Are single use dehumidifiers a good idea

AndrewAfresh2

For years I've used the aero360 dehumidifiers, now I see that places like Asda have these one-use-only types & I bought one to test. The instructions say it has to be thrown away as a unit - presumably that means it's money saving but not planet saving? Are there any technical reasons it's better? Thanks for any pointers!

sammyjammy

Can't answer your question but I would just save up and buy an electric dehumidifier, its a came changer if your house has an issue, costs v v little to run.

Ectophile

I've used them for dehumidifying small areas, such as the storage space under the car boot where the spare wheel/tools are.

The white crystals absorb water up to the point where they start dissoving in the water.  Eventually, you end up with a pool of water in the bottom of the tub and no crystals left.  They can't be regenerated, so you throw them away.

Spies

Be better to get the ones you can recharge in the microwave than these single use things. 

Magnitio

If it's thrown away and not capable of being recycled, then it's not sustainable and therefore a bad idea. It's easier and therefore cheaper to manufacture something that can simply be thrown away than either reused or recycled. Better to avoid such purchases if you can.

KO_Dub

The one pictured in the thread, can be reusable for as long as you want if that's what you have. As stated by another poster, the crystals absorb and then disappear as the container fills, but you then empty the container of water and can refill it with new crystals, that can be purchased in a refill pouch. We use a combo of resources and have a good plug-in for current house issues... But if you're wanting mobile help I'd say the little refillable ones are decent.

pontybridge

KO_Dub said:

The one pictured in the thread, can be reusable for as long as you want if that's what you have. As stated by another poster, the crystals absorb and then disappear as the container fills, but you then empty the container of water and can refill it with new crystals, that can be purchased in a refill pouch. We use a combo of resources and have a good plug-in for current house issues... But if you're wanting mobile help I'd say the little refillable ones are decent.

I disagree with this. They say to dispose of responsibly. The water that ends up collecting is mixed with the crystals and is toxic and cannot be tipped away down a sink.

Jenna_Appleseed

Less cheap but more ethical/eco friendly refillable small dehumidifiers with crystal pouches are made by ecozone, use them myself and they're good for small areas + the pouches stay working for several months before needing replacing, but like sammyjammy says a full-sized electric dehumidifier is much better for a serious damp problem.