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Dehumidifiers - talk to me.

40 replies

Butterfly211 · 12/03/2022 19:44

Do I ned to measure my rooms etc before choosing a size??

I want it to dry clothes as I'm tired of turning in the heating to do it because the weather sucks. We also get condensation on the windows in the mornings, so I think it would be an investment.

All bedrooms (3) are upstairs, so would the dehumidifier need to be upstairs?
What about my living room window downstairs?
Do I have to have it right beside my laundry when I use it for drying clothes?

I'm looking at a Swan 10 litre one and hoping it's more than enough 😂

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Notcontent · 12/03/2022 20:03

The bigger the better I think. But obviously not an industrial sized one!
Ebac and Meaco are the best brands. I have an ebac one. I bought it to help with damp and condensation in my small Victorian terrace and then discovered how great it is for drying washing. I don’t have a tumble dryer and don’t want one.

I generally put it next to the clothes I am drying, for maximum effect. Closing the door of that room helps too, although not essential.

Thanks

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2022 20:07

I don't know how big a one you would need, but I'm sure they give an indication of the area they would be suitable for. I'm sure you can make an estimate of the area without exact measurements.

I use one in my outbuilding (on a timer for about two hours a night) as it's more or less unheated and has animals in there and the walls are literally dripping in water in the mornings if ever I don't use it. It's very effective. I've never felt the need to use one in the house though as I like opening windows. For the downstairs - couldn't you just leave the window open on draught lock overnight? That would sort out the condensation problem.

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Butterfly211 · 12/03/2022 20:18

@thecatneuterer

I don't know how big a one you would need, but I'm sure they give an indication of the area they would be suitable for. I'm sure you can make an estimate of the area without exact measurements.

I use one in my outbuilding (on a timer for about two hours a night) as it's more or less unheated and has animals in there and the walls are literally dripping in water in the mornings if ever I don't use it. It's very effective. I've never felt the need to use one in the house though as I like opening windows. For the downstairs - couldn't you just leave the window open on draught lock overnight? That would sort out the condensation problem.

thanks for your reply.

Our heating comes on downstairs at 5.30am so it's warm when we go down after the kids wake. I think leaving the window open would counteract that and it would still be freezing. Maybe I can look to get a mini one for downstairs 🤔

OP posts:

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Butterfly211 · 12/03/2022 20:20

@Notcontent

The bigger the better I think. But obviously not an industrial sized one!
Ebac and Meaco are the best brands. I have an ebac one. I bought it to help with damp and condensation in my small Victorian terrace and then discovered how great it is for drying washing. I don’t have a tumble dryer and don’t want one.

I generally put it next to the clothes I am drying, for maximum effect. Closing the door of that room helps too, although not essential.

thanks for your reply

I'm gonna check those ones out and see what I think. What are the noise levels light? My daughter is a very light sleeper, she'd wake to a pin dropping

OP posts:

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Derrymum123 · 12/03/2022 20:33

We have a Meaco. Dries clothes that we hang on clothes maiden/airer. Generally bigger is better. Clothes dry overnight.

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tanstaafl · 12/03/2022 20:45

We got this

www.screwfix.com/p/blyss-wdh-316db-16ltr-dehumidifier/368gy

It has a specific clothes drying function.
Clothes hung on a horse/fold out rack, this unit to the side , turn on, press the ‘T-shirt’ symbol , point the blown air at the rack. Come back after a couple of hours to empty.

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Lemonlady22 · 12/03/2022 20:46

I have one downstairs, dries washing, stop condensation, it's only 25 litres but works really well in my 3 bed house ...I can't believe how much water was in it when I first got it, was emptying 3 plus times a day...usually once a day now, more when washing in the room. Definately a good bye, wish I had got one years ago. Def gonna get a bigger capacity when this one packs in.

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ImAvingOops · 12/03/2022 20:51

I've got a meaco 20 litre. It's fab - I leave it upstairs in the hall and it's cleared all condensation in the whole house (4 bedrooms). If you set it on smart mode it comes on an off as it needs to and has an air purifier. It had a laundry drying function too. It was about £250 but worth every penny.

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ImAvingOops · 12/03/2022 20:52

Whatever you buy, check how fast it collects water. Some of the small ones are rubbish as I learned to my £90 cost!

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QuebecBagnet · 12/03/2022 20:56

I have a 3 bed house. I dry some clothes in winter in the utility room and the dehumidifier is in there. If I’m not drying clothes then the door is left open in the hope it will help with some of the damp downstairs. Don’t think it hits upstairs, maybe as I guess all the air circulates? Could probably do with another on the landing but worried about running costs. Could not have one in a bedroom, they’re fairly noisy.

Current one is a meaco, had an ebacc before. Both fine.

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DuesToTheDirt · 12/03/2022 20:58

I'm gonna check those ones out and see what I think. What are the noise levels light? My daughter is a very light sleeper, she'd wake to a pin dropping

Ours is outside our bedroom door and we always turn it off at night due to the humming noise.

I'm not sure of the capacity of ours, but go for a decent size so you don't have to empty it constantly.

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sellthesizzle · 12/03/2022 20:59

EcoAir DD1 Simple Blue Desiccant Dehumidifier | Rotary Control | 7.5 L/Day | Quiet 34dBA | Anti Bacteria Silver Filter | Laundry | 6Kg |

I bought this one in 2014 and it's still going strong - stops windows being covered in condensation and dries clothes. £160 from Amazon.

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Sexnotgender · 12/03/2022 20:59

I’ve got a 25 litre meaco one and another 20 litre one, I can’t remember the make. They’re both fantastic. I live in a single glazed house and washing would take forever to dry before I got them 😞

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LightSpeeds · 12/03/2022 21:03

Desiccant dehumidifiers warm the air, whereas the other type (compressor?) cool the air so also take this into account as you could end up making a costly mistake depending on the time of year.

I have a desiccant one for the bathroom which warms the room very nicely in the winter.

Small ones are not powerful and fill up quickly so I'd avoid those unless for occasional use only.

I'd also avoid ones with lots of electronics (displays etc.) as these tend to fail more quickly.

I have had 3 EcoAir dehumidifiers and been very happy with them.

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LucyLoopyLu · 12/03/2022 21:08

I swear by the dehumidifier (old terraced house before / now in an even older cottage). We leave it in the spare bedroom on the middle floor (3 floors in this house). If drying washing I make sure the door to that room is shut and keep the radiator on in there. The warmer and smaller the room, the better it will work. Don't open the window while it's on as it won't work properly.

If we're not drying washing, I leave the door open so it's just taking any humidity from cooking / showering (no door on our kitchen and no extractor in our bathroom).

Would recommend to anyone and makes your house feel warmer. Clothes dry really quickly compared to just air drying normally. Rarely get condensation on our windows either.

They are a bit hummy and noisy. Get the best one you can reasonably afford - ours was over £100 but works well.

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DespairingHomeowner · 12/03/2022 21:12

I bought one of the £50 5l ones and it’s useless so definitely go for something better than that

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ChoiceMummy · 12/03/2022 21:13

@Butterfly211

Do I ned to measure my rooms etc before choosing a size??

I want it to dry clothes as I'm tired of turning in the heating to do it because the weather sucks. We also get condensation on the windows in the mornings, so I think it would be an investment.

All bedrooms (3) are upstairs, so would the dehumidifier need to be upstairs?
What about my living room window downstairs?
Do I have to have it right beside my laundry when I use it for drying clothes?

I'm looking at a Swan 10 litre one and hoping it's more than enough 😂

In theory if get one tgat removes enough fluid for the house size, with good positioning it will do the whole house. We only had one for 2 years, but this year bought a second for downstairs as well as wasn't enough.
Compare compressor versus dessicant; I prefer latter as have to better capacity in the 24 hour period, work at lower temperature and release warmer air back into the home. Definitely compare kW in light of utilities costs atm.
Mine will practically dry a double clothes horse in 2 hours.

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ChoiceMummy · 12/03/2022 21:14

@sellthesizzle

EcoAir DD1 Simple Blue Desiccant Dehumidifier | Rotary Control | 7.5 L/Day | Quiet 34dBA | Anti Bacteria Silver Filter | Laundry | 6Kg |

I bought this one in 2014 and it's still going strong - stops windows being covered in condensation and dries clothes. £160 from Amazon.

I have 2 of these! And so much better than the ones my family have.

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Ellopet · 12/03/2022 21:15

We have the largest EBAC and the largest Meaco. EBAC the quietest and we close it off in a small room to dry the laundry using the laundry function. It's fantastic. The large Meaco we put in our kitchen and it stops condensation. We use the heating less because without moisture in the air, the room feels warmer. If you only get one, I would suggest EBAC. Pricey but does the job. Ring them and they will advise you and also price match any online specials (which they look up for you) they are competitive.

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Ellopet · 12/03/2022 21:16

Meaco is very noisy. EBAC virtually silent when on quiet mode. Certainly in comparison to Meaco anyway.

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RainbowToes · 12/03/2022 21:16

I've had an ebac one for a few years. If I want to dry the washing I put it next to the airer. It's damp in our house over the winter (rubbish single skin walls). The dehumidifier makes such a difference to the efficiency of the central heating, wish I'd got it years ago.

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SpikyHatePotato · 12/03/2022 21:18

www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/meaco12le/meaco-meaco12le-dehumidifier

I have this one, in a one bed flat. It's very useful for keeping the place generally warn and dry, quite often in winter when ours running I don't need to turn the heating on.

When drying washing I find you have to rotate the airer, or move the clothes around on it.

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mommybear1 · 12/03/2022 21:21

I think I have the same one as @ImAvingOops I got mine as I was sick of the condensation despite having new upvc windows less than 5 years ago 🙄. DH was unconvinced, we got it last week and have been amazed at the amount of water it's gathering. We have a four bed and this Meaco one says it will cover a 5 bed. An absolute bonus is the effect it's had on DH's snoring 🤣🤣 I don't know how but it's eased his snoring brilliantly so much so my ear plugs are redundant 😂. I agree with pp get the biggest one you can. I tried a small one before and it was useless.

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YouWereGr8InLittleMenstruators · 12/03/2022 21:27

I'm pretty sure EBac have some kind calculator on their website, where you literally put in how many rooms you have, and it makes a recommendation.
I bought my dehumidifier from them 15 years ago, and it is amazing. I use it to keep my conservatory free from condensation. Once in a while, I take it upstairs if we notice condensation on the inside of the windows. It dries any humidity out of the air really quickly, and we'll have no more condensation for weeks.
I don't think mine is powerful enough to dry a load of washing over night though

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TonkaTruckduck · 12/03/2022 21:36

If you've got the space I'd really recommend a wall mounted airer, then put the dehumidifier underneath, works like an absolute dream.

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