From our last article, we learned how to survey your grooming facility and apply this knowledge to a selection of the right dehumidifier for you, but first let’s understand how a dehu works, giving us a better shot at picking the appropriate unit for your business.

A humidistat on a dehu monitors area indoor humidity. When the level reaches the relative humidity desired, the dehu that you’ve selected will stop drawing water moisture from the air. Normal dehu operation filters external air and moisture content is removed. Optimum air flow through a dehu only allows for larger pollutant materials to be removed and smaller particles including very small and sub-micron PM material to pass through or to be deposited on internal dehu surfaces causing eventual cleaning beyond just the washable, easy-access foam filters.

This use of a dehu in a highly saturated, debris-filled workspace as exists in most grooming-related operations near moisture-saturated conditions cries out for an additional answer to the overall challenge of dirty air plus high moisture and producing shorter drying times. The overall solution will be covered in a future article on air purification/scrubbing and its significant contribution to not only speeding up drying, but more appropriately improving the health and comfort of groomers, pets, and clients. For reduced dehu maintenance and improved reliability and performance including excellent filtration for years to come, a connection between the dehu and an air purification unit would be optimum. This subject will be discussed in a later article.

In the operation of a dehumidifier, the room air is drawn into the unit and is then cooled, causing the moisture to be condensed and form water droplets, which is then collected in a water reservoir that may require periodic manual dumping as exists in a low production, retail, small room units, or it may have an automatic water discharge via hose when full capacity is reached either directly to a disposal container, directly to an inside drain or sink, or directly through an outside window, even if elevated. These more convenient and practical dump solutions are mostly found on commercial, professional dehus extracting 75+ pints of water per day at AHAM.

Simple-to-operate commercial dehus have a dual relative humidity sensor that measures moisture content in the room and allows the operator to select the relative humidity level desired for optimum animal drying. Drying times can be lowered up to 40%, greatly reducing overall grooming time. The dehu compressor will continue to operate until it reaches the desired room humidity level.

As of this time, it is important to point out the classifications and types of dehumidifiers on the market today.

Two dehumidifier classes exist. One is for AHAM standard at 60% RH at 80°F air temperature. Two is the extreme measurement at 90% RH at 90°F and is only used in heavy saturation restoration jobs.

• Retail – Under 75 pints per day water removal at AHAM intended for small room home use with modest moisture buildup
• Commercial – Over 75 pints per day water removal at AHAM for larger room areas with heavy moisture levels that cause higher health risks and facility deterioration issues.

The three types of commercial dehus are:

• Refrigerant – 75 pints per day water removal at AHAM where room temperatures are generally 32 degrees F and above.
• Low grain refrigerant up to 75+ pints per day water removal at AHAM where temperatures range below 25 degrees F and are suitable at even higher levels of water saturation.
• Desiccant – Low temperature operations involving water removal below 32 degrees F and much colder, not generally used in business where climates and saturation levels are not extreme.

For the grooming industry the refrigerant type dehu has these more suitable advantages such as:

• Cost to performance which has a high ROI (Return on Investment)
• Very long, proven record of operational reliability within the restoration industry
• Known for speedy RH drop in confined spaces to requested setting in minutes, not hours
• Large water reservoir capacity with both automatic and manual empty features
• Low electrical draw
• Easy access to filter for maintenance
• Easiest to interface (connect) with air scrubber device with much less cleaning maintenance caused by excessive air pollutants, both seen and unseen.

The LGR dehu may be an alternative choice due to the following advantages:

• Enhanced water removal – Highest AHAM per day
• More effective operation at very low humidity levels (below 25% relative humidity desired range)
• Ideal for commercial use – Heavy duty application requiring faster moisture removal cycles
• Most compact of modern dehus with public-pleasing sizes and decors
• Most requested dehu type for major restoration challenges by the insurance industry
• Most mobile and lightest weight in dehus
• Some models have easy-connect, large-capacity tubing available for air purification connections

The advantages of using a dehumidifier are many. An optimum choice meets the needs and directly affects the future success of your grooming enterprise. The following will be your rewards:

• Faster grooming service with faster drying times by as much as 35-40%
• Improved air quality and comfort for dogs and groomers
• Reduction in odors and the #1 surveyed reason why grooming clients move on
• Protection of salon equipment, fixtures infrastructure and general site deterioration
• Prevention in mold and mildew formation
• Increased customer and experienced groom retention with a far better work environment with less moisture
• Reduced PM production, leads to less absenteeism due to seasonal health issues and lessens spread within the salon

In summary, a dehumidifier is not just a tool for maintaining optimum humidity levels; it’s a critical component in ensuring the health, safety and comfort of pets, groomers and clients. Most business success rests on creating a work space, where all participants desire to come to work every day. In today’s market it has become harder than ever to find the numbers and qualities required of groomers necessary to fill the needs of the grooming industry. The old formula is not currently working that well.

Your comments, questions and suggestions as well as first-hand experience are not only welcome, but encouraged. Let us together discuss grooming, its ups and downs while maintaining civility and encouraging a non-judgmental discourse that can lead to an improved grooming industry. This site is dedicated to that principle and with your help and support we may just influence industry leaders, manufacturers, government regulators & agencies and our legislature representatives to give us a hand.

Till the next article, scheduled to discuss air purifiers/air scrubbers and their role in a healthier, safer, and more comfortable grooming experience.

-The Professor