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Original poster

Dehumidifier question

39 replies

Darkestseasonofall · 22/10/2020 15:31

I've just bought a dehumidifier, and have a daft question.
My main aim is to dry clothes, but my utility room has no door, it leads onto the kitchen. Am I better using it in this open plan space, or should I bung the clothes rail in the downstairs loo and close the door? My worry is that the energy would be wasted sucking up the water from the loo bowl, even with the lid down.
Thanks in advance

OP posts:

Smallsteps88 · 22/10/2020 15:35

Far better using it in the smaller room with a door. Otherwise it will be taking in all the moisture from the kitchen (which there tends to be a lot of) and not just your laundry. You don’t have another small space you could use? And airing cupboard? Or understairs cupboard?

DGRossetti · 22/10/2020 15:36

We use ours in a room with the door open - seems to help keep the whole house fresh.

Unless there is something very wrong in your house, the liquid water in the toilet bowl will not be turning to vapour at any appreciable rate.

MamaMoonbeam · 22/10/2020 15:37

That's an expensive way to dry your clothes. They eat electric!

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Smallsteps88 · 22/10/2020 15:38

@MamaMoonbeam

That's an expensive way to dry your clothes. They eat electric!

They really don’t. I even been running one for years. They’re very cheap to run when you’ve no outside drying available.

CMOTDibbler · 22/10/2020 15:40

It would be best in the downstairs loo - it won't suck up moisture from the bowl, its dependent on the air humidity. Of course if your house is damp, having it in the utility room will help the house overall.
I don't think its an expensive way to dry clothes - I can dry 3-4 loads if carefully hung on hangers round the airer overnight, including things that can't be tumble dried, and it doesn't make the house damp or smelly

Gibble1 · 22/10/2020 15:41

Our dehumidifiers (we have one upstairs and one downstairs) both have a vent so they can be pointed at laundry.
I don’t find ours expensive to run at all- we have an old damp house and it used to be so very cold before the dehumidifiers were running all winter. Now, our heating is more efficient as it is heating a warm dry house rather than cold wet air.

Worrysaboutalot · 22/10/2020 15:45

We run ours 24/7 in Winter and all day in Summer.

We have the dehumidifier on the top landing with a ceiling rack above it.

We keep the bedroom doors open and it keep the rooms warmer and drier.

Original poster

Darkestseasonofall · 22/10/2020 20:10

Thank you all very much for your replies.

I trialled it today and it sucked 2 litres of water from a few loads of washing, I'm horrified to think that this would previously have just crept into corners to turn into condensation or mold .

@smallsteps88 no other rooms unfortunately, understairs is a larder, and I'd kill for an airing cupboard but my house doesn't have one

I'll give it a go in the loo tomorrow and see what the results are.

OP posts:

Smallsteps88 · 22/10/2020 20:13

I’d say you’ll be grand with the downstairs loo anyway Op. it’ll do the job.

N0rthern · 22/10/2020 20:20

Has anyone ever calculated how much electricity they use -I keep meaning to check it with my smart meter but irritatingly my display thing isn’t in a very accessible spot

CottonSock · 22/10/2020 20:23

You might find they suck out less after a while
I find after having mine back on for first few weeks of bad weather they suck up loads, then settle as house dries out. Could not cope without them. Removes all condensation from Windows too.

Northernsoullover · 22/10/2020 20:40

I love my dehumidifier so much! I couldn't tell you the cost to run but in my old house I had key meters and I didn't notice topping up any more than I usually would.

Smallsteps88 · 22/10/2020 20:52

The good thing about them is they usually kick out a fair bit of heat too which is even more reason to use it in the smallest space with a door as it keeps the heat in where your laundry is and dries it faster meaning dehumidifier on for even less time. I find I can switch the dehumidifier off before the clothes are fully dry and the heat left in the room finishes them off.

popcorndreams · 22/10/2020 20:58

We got a dehumidifier last winter for washing. We use ours in the spare room and it does definitely dry washing more quickly than without. Could you put some hind of curtains up in the doorway wile drying? I do know fabric is permeable but think it would help.

Ginkypig · 22/10/2020 20:58

I’ve just bought one this week after finally losing it with the damp and mould because I found mould on the bottom of my (quite expensive) mattress

In 72 hours it has pulled out almost 23l of water just out of the bedroom! Door has been closed so it’s not started on the rest of the house yet.

No wonder I’ve had to throw so much away because it stank and was growing mould!

LifeInAHamsterWheel · 22/10/2020 21:06

Love mine too, and would be lost without it during the very many wet months. I tend to always use it in the kitchen/diner (our house is so small) and I noticed recently that my pricey reed diffuser that sits on a shelf in the room is almost empty after just a couple of weeks! Took me a while to realise it's the bloody dehum sucking the moisture out of it So I'll be burning candles until next Spring/Summer!

Smallsteps88 · 22/10/2020 21:08

I noticed recently that my pricey reed diffuser that sits on a shelf in the room is almost empty after just a couple of weeks! Took me a while to realise it's the bloody dehum sucking the moisture out of it

I bet the filter on your dehumidifier smells lovely

LifeInAHamsterWheel · 22/10/2020 21:42

maybe I should just refill it using the water from the dehumidifier!

PercyKirke · 22/10/2020 21:45

@MamaMoonbeam

That's an expensive way to dry your clothes. They eat electric!

We have one in our cellar. It makes no appreciable difference to our electricity bill. I'd say less than 50p per week.

Smallsteps88 · 22/10/2020 22:19

@LifeInAHamsterWheel

maybe I should just refill it using the water from the dehumidifier!

Worrysaboutalot · 22/10/2020 22:30

I hang up to three loads of washing on the ceiling rack above ours. It removes four pints of water before it shuts off. In winter I empty it at least once a day.

My DH did figure out how much it costs to run, I think it was a couple of pence per hour. With it for dry washing and a drier house.

Original poster

Darkestseasonofall · 23/10/2020 08:26

I've just realised there is a huge flaw in my plan to stick it in the loo, I've a wall hu g rack that can't be moved . Crikey I'm a bit dense lately.
So I've sort of tucked it in amongst the rack and a free standing airer, it seems to be sucking the clothes dry at a rate of knots, I'm so impressed, don't know why I didn't get one years ago.

OP posts:

DeathMetalMum · 23/10/2020 09:17

I love ours we got one sometime last year I can't remember when exactly I think January. This is the first time we have had one around this time of year and the house is so much warmer, and it's a godsend trying to dry uniforms and drying out the bathroom which always got damp. The amount of water is pulls out is amazing.

Bwlch · 23/10/2020 09:28

They work the same way as a fridge or freezer, so have similar running costs. Depending on size, obviously.

Original poster

Darkestseasonofall · 23/10/2020 09:34

I think the booklet that came with mine reckons it's 4.5p an hour to run, so it won't cost more than a few quid a week if I use it daily for 10 hours (which I don't think I will). Bargain compared to the tumble dryer or radiators being on to dry clothes.

OP posts:

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