Dehumidifier - advice for a newby

Novice_investor101

After having high humidity in my lounge last week, I've now got a dehumidifier. It's a Meaco 12ltr ABC model.
I've never had a full size one before, so I'm looking for opinions on the best way to use it?

Bit of context - just me in a 2up2down style mid terrace with a cellar. I leave the bathroom & bedroom windows locked open a crack 24/7. No mould or damp issues upstairs, not even in the bathroom. I also dry clothes in the spare room & have no issues up there. Upstairs is pretty well ventilated. I do have allergies to dust & pollen. Never get condensation on the bedroom window unless it's freezing outside.

Downstairs, there's been condensation on the lounge window for a few days (now it's getting colder at night) & high humidity readings - always about 70%. The kitchen & lounge don't have any mould or such like but there is a small patch of damp wall in the lounge, in a corner. Last winter I would walk in & my glasses would steam up. So it seems that upstairs is ok & downstairs needs a bit of help - hence forking out £160 on this machine. Both downstairs room have ridiculously high ceilings. The house is well insulated in the roof, but solid brick walls.

So far today the machine has sucked a ltr of water from the lounge & is still going. Humidity now showing as 52% on the hygrometer & 59% on the Meaco. I know I should leave it going for a few days yet.

Should I just leave it in the lounge/kitchen with the door closed & keep the upstairs the same with the windows open? Or close all windows & move it to the upstairs landing? Or at the bottom of the stairs between the kitchen & lounge with all the doors open?

I feel the moisture downstairs comes from the cellar (mainly nextdoors) & gets trapped below high ceilings rather than making its way through the house?

In the 3 hours I've had it the soggy, damp patch of wallpaper in the corner has dried out, the lounge feels much warmer & my sniffle has cleared up. So it was worth the money. I just need to know how to use it best???

chickendipperbabe

If its damp outside there’s no point opening windows and letting moisture rich air in, it’s more work for your dehumidifier. Bathroom wise, I have my bathroom window open after a shower or bath but once its dry I close it. I always close the bathroom door though when the window is open.

I would close all windows, open all interior doors and place the dehumidifier at midway point, bottom of the stairs perhaps and see how it performs. Sounds like you have serious damp issues, I would personally try and solve the cause – insulate the ground floor flooring from the cellar, make sure its ventilated, make sure air bricks aren’t blocked etc, check windows and window sills for leaks etc. You could install a ceiling fan to circulate air in the rooms with high ceilings.

We use an Eco air desiccant dehumidifier in another property, the house is well insulated but the heating manifold is partially blocked meaning the rads on the second floor don’t get very hot. We’re useing the Eco air to keep the humidity down and it manages to do an excellent job on the entire second floor of an average size late 1940’s 3 bed house.

Novice_investor101

There are no actual damp issues here, tho. I've experienced damp houses before & there is no mould, no wet feeling clothing in the mornings, no smell of damp at all, no windows pouring with condensation - the small amount of condensation on the lounge window was wiped up with 2 sheets of kitchen towel. Even the bathroom doesn't have a touch of mould in it. I open the window when I shower, as well as running the extractor fan. I close it about 30mins later but always cracked slightly open. The bedroom reads between 50-60% humidity most of the time, even when I dry washing upstairs in the spare room. The windows being vented back & front seems to move air around well upstairs.

The only issue has been high humidity in the lounge & the tiny bit of damp wallpaper in the corner - which is due to next door not having treated their cellar (they have the same issue their side & on their other internal walls). My cellar is insulated, it has air bricks & has a visqueen membrane under a concrete screed - the cellar is dry.

After 4 hours of running on high, the dehumidifier has now switched itself off as it's reached its target of 55% in the lounge. As said, it's the lounge that seems to have the issue of high humidity - the rest of the house is "dry".

I'll close all the windows & leave it on overnight at the bottom of the stairs & see how much it collects.
I'm hoping to get the whole house to around 50% humidity consistently to help my allergies, but I'm expecting it's just the lounge that needs the help from the dehumidifier.

Novice_investor101

Update - left it on high all night with a target humidity of 55% & positioned at the bottom of the stairs with all the doors open, except the bedroom.
It collected 2.5ltrs of water.
Downstairs lounge showing 55% humidity & oh my word, I can feel the difference!

Bedroom showing 60%, so it's now on the landing doing it's thing with all the doors open.
The wet wallpaper patch in the lounge corner has dried out completely & the house feels warmer & dryer.
Hopefully I can just leave it to cycle on & off on the landing & it'll keep the house as it is now.
Well worth the £160 cost.