Dehumidifiers

hebron

It's the time of year again when the windows are all running with condensation, but this year I am thinking of getting a dehumidifier to cure this problem.
I have been reading up on them as I have never owned one before.
Any advice or recommendations about what to buy would be appreciated.
I would like one that is fairly quiet as I intend to run it over-night.
Other than that I would like to take into account the running costs.
I have up to about £180 to spend, but less would be better.
I understand there is two types of dehumidifiers; Refrigeration type and desiccant type: I don't know what one is best?

Thank you for any advice.

MX5huggy

Ventilation will rid you of condensation

tony6403

I am not able to give any opinion about different types but I can say that my Ebac is very good indeed. It even seems to assist in drying the washing when we have to have some indoors and don't tumble dry.
It's not unreasonably noisy but we don't run it overnight as I can hear it when it kicks in.
It's a model 2850e and cost , as I recall , £165 - that was some time ago.

amcluesent

>but this year I am thinking of getting a dehumidifier to cure this problem.<

If you are single-glazed you won't completely get rid of condensation in my experience. You can certainly eliminate pools on the window-sill etc.

>Thank you for any advice.<

I find washing is the biggest source of damp in the house, when it's too rainy to hang on the line. I just leave on airer in the kitchen and run a cheap Argos own-brand Dehumidifier. By the morning it'll have collected 3 or 4 pints of water.

A.Penny.Saved

I have an Ebac dehumidifier myself, it's quite an old Hi Dri Model #1139450 using 240Watts. It was certainly not silent but it is now because the fan motor bearing went on it so it cannot be used.

It used to fill the large container of about 3 litres quite quickly so it certainly gets the damp out of the air and it was used in my Kitchen.

bristol_pilot

The single biggest contributor to condensation is drying clothes indoors - if you can't hang out the washing, use a tumble drier. If that does not solve the problem, a cheap dehumidifier from Argos will do. The refrigerant type is best. None of them is really silent, but you don't need to place it in the same room you sleep in nor run it overnight for it to be effective in keeping condensation levels down. Mine has a humidistat - so it only runs when there is humidity in the air and this keeps running costs down. In very cold weather, if your windows are single glazed you will get some condensation regardless.

dampdaveski

Hi hebron,
I don't like dehumidifiers personally, however that aside, I have had experience of ebac's so if you are going to get one, get an Ebac.
Dessicant dehumidifiers work by introducing super warmed and dried air into a building or room, these are usually specialist bits of kit for drying out wall cavities, floor voids etc after water or flood damage.
The type you require is the refrigerant type which act by drawing air in the room over a coil which then freezes, so water vapour in the air turns into ice on it. the coil then defrosts and deposits the now liquid water into a bucket.
Expect most dehumidifiers to cost around 2p an hour to run

Good luck
DD

hebron

Thank you for all your advice.

The ventilation is not too good in my house, although I do try to leave the widows open a little: if it's not too cold.
I have been using a tumble drier lately but I am still getting windows streaming in the mornings.
My windows are double glazed but are of the wooden type: they are about 20 years old.
My biggest problem is water running on windows and the sills, and I get mold around the widow recesses. they need to be repainted every year.

I have been looking at ebac but don't know whether to get a basic or the one with a smart control.
I have also been looking at, Meaco DD122FW-MK3 but this is a disiccant type, but it has good reviews and is small but uses more wattage.Meaco DD122FW-MK4
I wish I could hear one running to see how noisy they are.

Anyway,
Thanks for all your tips I shall take them into account and I will study the ebacs more.

jstallan

In the old house we bought one of these http://www.dehumidifiers-online.co.uk/ruby-dry-dehumidifiers.html

scl_2

When I had a flat I had a dehumidifier due too condensation.
When we bought our current house we had problem again mainly due to clothes drying (baby clothes lots of them)

I was recommended to install a Nuaire Drymaster 2000 'positive input ventilation system'
wasent cheap but it does what is says on the tin, works a treat no more problems with condensation.

http://www.nuaire.co.uk/Product/Residential_Products/Positive_Input_Ventilation

Swipe

I owned an Amcor compressor (refridgerant) dehumidifier until it packed in 2 months ago. I replaced it with the Meaco DDL8 (desiccant type). I can honestly say it out performs my old refrigerant one twofold and I'm really pleased with it. The old one struggled below 12C when I really needed it most (for unheated rooms that suffered most with condensation) but the desiccant one work down to 1C. This one costs a little more to run an extra 1pm/min on the low setting (runs at 300Watts) compared to the old one but puts out more heat than my old Amcor one.