Your Dehumidifier Keeps Icing Up, Why and How to Fix It?

It’s humid in your home, but your dehumidifier is, quite literally, freezing up. What’s going on, and what can you do to defrost your dehumidifier? Plus, this problem tends to repeat itself, just when you need your dehumidifier to work most. Over time, trying to run the dehumidifier while it’s frozen will damage the machine and potentially break it altogether. What can you do to fix this problem in the long term? We’ll tell you below.

What Causes a Dehumidifier to Freeze? 

First, you need to understand that your dehumidifier controls the temperature in order to collect moisture and drain it out of your home. It takes warm air from your home and runs that over a cold coil. As the two temperatures mix, condensation is drawn from the air. Then it drains the water out through the drain line. So, a dehumidifier needs there to be a big difference between the temperature in the air and on its coils.

So, when a dehumidifier has frozen it could be because the room it’s in is too cold. The water will freeze on the cold coils, instead of allowing it to drain away.

Less commonly, there are other possible causes including:

• Airflow: The water can’t drain off the coils quickly enough because there isn’t enough airflow. Your dehumidifier might be obstructed by something if this happens.
• Coil debris: Over time, dust and debris gather on the coil. This can prevent water from draining off them. In this case, the coils need to be cleaned.
• Filter problems: A overfull filter can also restrict airflow.

Struggling with your dehumidifier heating up? Give our team, at Appleby Systems, a call today!

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How to Defrost a Dehumidifier

The only way to really defrost a dehumidifier is to let the ice melt over time. To ensure it does, turn the unit off and drain out the water from its tank. Try to place the dehumidifier in a warmer environment, like a warmer room. But do not expose it to heat directly as that can damage it.

How Do I Keep My Dehumidifier from Freezing? 

There are a few things that you can do to keep your dehumidifier from freezing again after you have defrosted it. Try these steps:

• Consider if the room temperature is too cool. If it is, move the dehumidifier to a warmer part of the home, turn down your air conditioner, or consider buying a dehumidifier that is made to work in cooler temperatures.
• Make sure that there is at least a foot of clearance around your dehumidifier and that there is good airflow surrounding it. This will fix problems from freezing due to poor airflow.
• Clean the coils, or have a professional clean the coils if you’re not sure how. Don’t attempt to clean them unless the dehumidifier is turned off and unplugged!
• Replace the filter if it is full.

Are you having issues with your dehumidifier? Look no further. At Appleby Systems, our team can help. Give us a call today.