Dehumidifier is Freezing up and not working

If you are having problems with your dehumidifier freezing up them here are a few things that you can check and also a few things that may help you.

First check the ambient temperature of the room at the level of the dehumidifier. If it is below 65 degrees and you do not have a special low temperature dehumidifier then you are asking for trouble. Most units are only designed to work in temperature 65 or higher and will freeze if they are working at lower temperatures. Some even will not work well below 68 degrees F.

Many dehumidifiers will shut off when the coil starts to freeze to let them thaw, then they will restart when the coil is warm enough again. This can take an hour or so. Some will not shut down the compressor and when the dehumidifier coil starts to freeze it reduces the air flow and only compounds the problem.

Check the air flow over the coil. If the coil becomes dirty or the fan motor stops or even slows down a bit, you will get freezing. The dehumidifier is very dependent upon the proper amount of air going over the coil to keep the coil warm enough to not freeze. Any restriction will cause problems.

The final and worst thing that can happen is for your dehumidification unit is to develop a slight leak in the refrigeration system. This will cause the coils to run even colder then they would normally and this will create the same problems. If everything else check out then you may have to have the refrigeration system checked by a professional. The problem with this is that many of these units only cost a few hundred dollars and a service call can soon add up to more then the unit is worth.

Some things that you can do to help out a dehumidifier that is freezing up are:

Raise the temperature of the room and provide a bit of heat for the room as the dehumidifier is actually a very small A/C unit.
Raise the dehumidifier up off of the floor… the air is usually warmer when you go higher up in the room, hot air rises.
Clean the coils off so that the air can flow through them easier and keep them warmer.
Make sure that the fan motor bearings are oiled and that the fan is running freely. Even a tiny bit of resistance will slow the fan enough to make a difference.


By checking all these things out and making some small changes you maybe able to make your dehumidifier work much more effectively.

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