Use of a dehumidifier…

Cardew

If a house has got really damp over a long period the whole fabric(walls/floors/ceilings/furniture/bedding/stored clothes etc) of the house will have absorbed water, it will take many weeks to reduce the humidity to normal levels.


Thus IMO 2litres every 3/4 hours is to be expected. That said it should gradually reduce over the weeks.

Tygermoth

Update!


As of last night the windows had only a light mist on them rather than their usual rivers and runnels. The unit is taking out only 2ltrs during the day now (when there is no one in) and 2lts ltrs over night. Its still not switched itself off in eco mode yet but I hope that will happen soon as that shows the house has reached optimal humidity.


So slowly we seem to be getting on top of things. Its such a shame the humidity meter was broken on arrival as it would have been great to see what the start reading was against the current readings.


Still really impressed with this little machine

lstar337

To remove that much moisture wouldn't it be better to use some kind of space heater and open up all the windows?

I have the same dehumidifier and it is a good little unit, but I'm not sure it is up to the task you are throwing at it.

lstar337

Tygermoth wrote: »

Its such a shame the humidity meter was broken on arrival as it would have been great to see what the start reading was against the current readings.

TBH, unless you have spend hundreds of pounds, the humidity meters are not very accurate. They usually work by measuring the varying length of an animal hair, and the tolerance between different units is quite high.

It would have given you some general figures though.

Tygermoth wrote: »

Still really impressed with this little machine

rosie383

I don't really want to hijack your thread OP but I just wondered if those of you who have dehumidifiers can guide me as to when it is necessary to need one.
We moved to a semi-detached 3 bed two months ago and it is noticeably damper than our previous terraced home. Not a terrible problem with mould, but there is some evidence of it on the silicone seals on the windows (treated them with HG mould remover which is fab stuff). I dry clothes outside if I possibly can but when it is wet for days on end then I have to dry indoors. Things will take at least three days to dry. Had to give up on a fabric bathmat on the bathroom floor as it would still be wet next day after a shower the evening before.
The windows have damp on them in the mornings and I dry them off and open them to let air into the house.
I got some of those wee boxes with dehumidifier crystals and have them in each room. Over the couple of weeks that they have been there the most water that one has collected is about 1/2" in the bottom.
I don't want to have to buy or run a dehumidifier if I can get on top of the problem with opening windows.
Thoughts please?

lstar337

rosie383 wrote: »

I don't really want to hijack your thread OP but I just wondered if those of you who have dehumidifiers can guide me as to when it is necessary to need one.
We moved to a semi-detached 3 bed two months ago and it is noticeably damper than our previous terraced home. Not a terrible problem with mould, but there is some evidence of it on the silicone seals on the windows (treated them with HG mould remover which is fab stuff). I dry clothes outside if I possibly can but when it is wet for days on end then I have to dry indoors. Things will take at least three days to dry. Had to give up on a fabric bathmat on the bathroom floor as it would still be wet next day after a shower the evening before.
The windows have damp on them in the mornings and I dry them off and open them to let air into the house.

In your situation, I would get one. Drying clothes indoors is not really a good idea because of the things you mention above. We have a condensing tumble, but it can't be used for around half of our washing. We have to dry indoors for this reason and for that we use a dehumidifier. We have no problems with damp at all, but I don't want to introduce all that moisture to the house. All of our clothes will dry in less than a day with the unit on half power.

rosie383 wrote: »

I got some of those wee boxes with dehumidifier crystals and have them in each room. Over the couple of weeks that they have been there the most water that one has collected is about 1/2" in the bottom.

IMHO, they are next to useless compared to an active unit.

rosie383 wrote: »

I don't want to have to buy or run a dehumidifier if I can get on top of the problem with opening windows.

You likely could get on top of it by opening the windows when the humidity outside is not too high, but it will make the house colder. I use the dehumidifier because it means I have keep the moisture level down without sending all of my "bought air" out the window.

The choice is yours at the end of the day.

rosie383

Very useful Istar. I suppose if it's too damp outside to dry washing, then the air is damp that will come in too.
So if we get a dehumidifier for about £120 then it costs a couple of quid a week to run, it should help a lot. I was thinking about a tumble dryer but that will only take care of the clothes. The house does have a generally damp feel to it all of the time. And it smells a bit of damp.

Tygermoth

Thought i would update.

I am getting very frustrated as there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the massive condensation on the windows. The dehumidifier has run full time since purchase, in intelligent mode, still has not switched off.

So this house never - with full running dehumidifier - gets below 60. On a good day i can get to 55. bedroom overnight gets to 75.

Some days the room temp humidity and usage never changes but the windows are sopping in every room of the house and others not - either way the dehumidifier rumbles on so far since its been purchased its never been switched off.

Occasionally, like this morning where condensation has bloomed all over the house i will just whack it on laundry mode as it clears everything down much faster.

Unit is great - its a little work horse - i just think this is a dark, damp airless house and we are putting a sticking plaster over the issue.

I do wish the LL would let us put in a PIV - sigh.

DRP

Either a leak or the dehumidifier is still dealing with the after-effects of your leak.

MisterBaxter

Not wanting to sidestep the question but as you rent the property what is your Landlord doing about the problem? It's one thing to have to run a dehumidifier to deal with moisture caused by lifestyle choices (drying clothes indoors) but it would appear that there is much more of an inherent problem in the property that may actually be prejudicial to health (EPA) and a disrepair issue under the Housing Act.

I see that the Landlord fixed the leak but it sounds as though there are other issues that should have been resolved before the property was let. I think there are issues with the moisture content of the building fabric; it sounds like it is inadequately insulated, inadequately heated and inadequately ventilated.

Running a dehumidifier isn't a long term solution and your Landlord needs to identify the root cause and rectify it.