Is An Air Purifier The Same As A Dehumidifier?

Does an air purifier do the same thing as a dehumidifier?

No.

The function of an air purifier is to reduce airborne pollutants such as allergies and pollen in a room.

The function of a dehumidifier is to remove excessive humidity from a room.

Though and air purifier is not exactly the same as a dehumidifier they do share some qualities and functions.

For instance, they both help with the reduction of airborne allergens.

Air purifiers reduce allergies through a series of filters, that depending on the top of air purifier can include HEPA (high efficiency particulate absorber),
Activated carbon, and Ionic.

Dehumidifiers also reduce allergies in a room because excessive humidity is a big factor in the facilitation of dust mites and the growth of mold and mold spores.

In other words by reducing excessive humidity, they reduce the allergens that thrive in it.

But fundamentally an air purifier and a dehumidifier are meant for two different functions and are not meant to be interchangeable.

Though humidity can be a big factor in household allergens, humidity is a problem that most people have only in a certain time of the year. Mainly the hot summer months.

And the truth is once those months are over, the dehumidifier will usually get cleaned and stored until the next year.

But a air purifier does not depend on the climate or time of the year to reduce airborne allergens. Its sole purpose is to keep the air in your home clean and healthy, regardless of the humidity.

Can you use a dehumidifier and an air purifier in the same room?

Yes. the function of an air purifier does not clash with the function of a dehumidifier in any fashion.

An air purifier is a machine that cleans the air.
A dehumidifier is a machine that reduces humidity in the air.

A dehumidifier actually helps with the function of reducing allergens because because there are certain allergens like dust mites and mold that thrive in excessive humidity.

By using a dehumidifier to reduce the excessive humidity in a room, you are not only making the room more comfortable, you are actually making it easier to breathe in.

But the dehumidifier is a seasonal  allergy reducer at best and the air purifier will continue to reduce allergens all year long.

Does a dehumidifier help purify the air?

Yes. By removing excessive humidity you are removing the capacity for mold and dust mites to thrive in that humidity.

So in a sense you are removing the ingredients for dust mites and mold spores to grow in the first place.

But a dehumidifier does not work like an air purifier?

It does not have a HEPA filter like the traditional air purifier so it will do nothing to remove other contaminants from the air like pet dander and pollen which are usually your most cited household allergens.

Do I need a dehumidifier if I have an air purifier?

Yes, if you have a problem with high humidity in your house, you will need a dehumidifier to reduce the moisture.

The function of an air purifier is to reduce airborne contaminants and will do nothing to reduce humidity in a room.

A dehumidifier is for reducing moisture in the air and an air purifier is for reducing allergens in the air.

Can you get a dehumidifier and an air purifier in one?

Yes you can. But should you?

Though it may seem at first glance that having one machine that can do everything would be a much easier and simpler solution.

But there is a few things to think about when combining an air purifier and a dehumidifier that you may have not thought of.

1. Size
Dehumidifiers are fairly large appliances that dont blend easily
with the other furniture.
Not only are they bulky, they need to be centralized in the room to be able to work efficiently.
Air purifiers on the other hand come in all sorts of elegant designs that are made to blend into the household ambiance.

Air purifiers are mostly very mobile-friendly also.

2.  Usage
Dehumidifiers only have a limited amount of time of the year were they are actually useful.
Air purifiers are useful all year long.
Having a dehumidifier- air purifier combo means keeping the dehumidifier on the house the whole year long or buying a separate air purifier when you’re not using the combo machine.

3.  Heat
Dehumidifiers are hot.
Though one of the main functions of using a dehumidifier is to reduce the heat in the house, the actual machine itself runs hot and actually increases the temperature of the room that it is used in.

A dehumidifier expels hot air out of the back of the machine just like a window air conditioner does.

It is because both machines are very closely related and use the same technology to pull humidity from the room.

The most common air purifiers simply pull air through a series of filters. They do not run any hotter then the typical fan.

4.Noise

Dehumidifiers are loud.

Again the comparison with a window air conditioner is relevant.
You can expect a dehumidifier to be as loud as an air conditioner.

HEPA air purifiers are also loud. So loud that they are often marketed as air cleaner and white noise combos.

So combining a dehumidifier and a HEPA air purifier means combining the noise level of both machines running at the same time.

What is the best air purifier and dehumidifier all in one?

Simple. The central heat and air conditioning unit inside your home or office.

Placing in duct air purifiers and whole house dehumidifiers in your HVAC system is the best way to get an all in one air purification and dehumidification process for the whole house or building.

If you need air purification or dehumidification in your home and you want to avoid all of the pitfalls of owning these machines as stand-alone room appliances, the best thing you can do is to take a closer look it what it means to add these functions to your HVAC. (Heating ventilation air-conditioning).

Summary.

An air purifier is not the same thing as a dehumidifier.

An air purifiers purpose to clean the air and a dehumidifiers purpose is to reduce moisture in the air.

Though it is a dehumidifier may help reduce airborne allergens by reducing the humidity in a room for allergens to facilitate,
Its primary function is to reduce humidity and removing mold and dust mites is only a byproduct.

Dehumidifiers are also only useful when the humidity is excessive, namely July and August.

Running an air purifier and a dehumidifier at the same time can only help an air purifier but a dehumidifier does not do much to help a air purifier.
Regardless they do not clash in anyway and can be operated simultaneously.

The only good way of combining an air purifier and a dehumidifier and one is two make your HVAC central heat and air unit and all in one air purification and dehumidification supply.

Otherwise you’re looking at a super noisy, bulky, temperature increasing  eyesore they you can only get a couple of 3 months good use anyway.

And don’t forget about all of the maintenance and dumping water it takes to run a dehumidifier.