Condensation problems - gripe!

squeezebob

Hello everyone

I'm going to move out soon(ish) and want to make sure my house is in tip top condition for selling. There's a slight issue with damp - not major - but there's lots of condensation. I have the dehumifier (the low cost soaking up ones, I'm not buying a big dehumidifier, as I may as well spend the electricity money on a damp proof course - its not fair economy) and I vent regularly, however one of the main things I see on forums and recommendations is this: don't dry your clothes indoors.

If you're from the north west of England (like I am) you will know, it's near impossible to dry your clothes outside. I wash the clothes in the washing machine (which as recommended is vented outside) and I always put it on a spin dry at the end, but that only essentially squeezes the water out, it doesn't dry them. So in the winter, it's pretty much constantly raining, even when the sun is out the air is too damp to leave the clothes on the washing line, also working a full day means that you can't leave them outside as there's a high chance of rain so it would just waste the fact that I've used the washing machine. It's also not an option at the weekend fyi.

I don't put clothes on the radiator as I realise this just encourages the condensation, so I use an airer, but there's still no denying that this still releases moisture into the already damp air.

My dad (even though I'm 28) always tells me that I shouldn't dry clothes indoors, but he never has a solution when I tell him to look outside at the rain.

Does anyone have a solution?

PS. Using a laundrette isn't an option either. I don't think I've ever seen one other than on Eastenders.

Miami

I'm in a similar position (although I rent, not own) and someone suggested drying my clothes in my bathroom because there's an extractor fan there that will absorb moisture. (Make sure the extractor fan is set to extract 24/7 and not only when the light's switched on -- mine does either depending on the setting I choose.) I haven't tested this theory yet, because my extractor fan isn't working and I'm waiting for my lettings agent to get someone to come and take a look at it, but I intend to try as soon as it's fixed. If you have an extractor fan in your bathroom, perhaps you could put your clothes in the bathroom, switch the extractor fan on and see how it goes and if there's an improvement?

lstar337

squeezebob wrote: »

Does anyone have a solution?

Dehumidifier, tumble drier, or continue to dry indoors but ventilate (open windows) as much as possible.

WestonDave

Drying clothes indoors by whatever means transfers the moisture in the clothes into the air - doesn't matter if its on a radiator or airer, the result is the same. You then have to get that moisture back out of the air and out of the house otherwise it will condense on walls etc (and will then reabsorb into air when its warmer and so the cycle goes on getting worse).


There are really only 3 options - replace the wet air inside the house with dry air from outside by opening a window (you can use something like a Drimaster but that is really only a means of pushing air from the loft into the house rather than having it coming in from an open window - the benefit being that the loft might be slightly warmer especially if the sun is out and warming the roof up), or use a dehumidifier to actively remove moisture from the air. The final option is something like a MVHR system (mechanical ventilation and heat recovery - costs upwards of £6k to install and involves a lot of intrusive work if it can be fitted retro to your house) - its arguably the best long term solution as it takes the heat out of the extracted wet air and transfers it to the dry cold incoming air so you lose a lot less heat than with an open window. However it costs a lot to install and as stated not all properties are suitable to put it in.


Opening a window has no upfront cost but you replace warm wet air with cold dry air and then have to heat it up again. Heating is expensive so the ongoing costs are high. (The extractor fan idea above is really only a variation on opening a window - as the fan sucks the wet air out of the room it is drawing cold air into the house from somewhere else - draughts, letter box etc. Clearly this must happen otherwise either a vacuum would form in the room as all the air was sucked out without replacement, or more likely the fan would get to a point where it could no longer overcome the loss of air in the room and would cease to be effective)


Running a dehumidifier is relatively cheap once you've paid out to get it, and because the air in the house is drier it heats up more easily which saves a small amount on heating bills.


(I'm assuming you have no room for a tumble drier as a condensing drier is a pretty efficient solution and doesn't need a vent in the wall. In the early days they were horrifically inefficient but now overall are more efficient than the vented ones because they keep their heat in the house - or in the case of the heat pump ones use the heat in the house to dry the clothes).


Unfortunately the laws of physics etc being as they are, there isn't a cheap solution when energy is required to transform water from its water state to a vapour state (to dry the clothes) and energy is expensive.

JJ_Egan

Garage + Clothes Rack ??

Swipe

I use my conservatory. Works great when the sun's out

Alexa71

If you are using a dehumidifier for drying clothes make sure that the dehumidifier has got a 'Laundry', 'Turbo' or 'Continuous' setting as in these settings the dehumidifier will be working hardest to collect moisture from the air. Not only that but it will keep working in these modes no matter how low the relative humidity falls.

An adjustable louvre is also a great feature on dehumidifiers for drying clothes.

Simply place the clothes horse in the smallest room or area in your house. Close all windows and doors and put the dehumidifier in Laundry mode.

Now the clothes probably won't dry in a matter of hours unless it's PJ's or sports clothes. However if you rack them up in the morning then they'll be dry at night time.

Another advantage of buying something like the Meaco DD8L is that the machine heats the surrounding air by 10C-12C when it is operating.

mr_mitch

We have always dried out clothes indoors on clotheshorses etc, and have never had a problem with condensation. Not since we were fully double glazed years ago.

Could it be a different problem? Steam from cooking? Boiling water? You mention damp? Do you have camp patches where water might be getting into the house?

Also, do you have xpelairs above your showers and hob to extract some of the moisture?

Cardew

WestonDave wrote: »

(I'm assuming you have no room for a tumble drier as a condensing drier is a pretty efficient solution and doesn't need a vent in the wall. In the early days they were horrifically inefficient but now overall are more efficient than the vented ones because they keep their heat in the house - or in the case of the heat pump ones use the heat in the house to dry the clothes).

Totally agree with the statement above - the latest condensing dryers are really good. You only have to see the amount of water they extract from washing(spun at 1600 rpm) to realize how much water would otherwise be released into the house.


They will stack on top of a washing machine if your layout allows.


Whilst they are expensive to run, at least the heat is released into the house

poppasmurf_bewdley

I don't know whereabouts in GB you live, but you seem to be confused about the amount of rain we get.

It only rains a couple of days most weeks, I haven't seen rain for almost a week now, although it has rained a couple of times overnight.

I dry all my washing indoors during the winter, usually on an airer in the spare bedroom, and have no problem whatsoever with condensation. I also have a condensing tumble drier which I use very sparingly.

Even when I lived in Preston, which is one of the wettest places in GB, it didn't rain almost every day - although it sometimes felt like it did.

If you have a condensation problem, try opening windows for an hour or so. I do this in my bathroom after my shower and within an hour all condensation on the tiles, mirrors, etc, has disappeared. I've done that this morning, and you can do it even in the rain or freezing temperatures.

Baby_Angel

Cardew wrote: »

Totally agree with the statement above - the latest condensing dryers are really good. You only have to see the amount of water they extract from washing(spun at 1600 rpm) to realize how much water would otherwise be released into the house.


They will stack on top of a washing machine if your layout allows.


Whilst they are expensive to run, at least the heat is released into the house

I agree with a tumble dryer. We have been battling with condensation for over a year. We dried washing indoors. We almost always wake up to weeping windows every single day in the entire house. We had mould build up in two corners in the bedrooms. For about 2 months now we are using a heat pump tumble dryer. The difference is astonishing. Not a droplet of water on the windows. We also were surprised that our washing machine consume more energy than our tumble dryer.