the device had accumulated any moisture at around 2:30 pm. There was slightly over 1 tablespoon of water in the reservoir. That seemed high in my opinion. When I went back and looked at the instructions, I realized I was supposed to close the windows and doors. I closed my window but left the door open as I always do. (I slept with the window and door closed and the machine only collected about twice the amount overnight. Seems legit.)

Kind of hard to see

The room became much more comfortable. As I usually do, I had the ceiling and floor fans going but that's never helped as much as I like. With the dehumidifier running, I was able to feel the cool air from the fans. My room has never felt that comfortable on a hot day even with the AC running. The AC unit is in the living room and the only time I feel really cool is when I am sitting directly in the path of the airflow. I don't think that's how it's supposed to work.

Let me back up and mention that this whole thing started when I was Googling information about my air conditioner. I was trying to find out if I should be contacting maintenance. The AC has always been iffy. It's moody and works better on some days than others. Ever since the temps heated up this summer, all the tenants have been complaining. I figured it might be because we are seeing higher temps and because everyone is locked down and using theirs.

Every troubleshooting checklist looked much the same. They suggested checking the filter (mine is new and clean) and making sure the ducts are clean (I'm not sure what 'ducts' they mean but I just had my AC unit serviced).  The last remedy was to check the level of humidity in the space. Apparently, high humidity basically cancels out the cooling effect of air conditioning.

Who knew? Not me. Never thought about it after all my years of living in Alaska. We never had a home there with air conditioning.

So that's how this all started.

The one problem I had was trying to figure out what type of machine I needed for the space in my apartment. You have to factor in things like your square footage (yeah, me doing math) and placement. You can see the size of my room for yourself. It's a mess but at least you can see what size place this particular machine works so well for.

I have not had to use my AC since I got this machine. I can really appreciate the effects at night. I can shut the window and turn on the fans and... Listen, I had zero night sweats and I've only slept so good here in the winter.

Because this worked out so well and is saving my using the AC, I have chosen a second one for the front of the apartment. My kitchen and living room can get sweltering without the AC. I have more and bigger windows in the living room and get almost direct sunlight. I have to keep my bread and other such things in the fridge so they don't mold.

So, yep. If you ever wondered whether a dehumidifier would help with cooling your living space, I can tell you how well this one is working for me. The cost of the first one was just slightly less than my summer utility bill and the one I just ordered is only a few dollars more than the first (I got a housewares protection plan for a few dollars more, just in case.)

I won't link here to the brand I got. I think that everyone really needs to read the reviews and find one on their own. If you really want to know, you can reverse search or zoom on the photo.

To summarize:

Health and wellness are important. Balancing air humidity is essential. Dehumidifiers and humidifiers are important tools for the air in a home. Do your research. Talk with your medical care team. 

Peace
--Free

P.S.: I checked the temp again just now before bedtime and before scheduling this post. It's midnight and the temp is 68 degrees with 88% humidity. No joke: