Anyone know much about humidity and dehumidifiers?

[chunkiebride]

We live in a victorian terrace.

The front of the house is original and heated well, and there is a unheated poorly insulated 70's brick extension on the rear which is the kitchen.

We found we were getting a lot of condensation on the windows each day and bought in a dehumidifer.

Its been on since Sunday and is removing approximately 6 litres of water each day so far.
However, the humidity doesn't seem to get down below 60%.

When the unit auto switches off when the reservoir is full, the humidity increases to 75-80% relatively quickly.

Looking at the external humidity (based on the forecast on my app) its showing as 90%.

I was reading up and expected the dehumidifer to bring levels down inside to below 50%.

Since having it running, it generally feels a lot dryer and warmer in the house and there has been no condensation.

What sort of humidity levels is everyone else getting?

[Flamingale]

Can't answer about humidity levels. However, when I got my humidifier I just switched it on and left it running for months. It will take more than just a couple of days to dry out your house if you have such high levels of damp.

Which humidifier do you have?

W

[chunkiebride]

That’s true. I thought because it made such a quick improvement visibly with getting rid of condensation that i would have seen it dropping.

It’s a trotec ttk 68e - TROTEC Dehumidifier TTK 68 E (max. 20l/day) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012G1SVIS/ref=cmswwrcppapi_r1jfAbFQ4N4WH

[MegBusset]

Don't know about levels but we have a poorly insulated conservatory and have a dehumidifier running 24/7 all through the winter. If we don't, we get horrendous mildew.

It also really helps to ventilate as much as possible (in the main house most windows are open on latch during the day, all year) and not drying washing inside during the winter.

[chunkiebride]

@MegBusset

I dry clothes exclusively indoors in winter
I have a heated airer.

Should I be using the dryer instead? Where else do people set in winter?

I have been airing the house well before (by keeping windows on the latch), until someone told me that when it’s moist outside that it would be drawing more moisture inside

[VivaLeBeaver]

I have a decent quality dehumidifier running 24/7, have done for years. Our damp stays around 55%.

[Secondtimesally]

@chunkie - we use a heated airer plus dehumidifier (no room for tumble dryer). If we don’t use the humidifier the windows get really wet - and then they get mouldy . I find the dehumidifier a necessity especially since I read up on dust mite allergy DS1 has. We have to keep his room below 51%.

[cad186]

Ours stays at about 55% too

[BumWad]

I would also invest in a tumble dryer

You should leave your dehumidifier running all the time on the auto programme.

Our Ebac one is constantly going it amazes me how much water it collects. I don’t measure the humidity but can tell the difference in warmth and condensation levels on windows

[Cathpot]

We are also in an old house , single glazed etc and have a dehumidifier left on which has made a difference but we also got a heat exchange vent- not very expensive - which is connected to the normal vent in the downstairs bathroom. The clothes we can’t tumble are left to dry on an airer in there and the vent left on with the door shut - it pulls fresh air in past the warm air going out do you don’t lose the heat but the wet air still gets dumped outside. It’s easy to underestimate the amount of water you are dumping into the house when you dry clothes inside- we were gettting mould on the inside of the glass, that’s all stopped now.

[PigletJohn]

unless you are draping wet washing around your home, I think you have a water leak.

Have you got a water meter?

Is the wet room the kitchen?

[PigletJohn]

have you got a kitchen extractor fan or hood? (not a recycling one).

[NooNooHead]

My DH uses his Mitsubishi dehumidifier in our house that he bought in Selfridges years ago for about £350 - v expensive at the time and apparently the best make you can buy.

It hasn’t let us down in about 15 years and is still going strong. It may not be the most modern, but it has helped dry out the two diff new build properties we have lived in over the past few years very well!

[Ruhrpott]

My auto setting on my dehumidifier is 55 % so it switches off the compressor when it reaches that level unless I override it and put it on low and set the humidity lower.

[chunkiebride]

@PigletJohn

No water leak now but there was a burst mains under the house 10 months ago that was fixed and dried out.

I’m thinking maybe this has left some residual moisture / not quite dried out well enough since then.

We aren’t ok a water meter, so I’m just hoping there’s no other water leak anyway.

The moist room is the kitchen.

Overnight the machine has bought the level down to 65% and that’s having done two loads of washing which are currently hanging on the heated airer to dry.

No condensation on any windows still

[PigletJohn]

If you drape wet washing inside your home, it is bound to be damp.

[whiskyowl]

I agree about the tumble dryer, but it sounds like loads of water to be coming off washing!

I wonder if the problem is that the room is cold, so even small differences in temperature are creating a dewpoint indoors??

[chunkiebride]

Dehumidifier got it down to 59% today.
Major improvement.

The washing is dry too.
So I’m going to keep the dehumidifier running and not do any clothes drying indoors and see if it keeps bringing it down.

Still getting 4 litres of water from the machine once a day.

Hopefully now with washing dry that will reduce?

On another note, ive just been into the loft (a previously badly converted job done in the 70’s without any vents).

There is green Mould growing on a few boxes and on a patch on the wall.

There is a noticeable wet patch in one corner.

Roofer been last week - no issue with roof he says. So assume this has been building up for a long time, from drying indoors etc.

Have cracked the loft window so it’s on the latch to hopefully introduce some ventilation. Not planning on introducing heaters or dehumidifiers up there as we don’t go in there often as there’s not a permanent safe ladder for access