Help please: Humidity levels in the UK and inexpensive ways to deal with it

enchantedsun

I am allergic to mold, and our flat is terrible!
From my understanding you cannot truly get rid of mold unless you can keep humidity levels under 50%. I am fairly new to the UK and I am wondering is it even possible to get humidity levels below 50% in a small flat (ground floor) in England, next to a river, with no central heating?
We bought an Ebac 6200 dehumidifier and have been running it continuously for a week now and we cannot seem to get humidity levels below 60%.
We are both students and do not have much money, so keeping that in mind, any ideas on how to get the humidity levels down even further?

savemoney

My humidity levels in my house is 54% (21.5c in house)with no heating on or a dehumidifier, I do have some windows open and its around 14c outside on a sunny day. I am not sure what normal levels are but you can also have problems if humidity levels are too low. Maybe your flat has issue with damp or the dehumidier isnt powerful enough for house/flat

enchantedsun

Thanks for your reply.
Assuming you live in the UK as well, its great to hear that getting humidity levels to around 50% is possible.

Now I just need to know how to get my flat to below 50%.

Your right, if humidity levels get too low its not good either - but i cant even get it down to 50% so, I am no where near that problem.
Recommended humidity levels for a home is 30-50%. Most people recommend 40% as that is most comfortable.

vaio

might be that it will improve once it's been running for a while longer as the soft furnishing/building structure dry out

enchantedsun

Thank you, that makes sense. Especially since we have loads of carpet (which when we have enough saved up is going - as the carpet is acting as the mold's snuggly bed and its beyond saving) which might be like one massive sponge that needs drying out. Though I can imagine we will need to get humidity down for the new floors too. I am seriously considering pulling out the carpets and just painting the concrete and living off of that if it takes too long for us to get the money!

savemoney

I have just got back and my meter now reads 20.6c and humidity is 52%. I have had humidity higher though at 86% according to the meter and as low as 40% and 17.1c. I wouldn't say meter is 100% accurate it says in leaflet -/+ 5%. Only time I notice the humidity is when windows mist up on a cold day. I like to have windows open to allow house to dry. I am opposite when it comes to dehumidifier I got told not to run mine due to medical condition yet I also suffered in past with mould and was seriously ill many years ago due to it. It does take a while for a house to dry out properly talking of weeks

enchantedsun

Im sorry to hear that you were ill due to mold and that you have a medical condition. I myself have been ill for over a year and half now - I've been to tons of doctors (still on-going) but they have yet to diagnose me. Though an allergy test indicated that I am allergic to mold and mildew. We've been running the dehumidifier, like I said, for about a week now and since a couple days ago I've been feeling different. We are not free of the mold yet - that will definitely take more time and lower humidity levels - so I am beginning to think me feeling different has more to do with the lower humidity levels than anything else.

PasturesNew

enchantedsun wrote: »

...we have loads of carpet (which when we have enough saved up is going ...

I am presuming you're renting as you say you're students.... in the UK you cannot remove the carpet (or do anything) in a rented home without the landlord's permission in writing - and, even then, they might insist you pay for a new one when you leave.

enchantedsun

Yes thank you. We do indeed rent, and have permission from our landlord to take out the carpets and replace it with new flooring, but I indeed still need to ask if they would be happy with us leaving it as concrete. I am hoping we can make it nice enough by smoothing it, painting it, and putting a wax layer over it. If it's not nice enough we can use this as a temporary solution until we can afford to have laminate or vinyl installed.

scottishblondie

enchantedsun wrote: »

Yes thank you. We do indeed rent, and have permission from our landlord to take out the carpets and replace it with new flooring, but I indeed still need to ask if they would be happy with us leaving it as concrete. I am hoping we can make it nice enough by smoothing it, painting it, and putting a wax layer over it. If it's not nice enough we can use this as a temporary solution until we can afford to have laminate or vinyl installed.

I'd be very careful about this - remember that in the UK your tenancy is not as secure as it is in other countries. Your landlord could ask you to leave with as little as 2 months notice outside of a fixed period. It is probably inadvisable to spend your own money on altering the flooring.

enchantedsun

scottishblondie wrote: »

I'd be very careful about this - remember that in the UK your tenancy is not as secure as it is in other countries. Your landlord could ask you to leave with as little as 2 months notice outside of a fixed period. It is probably inadvisable to spend your own money on altering the flooring.

Thank you for your concern.
Our tenancy agreement is always for 12 months, and we will be renewing it shortly - so as long as that goes as planned I'm not worried.