Exit

Controlling Humidity in Exercise and Endless Pool Rooms

Dehumidifier Corporation of America (DCA) is an industry-leading provider of indoor swimming pool room dehumidifiers, specializing in hydrotherapy rooms, endless pools, and exercise pools. Controlling humidity in these rooms is crucial, as excess moisture can lead to a variety of problems.

Compared to ordinary pools, endless and exercise pools often contain wave motion technology and/or water jets that can lead to extra moisture evaporation. Additionally, these pools are often situated in small-volume pool rooms that could experience issues when exposed to high moisture loads. These factors are important to consider when selecting and sizing the proper dehumidification system. At DCA, our pool room dehumidification systems feature reduced CFM with complete moisture removal capacity to accommodate unique pool room challenges. Endless Indoor Pool

Controlling Humidity

To prevent indoor pool room humidity issues, it is recommended to maintain a relative humidity of 50% to 60%. To properly control humidity in exercise and endless pool rooms, it is recommended to do the following:

  • Maintain proper room temperatures. Indoor pool dehumidifiers should maintain the room air temperature at two degrees higher than the pool water temperature, as this limits the amount of water vapor entering the room’s atmosphere. 
  • Perform the correct amount of air changes. For optimum circulation, you’ll need 4 to 6 air changes per hour in pool rooms with average amounts of window/door surface area and outside facing glass, whereas you may need 8 to 10 air changes in pool rooms with over 50% of wall/ceiling area or outside facing glass.
  • Have proper ducting. While the pool room dehumidifier itself is important, it’s only half the equation. The other half is having a duct system that controls condensation by distributing the dehumidified air over all outside facing glass surfaces. 
  • Include a room vapor barrier. An integral vapor barrier, normally visqueen plastic or equal, must be applied to the warm side of the walls and ceilings directly under the wall treatments, such as wood, green board, or other. All overlapping joints and penetrations, such as electrical wall outlets, light switches, windows, and doors must be taped to provide a non-permeable vapor barrier cell.  
  • Operate under a negative pressure vacuum. If your pool room is open to the public, you should operate under a negative pressure vacuum. This means that when a door is opened, air will move into the room rather than allowing wet air to escape. This can typically be achieved by adding a room exhaust fan. 

Consequences

By not controlling moisture build-up in your exercise and endless pool rooms, you’ll eventually encounter issues with corrosion formation, rusting, mold, and mildew. When pool water warms to swimming temperatures, excess moisture laden with bromine and chlorine disinfectants releases into the indoor pool room, attacking everything it comes in contact with. This can lead to problems such as:

  • Deterioration of the surrounding building
  • Health concerns related to mildew, mold, and other air quality issues
  • A burning eye sensation for swimmers, leading to an uncomfortable swimming environment

Factors that contribute to indoor pool room humidity issues include:

  • Inadequate ducting for your dehumidification system that doesn’t properly circulate dehumidified air throughout the pool room
  • Lack of a dedicated dehumidification system for your exercise or endless pool room
  • Improperly functioning or inadequate ventilation system
  • Improper building construction, such as a lack of a room vapor barrier or low-quality glass doors and windows

Swimming Pool Room Dehumidification Systems from DCA

Exercise and endless pool rooms pose various unique dehumidification challenges not seen in ordinary pool room installations. If these challenges are not addressed from the very beginning, it could lead to catastrophic and costly consequences. At DCA, our sales engineers are here to help you solve these problems and deliver the properly sized DCA dehumidification system for your indoor pool room project. 

For more information about our dehumidification systems, or for help finding the best solution for your exercise or endless pool room, contact us today or request a quote.

When to Consider Adding a Commercial Dehumidification System to Your Present HVAC System

When a project calls for a constant, specific room dew point above 50°F in its operation, normally the addition of a commercial A/C system is the first step. Room air conditioning will remove a certain amount of moisture while adding cool air to the space for comfort.

If the desired dew point is not met with the addition of an A/C system the best solution is to add a commercial DCA mechanical dehumidification system to achieve the desired result. Unwanted moisture can come from many sources, such as moisture released through a specific process that has to be addressed. Moisture from outdoor air being introduced into a room along with a dedicated exhaust fan is also a major factor that has to be considered, especially in wet climates. For example, moisture can enter a room through building walls and ceilings without a vapor barrier, leaky windows and doors, or doors being intermintally opened to a space. These are some of the most obvious examples but other less obvious examples may also be a factor.

Commercial indoor swimming pools and hot tubs used in motels, hotels, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, high schools, nursing homes, therapy pools, and others are always best served by DCA dehumidification systems because of the large moist load present that must be controlled.

Rooms that require a dew point of less than 50°F rely on desiccant dehumidifiers to maintain the desired dewpoint. While DCA does not carry desiccant dehumidifiers, we can supply a mechanical dehumidifier that removes the largest amount of the moisture to reliably work with a desiccant dehumidifier. The mechanical dehumidifier removes the majority of the moisture load from the room so the desiccant dehumidifier can lower the dew point to a precise range below 50°F.

Vegetable plants in rows in an indoor grow room   

Does Your Commercial Space Need Dehumidification?

Dehumidification is a vital consideration for projects that require maintaining a constant specific dew point. It can help remove large moisture loads and lower dew points that ordinary A/C systems cannot. Some typical commercial settings that use DCA dehumidification, other than indoor pools mentioned above, are the printing industry to control registry, the indoor grow industry for clean vegetable and medical marijuana growth, rooms for assembly work, warehousing, the grinding industry using water-based coolant to cool tooling, fresh and waste water treatment plants, the packaging industry for packing material that will naturally take on moisture and negatively compromise the end product.

In general terms, any industry that is negatively compromised by uncontrolled moisture will enjoy the benefits of dehumidification. At DCA, our sales engineers help facility operators determine the ideal dehumidification solution for their projects.

Benefits of Adding a Dehumidifier to Your HVAC System:

Conventional central air conditioning is the first step to reducing the moisture in a room. If a central air conditioning unit does not deliver the dew point required, a commercial dehumidification solution will solve the problem.

Hot and humid air requires more energy to cool. A dehumidifier can reduce the cost of cooling a space by reducing stress on the air conditioner and energy consumption. Reduced humidity can also improve air quality, preventing the prevalence of mold, bacteria, viruses, and dust mites.

Click to Expand

When to Consider Adding a Commercial Dehumidification System to Your Present HVAC System

Selecting the Appropriate Dehumidifier Options That Best Suit Your Needs

When selecting a dehumidification option that is suitable for an application, the following considerations are to be considered:

  • A vertical or horizontal configuration
  • A standard end discharge or an optional bottom or top configuration
  • Rooftop, indoor, or outdoor installation
  • Single or three-phase power
  • Electric or gas heating
  • BMS control with BACnet
  • Custom controls for integration into existing BMS
  • Provisions for outdoor air introduction to the space through the dehumidifier
  • Water cooling or remote condenser
  • Class 1 Division 2 rating to meet explosion-proof requirements
  • Increased or decreased airflow deviation from our standard catalog of dehumidifiers
  • Various other custom options to suit any specifications

Why DCA?

At DCA, our sales engineers convey their extensive knowledge and experience in dehumidification by providing solutions to our clients. We specialize in dehumidification and offer solutions for custom dehumidification projects. In the few cases where a project exceeds our knowledge, we will refer you to the people that can fulfill your needs.

Contact Us Today for Custom Dehumidification Solutions

Various projects require maintaining a consistent dew point for performance and function. A dehumidifier is an ideal solution when a process or environmental factor is creating high humidity that a commercial air conditioner alone cannot eliminate. We can add a dehumidifier to an HVAC system to reduce stress on the air conditioner and help you maintain the desired dewpoint in a space that would be too humid without it.

When selecting an HVAC dehumidifier for your space, there are various considerations, including the position and configuration of the dehumidifier, BMS integration, airflow, and custom options to enhance performance. At DCA, we specialize in mechanical dehumidifiers for commercial HVAC applications. Our specialists have the knowledge and experience to help you find a solution that suits your needs.

Contact us to learn more about our custom dehumidification solutions, or request a quote today.

What to Consider When Heating Indoor Swimming Pool Water

Indoor pools add value and year-round enjoyment to your property, whether you have one in your hotel, gym, spa, or private residence. Maintaining appropriate water temperature is critical to continued pool satisfaction. Most indoor pool operators heat pool water 2–4°F below the pool room’s air temperature to minimize and control evaporation. They are increasingly using this to their advantage by installing commercial dehumidifiers that channel heat from the refrigeration cycle back into the pool room in the form of space heating or assist in pool water heating.

Read More »

Commercial Dehumidifiers for Fitness Centers

100 Outdoor air dehumidification systemsControlling the relative indoor humidity in your fitness center will reduce mold and bacteria buildup and produce happy patrons. Without dehumidification systems leading to unacceptable indoor air quality, these facilities tend to get grim pretty fast—when not controlled, moisture buildup from patron sweat results in foul odors, shorter equipment lifespans, and the proliferation of diseases.

Read More »

Importance of Controlling Moisture in Food Production and Storage

The presence of moisture and humidity in any part of the food production cycle can mean the difference between a product being safe and fresh versus unsafe and spoiled. Moisture often leads to the growth of bacteria, mildew, or mold. Condensation on cold products also creates moisture risks when storing food. Fortunately, these risks can be easily mitigated by using temperature control technology and dehumidification systems.

Read More »

Want to learn more troubleshooting tips ?

We’ve only looked at three common problems here, but there are a host of other issues that can cause dehumidifier malfunctioning.

To read more about what can go wrong with dehumidifiers and learn how to fix problems quickly and efficiently, download our free dehumidifier troubleshooting guide today.

Download our Free Troubleshooting Guide
Looking for information about replacing your current dehumidifier unit? Check out our tool!
X

Find the Right Product for Your Application Using our Selection Software