How To Clean The Filter On A Ge Dehumidifier

While your dehumidifier is busy pulling moisture from the air, it's too collecting all sorts of nasty stuff -- mildew, bacteria, mold. Cleaning it out regularly (at least once every few weeks) is an important office of its maintenance, especially during periods of frequent employ. Follow these steps to make sure your dehumidifier is clean, which, bonus, helps it run optimally to go along the air you exhale equally healthy as possible.

Read more: Everything you need to know before ownership a new dehumidifier

1. Unplug your dehumidifier

Turn off your dehumidifier and unplug it. This ensures that it's safe to make clean, whether you lot're just wiping it down quickly or spending a chip more time rinsing the bucket, filters and other private parts.

how-to-dehumidifier-8 — The air filter
Chris Monroe/CNET

2. Wipe the outside

Your dehumidifier does a lot of work to remove potentially hazardous stuff from the air. Its outer shell is the first line of defence between your dehumidifier's internal components and the muggy air it's trying to collect.

Then, afterwards you've turned off your dehumidifier and unplugged it, become a dry cloth and wipe off any gross stuff that'southward nerveless on the exterior. If it's especially dingy, you can dampen the cloth, merely don't spray water -- or any cleaning solvents -- directly on it.

3. Clean out the reservoir

All of that moisture from the air ends up in your dehumidifier bucket (unless you're pumping the water directly into a separate drain). That means information technology tin can get muddied fast and needs to be cleaned roughly once every three weeks during frequent use.

Add balmy liquid soap and water to the bucket. And then scrub gently and rinse. Permit the bucket dry before putting information technology back.

Stop what you're doing and make clean your moldy dehumidifier. Here'south how

Run into all photos

iv. Rinse the air filter

Your air filter is the workhorse of your dehumidifier. While the saucepan collects water, the air filter extracts clay, mildew, mold and other impurities in the air in your home.

Have out the air filter and wash it gently with a sponge and soapy water. Let it dry completely earlier reinstalling it.

5. Vacuum

If y'all desire to be extra thorough, grab a vacuum attachment or a brush and clean out whatever remaining dirt.

how-to-dehumidifier-5 — The bucket filter
Chris Monroe/CNET

6. Remove and clean the saucepan filter

The saucepan filter also helps trap stray impurities in your dehumidifier. It's much smaller than the main air filter -- about the size of a thimble -- and is typically tucked away somewhere in the reservoir. Remove the bucket filter -- check your transmission to confirm that your dehumidifier has 1 -- and rinse it with warm water. Permit it dry completely before returning it.

And that's it -- yous're done.

These steps should work for most plug-in residential dehumidifiers, merely exist sure to read the transmission that comes with your appliance to get specific use and care info.