Questions on purchase of dehumidifier

MisterNick

Hi 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Questions first and then back ground.

1. I am thinking a dehumidifier will help resolve the problem of any future damp or mustiness. Sensible?
2. It would need it to go in the garage and in the cupboard that houses the washing machine. Doable?
3. I am thinking of buying one as I have a TS and Screwfix near me but, if hiring, would need to order one for delivery. Lower end prices seem OK compared to hiring, and would be available for any future emergency. Sensible? 
4. I have seen two. I have TS and Screw fix near me, and their lead in range have the ones in the links below. Both are available in local store. Any thoughts on these, both seem to have reasonable reviews.
5. Will this help for the longer term?

Background

I have split the garage in half. The front half which has a double garage door measures approx 5m x 3.5m

I cleared it so that it could have a dpm put down and screeded, covered with a vinyl floor. 

When I cleared it I realised there was a leak on the other side (The utility room where the washing machine and tumble dryers are housed in a cupboard) of the wall which must have been coming through the wall. The bottom couple of rows of bricks were damp and there was a narrow strip of the floor in the garage that was damp.

The leak was traced and we put a bottle in there to catch the drips, i collected about 1.5l in 24 hours. It will have been going on some time

The leak was due to a pressure release valve for the water softener which was replaced yesterday.

The floor was dpm’d and screeded yesterday.

I’d lifted the water softener in the garage off the floor and put the drain into a bucket. 

When I came down this morning, the bucket was overflowing. and there was water on the floor.I have swept out the water and towel dried it and will see what the flooring company want to do about fitting the flooring. The screed was dry.

Many thanks for reading

https://www.screwfix.com/p/blyss-d003a-12l-12ltr-dehumidifier/318xg

https://www.toolstation.com/wessex-dehumidifier/p70488

MisterNick

Pictures of any help

fatbelly

A dehumidifier can help damp problems by removing some moisture and moving air around.

They don't work well at lower temperatures - you will notice the difference between 20  and 15 degrees for instane

They do raise the air temp a bit, which also helps

All dehumidifiers are not equal. The screwfix one looks the better of the two

FlorayG

If you want to dry out an area that has got really wet you need to hire a commercial dehumidifier. Any domestic one you will be emptying every couple of hours (so you won't be able to run it at night) and it will not keep up with the job. A commercial one will dry it in a couple of days and well worth the hire, even if you buy one afterwards. I dried a house that had been repaired of rising damp and there's no way a domestic one would have ever coped, I had two commercial ones for a week.
Also you are not clear do you want to use one in the garage? Where the garage door is? you're going to be trying to dry out the entire world, because the amount of damp air coming in through the gaps in the door fitting will make it useless.
Also - they are very expensive to run

MisterNick

fatbelly said:

A dehumidifier can help damp problems by removing some moisture and moving air around.

They don't work well at lower temperatures - you will notice the difference between 20  and 15 degrees for instane

They do raise the air temp a bit, which also helps

All dehumidifiers are not equal. The screwfix one looks the better of the two

Thanks for responding quickly. The wall between the garage and utility is single skin brick work, plastered on the utility room side.
Its a relatively small area, but its the brick work that is wet from the leaks.The garage has an insulated door and is relatively draft proof.
I'd be more comfortable if I knew the bricks were dry to prevent any mustiness in the future

FlorayG said:

If you want to dry out an area that has got really wet you need to hire a commercial dehumidifier. Any domestic one you will be emptying every couple of hours (so you won't be able to run it at night) and it will not keep up with the job. A commercial one will dry it in a couple of days and well worth the hire, even if you buy one afterwards. I dried a house that had been repaired of rising damp and there's no way a domestic one would have ever coped, I had two commercial ones for a week.
Also you are not clear do you want to use one in the garage? Where the garage door is? you're going to be trying to dry out the entire world, because the amount of damp air coming in through the gaps in the door fitting will make it useless.
Also - they are very expensive to run

Thanks for your response. The area to dry is vey small. really, but I take your point. The door is insulated and relatively draft proof but I again take your point. I can drain it directly out onto the drive.
The area I am trying to dry is below the white horizontal waste pipe in pictures 3 & 4.
I have left the garage door open and the new screed seems to be drying quite quickly.


The flooring guys came out and I need to reschedule. They suggested leaving the garage door open and letting the air circulate. Once the screed is dry, which I think will not take long (hours) I think they will be able to lay the flooring. I suppose I can leave the brickwork exposed (days or weeks) and let them dry out naturally. Primarily i don't want any structural problems, but after that I don't want it to smell musty, hence why i am trying to tackle it now.

Eldi_Dos

Do the utility room area and the garage area have any airbricks venting to the outside.

Is there any ventilation between utility room area and garage area.

MisterNick

Eldi_Dos said:

Do the utility room area and the garage area have any airbricks venting to the outside.

Is there any ventilation between utility room area and garage area.

I can’t see any ventilation bricks. the house was built in the 70’s

In the utility room, on the dividing wall with the garage, there are eye level cupboards and a counter with cupboards underneath, housing the washing machine and tumble dryer. The back walls of these cupboards have the plumbing and there are hoses through the wall through which the pipes run and which are oversize. Not sure if this the type of ventilation you mean.  I'll post more pictures which may describe it better than I have explained.

MisterNick

Update.

The floor has generally dried out in the garage but there is a narrow strip in the screed that is still wet and the bricks are still wet. There is no damp or musty smell

In the utility room it appears that everything is dry. Similarly, there is no musty or damp smell

In the 1st picture above it shows that the utility room floor is higher than the garage and I cannot therefore see below the floor level of the utility room.

I have also added a couple pictures below taken in the garage showing the dividing wall that may help. 

i haven’t done anything about a dehumidifier yet, but I have put a heater in the cupboard housing the washing machine   

This is all 24 hours later, and I am thinking to carry on like this for another 24 hours and reassess. I am in the darlk about such matters though so any thoughts would be appreciated.

MisterNick

Pictures below. They also show hole in wall.

Mutton_Geoff

Dehumidifier in that garage with unsealed door will mean a waste of electricity.

Screed takes a few weeks to dry properly. 

Phil4432

Mutton_Geoff said:

Dehumidifier in that garage with unsealed door will mean a waste of electricity.

Screed takes a few weeks to dry properly. 

Agreed, unless the area is sealed the dehumidifier wont work.  Maybe fans.