Pest News   |   September 21, 2020

Basement Encapsulation with Hydrohero Robert Keefer

We were lucky enough to have Robert Keefer of Hydrohero Systems visit us recently at our plant in Poynette, WI. Like many of you, Hydrohero performs a wide variety of services within the basement and crawl space world: mold remediation, crawl space encapsulation, basement waterproofing, and more.

Like all businesses, getting started can be an uphill battle. If something’s not working right along the way, that can make or break your entire business. With Robert and Hydrohero, that component was the dehumidifiers they were installing.

“We did choose some other [dehumidifiers] when we first started our company in 2015 and we consistently saw issues with our installs and we had to pull those out and replace them. [...] So I called a buddy down in South Carolina that had had some experience with Aprilaire. He had told me that I should really consider them. So, he guaranteed me they’d been using Aprilaire forever and absolutely stands behind them. So we turned around and said, ‘Okay, we’re gonna try these out.’ We replaced them all with Aprilaire 1850s in this community, and here we are…4 years later now and there’s not been any issues. We have one of the best reputations in encapsulations in the entire country now, and Aprilaire is part of that success story for us.”

Robert has experienced such success with Aprilaire dehumidifiers that he recommends them to HVAC contractors when they’re on calls that require them to be in basements and crawl spaces.

“A lot of them simply can’t solve the problem because they don’t have the right tools. We’re finding out that many HVAC contractors aren’t carrying hygrometers. So when they call us, we turn around and talk to them about installing a whole-house dehumidifier and it just kind of blows our mind more and more HVAC companies don’t really understand how necessary a dehumidifier is to put in line with their HVAC system and dehumidify the entire living space.”

Whether your business’ focus lies below the grade or above it, a whole-home dehumidifier has positive impacts on your customers’ indoor air and your bottom line. If you aren’t controlling the relative humidity in any part of the home, you’re going to have fungal amplification, bacteria formation, and dust mite proliferation. Using an Aprilaire dehumidifier to set the relative humidity to 60% curbs mold and bacteria, while setting it at 50% stops dust mites, which in turn alleviates allergies and their symptoms.

For contractors starting out, Robert offers these tips and tricks on making dehumidifiers integral to their businesses’ success.

“I would make sure that I’m always recommending that you have a dehumidifier if you’re in a humid climate… and that you have something monitoring the humidity 24/7. And that’s going to take care of the majority of your problems.

The number one reason [homeowners don’t buy a dehumidifier] is that they’re simply not being told about dehumidifiers and dehumidification… it’s not about price – it’s about selling the product that solves the problem.”

Thanks to Robert for visiting our production facilities! Check his business out at Hydrohero.com, as well as on Facebook and YouTube.