Dehumidifier - advice on using

xyz123

Hi, after getting a lot of mould in Bathroom (despite keeping windows open during and after shower) and bedroom windows I hav finally decided to buy a dehumidifier and will get it delivered tomorrow.

Obviously I read few posts here and other items on Internet so have an idea of how they work and about things like laundry function but wanted to ask about day to day running. I guess it's best to leave it on auto mode to let itself sort it out but generally what do people do when taking shower or cooking, is it best to move it during high usage closer to bathroom or kitchen or boost the humidity level or just leave it as it is! I know Dehumidifiers can effectively sort out whole house if left in hallway with doors open but what I don't know is if during high usage in house is it good enough at normal speeds or not?

Obviously any other tips ideas appreciated. Ta.

Swipe

I switch mine on in the evening at 5pm when i get home a turn it off at 10pm when I go to bed. Weekends I tend to leave it on low all day. I never leave it on whilst out, not something I'd trust fire hazard wise.

stator

Buy yourself a few cheap humidity meters and monitor the humidity in each room. Place the dehumidifier in the worst room for most of the day.

xyz123

Swipe wrote: »

I switch mine on in the evening at 5pm when i get home a turn it off at 10pm when I go to bed. Weekends I tend to leave it on low all day. I never leave it on whilst out, not something I'd trust fire hazard wise.

Thanks. I thought it would be fine to leave such devices to operate all the time as they are designed to work in that way (similar with leaving the gas boiler on when we r out of the house) but I obviously understand your point which of course is correct. Not sure if insurance companies stipulate that any electrical devices are left off when not supervised... I will see if I can find out somewhere but I guess knowing insurance companies it won't be as black and white as we would like it to be..

ariba10

Our's is on the upstairs landing. On a plunged in timer so that cannot come on during sleeping hours.

PeppaPig123

What brand/model is the dehumidifier?

If its a manual type then you must adjust the settings manually. You'll probably need a hygrometer to measure the relative humidity (RH) level in the bathroom (and other rooms where you want to use the dehumidifier) and adjust the dehumidifier settings according to the hygrometer reading.

Dehumidifiers such as the EcoAir DD122MK5 or Meaco DD8L feature air sensors which allow the unit to toggle between settings automatically. This way the unit will be in the correct setting for the amount of RH in the air all of the time.

Once the set RH has been reached the EcoAir model goes into fan only mode whilst the Meaco goes to sleep (ie it turns its fan off). It then wakes up after half an hour and checks the RH. If the RH has stayed the same then the unit goes back to sleep. If the RH has risen then the unit gets back to work. You can see the cost savings involved by having the Meaco only working in fan only mode for 10 minutes out of every hour.

Anyhow to answer your question; set the dehumidifier at the bathroom door (plugged from a different room!) when having a shower and take it to the kitchen when cooking.

You can place dehumidifiers in the hall but I find that moving them from room to room gives the quickest dehumidifying effect when performing a particular task.

May I also ask how large your property is?

Once I know that and the model of dehumidifier then I can give a better answer.

Oh, you should be getting the dehmuidifier today so;

If its a desiccant model you'll get a slight smell for the first few days. This is normal, nothing to worry about.

If you have bought a compressor model then place it upright for an hour before using it to let the oils settle. You can use a desiccant dehumidifier straight away.

Hope that helps a little.

brightontraveller

Fit an extractors an open window doesn’t suck out air? Whilst dehumidifiers are fine they tend to only rectify the symptoms not the cause????

xyz123

PeppaPig123 wrote: »

What brand/model is the dehumidifier?

If its a manual type then you must adjust the settings manually. You'll probably need a hygrometer to measure the relative humidity (RH) level in the bathroom (and other rooms where you want to use the dehumidifier) and adjust the dehumidifier settings according to the hygrometer reading.

Dehumidifiers such as the EcoAir DD122MK5 or Meaco DD8L feature air sensors which allow the unit to toggle between settings automatically. This way the unit will be in the correct setting for the amount of RH in the air all of the time.

Once the set RH has been reached the EcoAir model goes into fan only mode whilst the Meaco goes to sleep (ie it turns its fan off). It then wakes up after half an hour and checks the RH. If the RH has stayed the same then the unit goes back to sleep. If the RH has risen then the unit gets back to work. You can see the cost savings involved by having the Meaco only working in fan only mode for 10 minutes out of every hour.

Anyhow to answer your question; set the dehumidifier at the bathroom door (plugged from a different room!) when having a shower and take it to the kitchen when cooking.

You can place dehumidifiers in the hall but I find that moving them from room to room gives the quickest dehumidifying effect when performing a particular task.

May I also ask how large your property is?

Once I know that and the model of dehumidifier then I can give a better answer.

Oh, you should be getting the dehmuidifier today so;

If its a desiccant model you'll get a slight smell for the first few days. This is normal, nothing to worry about.

If you have bought a compressor model then place it upright for an hour before using it to let the oils settle. You can use a desiccant dehumidifier straight away.

Hope that helps a little.

Thanks for your post. Its ecoair Mk5 model going in a 3 bed house.

dingdongsaving

We put ours on for about 2-3 hours each evening before bed and all black specks that were forming in our northern most corner in a bedroom and in and around the bathroom coving have been a distant memory for over 18 months.
We don't run the machine in either of the rooms in question, just on the landing (both rooms are upstairs) and it's sorted it just fine.

PeppaPig123

xyz123 wrote: »

Thanks for your post. Its ecoair Mk5 model going in a 3 bed house.

Ah, good purchase!

The MK5 is an automated dehumidifier which will toggle into the most appropriate setting automatically so you won't have to worry about adjusting the settings.

What I would do is leave it on the landing and place it into the highest setting first as the house is probably very wet. You'll probably have to run it in its highest setting for a while before the settings change.

When the set humidity has been reached the unit will switch into fan only mode which is very light on energy usage.

If after a week or two you don't find the dehumidifier as efficient as you like you'd be best moving it from room to room (or area to area). It all depends on the size of the house and how wet it is but the MK5 should handle an averaged size 3 bed fairly good.

Also you'll notice a smell coming from the unit when you first use it. This is just the zeolite burning the odours in the air (perfume, cigarette smoke etc) and will stop after 2 or 3 days.

Also - this is important - do not wash the filter as you'll wash away the anti-bacterial properties of the filter. Instead give it a quick vacuum every 2 or 3 weeks or so (you'll know yourself by looking at how dirty the filter is).

If there's anyone in the house with airborne allergies, high stress or anxiety levels then keep the ionizer on at all times as this clears the air of positive ions such as pollens, mould spores, dust mites, dirt particles etc giving a cleaner air.

Anyhow I've written more than you asked for but if you have any questions just let me know and I'll be happy to help.

Enjoy your MK5!