Dehumidifier - anyone have experience

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 13:47

Hi all,

Need to buy a dehumidifier for the house. I've never looked at these before. Any advice surrounding them? Are cheap ones ok? Are small ones pointless? Are they pointless etc?

Cheers

edscdk · 28 Oct 2016 at 13:54

are you trying to solve a particular problem?

there might be better solutions...

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 13:58

edscdk said:
are you trying to solve a particular problem?

there might be better solutions...

Good point...my bad!

Our apartment is getting humid and in general the place can be a bit damp/wet in the air.

For example if we do laundry it can take a week for it to dry inside, which is pointless as it then stinks of damp and needs redoing. Fortunately we have a small balcony we can hang laundry on during the day. But there is still humidity in the air. So heavy things like towels just don't dry.

Opening the windows helps with air circulation. But we cannot do them fully as we have two kittens and live on the 3rd floor.

TBH the damp isn't very bad. We mainly want it for the living room when laundry is drying and to look after the electronics whilst we have humidity. This should pass in a couple of months when winter sets in.

PlacidCasual · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:08

I have an old solid wall house and we have reduced the drafts as it is mega expensive to heat and as a consequence we have a bit of a humidity problem mostly from surface mold on furniture rather than on walls.

I bought a small dehumidifier approx £30 quid and a humidity meter, used is and it works but its only ok for dealing with humidity in a small room with no major sources of moisture.

Like This

I have subsequently bought a bigger unit this model I think and it is removing 2 - 3 litres a day I reckon and has been for a month. I think I'm in the position that the fabric of the house which is lathe and plaster ceiling rough stone walls with thick plaster has absorbed a fair amount of moisture and I'm slowly drying it. I'm generally getting down to low ~60% relative humidity, showers, baths, carpet shampooing, clothes drying etc notwithstanding.

The big unit is good, not too heavy reasonable capacity, nice choice of settings, easy to use. It's easy to move with an integral handle the water bucket could be a little more ergonomic for emptying but not a deal breaker. The noise is more than you'd want for sleeping with on low setting but if it's downstairs I don't notice it.

It seems to work best when the room temp is cool doesn't seem to work well when air is hot, I think it uses a hot cold transition to remove moisture from desiccant.

My advice is a small one is pointless for a house might be useful for a small room. Our house feeling noticeably less humid and the surface mould seems to be in check.

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:13

Thanks but those links are duplicates btw!

Our apartment has tiled floors mostly concrete walls. There is very little fabric or wood so I'm conscious that the moisture would get into say the sofa and beds.

In terms of running it full time. How do you find this is for cost? is it costing you a fortune?

The living room is the main concern, and it's a fair size. its about 5-6m long and 4m wide.

edscdk · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:25

any space for a condenser dryer?

I did look into it a lot 3 or 4 years ago, I don't remember fully anything I researched, only that I purchased a standard compressor (not gel based) unit..

I got a humidity activated extractor fan in the bathroom,

Im lazy id try and get a unit that feeds into a drain so you don't have to empty it!

I did get advised that if I must try in the house shut it in a small room with the dehumidifier

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:27

edscdk said:
any space for a condenser dryer?

Not really to be honest. I mean we could but there are things taking space where it would go so we'd have to rehome it all.

Plus it wouldn't fix the general dampyness problem.

PlacidCasual · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:28

Phate said:
Thanks but those links are duplicates btw!

I got my edit in before you got your reply

touch · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:31

You get 2 types of dehumidifier:
Desiccant - has dessicant pads on the fan which absorb moisture from the air and then get dried out by an internal heater.
Compressor - creates a cold surface similar to a fridge which moisture condenses on and is collected.

Dessicant dehumidifiers are lighter and quieter but slightly more expensive to buy and considerably more expensive (around double) to run.
Generally, when the temperature in your house is below 15degrees you're better with a dessicant and when it's above 15 degrees you'd be better with a compressor.

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:32

PlacidCasual said:
I got my edit in before you got your reply

Beaten like a ginger stepchild!

touch · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:34

PlacidCasual said:
I have subsequently bought a bigger unit this model I think and it is removing 2 - 3 litres a day I reckon and has been for a month.

I have the same but I think mine might be slightly smaller. I really like it, quiet enough to leave on overnight (not in my bedroom) and will usually have my washing dry by the morning.

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:35

touch said:
You get 2 types of dehumidifier:
Desiccant - has dessicant pads on the fan which absorb moisture from the air and then get dried out by an internal heater.
Compressor - creates a cold surface similar to a fridge which moisture condenses on and is collected.

Dessicant dehumidifiers are lighter and quieter but slightly more expensive to buy and considerably more expensive (around double) to run.
Generally, when the temperature in your house is below 15degrees you're better with a dessicant and when it's above 15 degrees you'd be better with a compressor.

Interesting, thanks. Its normally above 15 degrees due to where we live (Lisbon)

Sounds like I need a compressor based one. Hopefully I can get something that isn't too expensive to run.

Tackle_Berry · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:39

I have been using one of these for the past year or so, works well and efficient compared to other brands.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HO962RA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think it advertises it can cover a 3 bedroom house which is not the case so I just move it to between the hall and landing every couple of days also great for drying clothes.

I also use this in the bedroom, once the humiditiy reaches 55-65 I move the dehumidifier in.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TFA-30-502...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AZHADQKJR74J543E7TZY

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:43

This is another concern. I don't want to buy a cheap one for the sake of expenditure but then in the long run it costs me a kidney to keep on. To me thats false economy.

Looks like I'll be putting my hand in my pocket for something good then!

My apartment is a 2 bedroom apartment about 95ishm2 - I am wondering what size would be ideal to tackle it all or if it would be better having a slightly smaller one and moving it from room to room every few days.

tom_nieto · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:44

http://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/cd10l/electriq-cd10l-dehumidifier

Got this one up and running in our house currently. Seems to be doing a decent job, it's totally no frills, but can't complain with the price. Our last Logik one looked nice but broke after about 20 months. We get a tank full per day (2L) from it. It's compact which is a bonus, however it's quite noisy so I wouldn't leave it on overnight in our room. Old houses really benefit from these when the weather gets colder and the windows stay shut more often. Interestingly now the heating is on we're getting high 50's humidity whereas before it was struggling to get to low 60's.

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:51

Do you have a separate meter? or does the machine tell you the current humidity?

Jez · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:54

Just a thought but my AC unit also has a dehumidifier mode, its nothing special so i imagine they all do. Obviously this will be the "better" compressor type mentioned above as thats how the machine works.

In portugal it gets hot so why not just get an AC unit?

Tackle_Berry · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:55

Phate said:
Do you have a separate meter? or does the machine tell you the current humidity?

Both the one I linked and Tom linked tell you the current humidity.

Phate · 28 Oct 2016 at 14:59

Jez said:
Just a thought but my AC unit also has a dehumidifier mode, its nothing special so i imagine they all do. Obviously this will be the "better" compressor type mentioned above as thats how the machine works.

In portugal it gets hot so why not just get an AC unit?

Not a bad idea but the apartment is (and like many others) designed to combat heat very well. So it can be 40C outside yet a cool 21C inside. Just means in the humid and cold months the temperature can go from comfortable to ball tightening cold quite quickly.

Ash2097 said:
Both the one I linked and Tom linked tell you the current humidity.

Great, thanks!

In laws are coming down next weekend and they're fairly loaded. We'll take them shopping...

PlacidCasual · 28 Oct 2016 at 15:03

Well I've learnt a few things as a consequence of this thread and reading abut some of the other dehumidifiers.

Desiccant type are good for cool rooms and houses and the process will provide heating so whilst they are less efficient to run, the waste is useful in the winter at least.

Compressor types are noisier and heavier but work much better in warm environments as they use a chilling process. They tend to be more efficient on a like to like basis of kWh per litre extracted.