EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

EssexHebridean

Hahahaha - I wish! It's a 1956 build ground floor flat in a new town - so think concrete wall/ceiling and solid floor construction - in our case the exterior over-clad with brick so doesn't look too bad, but DOES tend to get damp. They were built with the sort of windows that meant a fairly constant airflow but of course since that everyone has replacement with double glazing and unfortunately like so many non-modern buildings, the construction just wasn't designed to be that "draught-free". 

milann

We have a small humidifier which was bought to go upstairs but has been in the living room since it arrived last spring. It was £19.99. Dh looked into buying a 2nd for upstairs and the exact same model was £60…..that’s In less than a year so we will move the one we have around. No way am I paying £60 when the original was less than £20. We never had any damp before we had cavity wall insulation put in…..

Cheery_Daff

savingholmes said:

I can't imagine having to use a humidifier every day. Presumably you live in a beautiful old house to compensate?

Ours is a rather old farmhouse, yes, with a well in the cellar, which I imagine doesn't help 😂 There have been multiple add ons at various points, done by different people and with varying degrees of dampproofness... 🙄 The 1970s extension is great, but the newer bit is lower downhill, and rather more damp...

We don't HAVE to use one everyday - we've been here 3.5 years, and only a few things have actually gone mouldy when they've been eg in a box next to an exterior wall (which is basically most of them - it's a detached house in a kind of horseshoe shape on the top of a hill). We only started using one in the last few weeks to make the new plaster dry out, but it actually makes the rooms more pleasant to be in, so we'll carry on.

milann

Your house sounds lovely Cherry-daff

Scottiedog_3

- humidity levels hit 75% at one stage over the weekend indoors and that's a problem. It does do such a good job though - it was down at 52% this morning so it's worth it's (relatively low if on overnight) cost. MrEH will probably stick it in the bedroom for a few hours in the mornings tomorrow and Thursday as well.it will be back in the kitchen tonight as the WM will be

Could I ask you, please, how you measure your humidity levels and where you sourced the doo-dah? My  bedroom carpet is actually wet to walk over barefoot but I would like a more formal  measurement than "My feet are all wet" before I file a formal complaint. Thanks.

Cheery_Daff

Crikey Scottie 😮 that doesn't sound good at all! 

Our dehumidifier was about £120 from Argos, but they did a lot cheaper ones, we just wanted one with quite a large reservoir. It has a display on the top which tells you the humidity level - I have no idea how reliable it is, or whether that's what EH is using - she may have some more sophisticated gadget!

greenbee

My thermostats tell me the humidity. My ancient, cheap homebase dehumidifier doesn't - but it does sort the problem out (I'm on a reclaimed watercress bed). 

savingholmes

greenbee said:

 (I'm on a reclaimed watercress bed). 

Tell us more...

greenbee

savingholmes said:

greenbee said:

 (I'm on a reclaimed watercress bed). 

Tell us more...

Someone filled in the watercress beds and built houses on them. On floating rafts on piles... but it does mean we're just about level with the water table and pretty soggy!

redofromstart

Another vote for the dehumidifiers, we also have a large tank c£120 one from Screwfix some years ago. Its moved around as needs dictate. Cheaper to run than the heating but effectively raises the temperature.

I would replace it if it blew up.