How to address my humidity issues

WIAWSNB

Sounds a neat alternative to a TD. It can be folded away when not in use?
Although only 200W consumption, it will be running for x5 that of a TD, but still. 

Emmia

WIAWSNB said:

Sounds a neat alternative to a TD. It can be folded away when not in use?
Although only 200W consumption, it will be running for x5 that of a TD, but still. 

A dehumidifier? No... Ours is a chunky bit of kit about the size of a large kitchen bin. But handily we have a corner which is the perfect size for storing it.

ian1246

WIAWSNB said:

ian1246 said:

WIAWSNB said:

RedFraggle said:

We've not used our heated airer since buying a dehumidifier. We bought a meaco and it dries 2 loads overnight in a heartbeat in a single bedroom. 

What actually dries the clothes, tho'? What room is it in?

Much like Red Draggle, I brought a meaco one. I have 2 unheated airers set up in my spare bedroom (3metres by 2.2metres) & i set the dehumidifier to run overnight - the clothes / towels will be dried out within 12-14hours.

It dries the air by sucking moisture out if it. We're talking potentially litres of water needing emptying within a 12hour window - that then means the moisture in the clothes evaporates into the air quicker, due to the air being so dry, drying the clothes. Plus whilst the dehumidifier is working in high humidity, it chucks out a lot of heat - warming the bedroom up significantly, further speeding up how quickly clothes dry.

Energy use is something like a couple of hundred watts an hour, but it has humidity controls so it either switches off (once humidity drops to desired level) or goes onto a reduced power setting as it approaches desired amount, so its energy use is significantly cheaper than tumble driers - particularly since you can dry multiple loads at once (limited by how much space you have for airers in your room!).

My only regret is opting for a 12litre capacity one - should have gone for 20 litre one.

Plus in your situation when your not drying clothes with it, you can use it to start hoovering up excess moisture in your problem rooms!!!

Blimey, that's impressive, and sounds an ideal drying solution.
As you say, all the leccy used by the dehumidifier will ultimately be turned into heat (a tiny fraction into noise), so not wasted.
I'm astonished at how well that works. I'm guessing the clothes will need a final drying on a radiator? 
Sounds good! And no condie in the room? Are the windows fully shut? Any droplets on them?

The windows are shut. No condensation at all - i have to remember to open the window every now & then to stop the seals sticking together due to their being so dry. No finishing off clothing on radiators required. Best £90.00 I've spent!

Only time i really use the tumble dryer is for bed sheets - simply because I find it a hassle to put king size sheets on the airers. 

WIAWSNB

Emmia said:

WIAWSNB said:

Sounds a neat alternative to a TD. It can be folded away when not in use?
Although only 200W consumption, it will be running for x5 that of a TD, but still. 

A dehumidifier? No... Ours is a chunky bit of kit about the size of a large kitchen bin. But handily we have a corner which is the perfect size for storing it.

D'oh! I was thinking of the air dryer. Yes, dehumidifiers are chunky things. :-)

WIAWSNB

ian1246 said:

WIAWSNB said:

Blimey, that's impressive, and sounds an ideal drying solution.
As you say, all the leccy used by the dehumidifier will ultimately be turned into heat (a tiny fraction into noise), so not wasted.
I'm astonished at how well that works. I'm guessing the clothes will need a final drying on a radiator? 
Sounds good! And no condie in the room? Are the windows fully shut? Any droplets on them?

The windows are shut. No condensation at all - i have to remember to open the window every now & then to stop the seals sticking together due to their being so dry. No finishing off clothing on radiators required. Best £90.00 I've spent!

Only time i really use the tumble dryer is for bed sheets - simply because I find it a hassle to put king size sheets on the airers. 

Sounds really good :-)

I wonder how it compares with a TD with overall energy use? 

But, at £90, and with it being able to be used in other rooms as required, it sure beats a TD in many ways.

ian1246

WIAWSNB said:

ian1246 said:

WIAWSNB said:

Blimey, that's impressive, and sounds an ideal drying solution.
As you say, all the leccy used by the dehumidifier will ultimately be turned into heat (a tiny fraction into noise), so not wasted.
I'm astonished at how well that works. I'm guessing the clothes will need a final drying on a radiator? 
Sounds good! And no condie in the room? Are the windows fully shut? Any droplets on them?

The windows are shut. No condensation at all - i have to remember to open the window every now & then to stop the seals sticking together due to their being so dry. No finishing off clothing on radiators required. Best £90.00 I've spent!

Only time i really use the tumble dryer is for bed sheets - simply because I find it a hassle to put king size sheets on the airers. 

Sounds really good :-)

I wonder how it compares with a TD with overall energy use? 

But, at £90, and with it being able to be used in other rooms as required, it sure beats a TD in many ways.

From experience, maybe 1 to 1.5KW of energy to dry the clothes in the room, but obviously the less wet clothes in there, the less moisture to extract. Likewise though: I tend to "clump" my washes together now since once the dehumidifier has brought the humidity down in the room to a low level from an earlier wash & dry, there's less work for it to do it for a follow-up wash (since the humidity's already low. It just then needs to maintain it as freshly washed clothes evaporate moisture into the air). You can achieve real economies of scale when it comes to drying stuff.

It really is economical to run and has useful secondary functions for bringing damp down elsewhere in the house (though I no longer have damp issues after getting the roof tiles stripped off, new felt fitted and tiles replaced with more of a overlap between them, plus then a positive ventilation device).

WIAWSNB

Topical!
https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/house-garden/household-appliances/how-much-does-it-cost-to-run-a-dehumidifier-b2849049.html

Swipe

I have a few of them, a mixture of compressor and desiccant types. I run them overnight on my 5p per kWh off peak rate so they cost me literally pennies to run.

Aloysius1972

I assume all of the suggestions about dehumidifiers being much less expensive to dry laundry are not comparing with heat pump tumble dryers than can complete a cycle with about 1.5kw or less of electricity use? 

I suspect for us the dehumidifier would work out being the same cost or a little more as we don’t have a ‘small sealed room’ (that’s right WIAWSNB, sealed) that would allow it to work most efficiently. Add to that the value or otherwise of not having racks of washing all over the place.

WIAWSNB

Aloysius1972 said:

I assume all of the suggestions about dehumidifiers being much less expensive to dry laundry are not comparing with heat pump tumble dryers than can complete a cycle with about 1.5kw or less of electricity use? 

I suspect for us the dehumidifier would work out being the same cost or a little more as we don’t have a ‘small sealed room’ (that’s right WIAWSNB, sealed) that would allow it to work most efficiently. Add to that the value or otherwise of not having racks of washing all over the place.

I suspect we are in the realms of it not making much noticeable difference with the odd kilowatthour.

I have to say, the effectiveness of a dehumidifier being used to dry clothes was a complete surprise to me, and it also scores brownie points in not taking up valuable kitchen space. And in being a useful tool for other humidity issues. 

A bludy learning curve this forum

I am still a firm advocate of having unused rooms simply left well ventilated, with no requirement for heat, doors closed. But keep monitoring.