Who's got a dehumidifier?

[SirSamVimesCityWatch]

I think I need one.

The windows in my house are crap - they're double glazed but old, the seals have gone, and they are running with water daily. Add in showering, cooking, drying clothes, four people and a dog breathing overnight and trying to keep the heating bills down and the house is getting more and more damp and mouldy.

Does anyone have one? Does it make a decent difference?

Any recommendations for type, size, usage etc would be much appreciated!

I'm also thinking of getting a window vac to do all the windows on a morning, as wiping them with a cloth isn't cutting it.

[Pixiedust1234]

@clockapp

Do you have to put the dehumidifier in the room you want to be moistured? As in both rooms upstairs we've got condensation issues can I put it on the landing?

I put it in the worst room, after two days I find i can put it in the next room. After a week of swapping I can put it on the landing/hall as maintenance. Some dehumidifiers have wheels to help you move it, I have mine on a flat trolley thing from aldi.

[Jewel7]

I use it in a cold bedroom it collects lots of water. Apparently they work better in a room with the door closed. It definitely warms the room up too. Our house has damp areas and even though it’s expensive I find it’s worth putting the heating on in the morning to dry the house out a bit.

[Jenn3112]

I have 2! We have really bad condensation damp, not a problem if we run the dehumidifiers regularly. I have one in the lounge - put washing on an airer to dry and also have more condensation issues in this room because of a poorly insulated bay window, then on the hall upstairs, helps with the moisture from the bathroom and prevents it rising into the loft space and forming rain. (First year in the house we didn't have any ventilation in the loft and properly had rain falling on your head whenever you opened the loft hatch.)

[Flapjackquack]

I have a dehumidifier which we run for a few hours when the washing is at its dampest and it definitely makes a difference to the humidity in the room.

I use a good old fashioned squeegee and cloth for the windows. Doesn’t take long, squeegee the water down and wipe the window sill.

[MimiSunshine]

We have a karcher window vac. I would say yes they are definitely worth the money, our windows are always full of condensation and it does the job super quick.

We have just bought a dehumidifier from screwfix for c£150, definitely worry the money, just from our bedroom and bathroom we get about 600ml of water in a morning.
It has a laundry setting so I put the airer in the bathroom today and put it in front of it, I emptied over 1L of liquid after about 4hrs and the washing wasn’t far off dry.

Window seals aren’t actually too difficult to replace and it can be done DIY so windows may not actually need replacing

[blamegw]

How do you know what capacity you need?

[Lottsbiffandsmudge]

We have brand new windows and still get a small amount of condensation on the bottoms of the panes. Its not to do with poor seals neccessarily but the amount of moisture inside which then condenses on cold surfaces. Even double glazed brand new windows get cold! Esp as we have blinds and curtains to keep the cold out!
I use a cloth in the mornings
We have a dehumidifier to help with the laundry. It's really good.
I also make sure we open the bathroom windows after showers (with the doors closed) until the steam clears.

[SirSamVimesCityWatch]

The windows are definitely crap, it's the whole pane, top to bottom, in every room, every morning at the moment.

Right, decision made, I'm definitely getting one! Will do some research and see what we can get for we can afford.

[TwoMonthsOff]

@blamegw

www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjWgo-Vk8D7AhUMTcAKHQICCv8QFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fchoosedehumidifier.co.uk%2Fguides%2Fsize-guide%2F&usg=AOvVaw1MvG3fkmKmbBEe7JDAnimj

[NellyBarney]

I have a new Maeco but it makes a lot of noise. I prefer the non-electric dehumidifiers from Unibond. I put them across the house, in damp places like inside chimney breasts, cellars, etc. and they make a huge difference. They also come scented and destroy odours.

[NeedWineNow]

Yes, I've just got the Essentials 10L one from Currys. I didn't want to spend a lot in case it wasn't worth having.

I am impressed. I did two loads of washing on Saturday which included two pairs of jeans and a couple of my husband's thick sweatshirts. Put it on the airers at lunchtime on Saturday in a room with the door shut with the dehumidifier on a 6 hour timer. Checked on it before we went to bed and the container was full. Emptied it yesterday morning and set it for another 6 hours and the washing was dry to iron today - probably could have done it yesterday if we hadn't gone up the pub😁.

Our friends have a Meaco one and they say it has made a huge difference to the condensation that they had previously.

I've also got a Karcher window vac which I've had for a few years and again I think it is definitely worth the money. I've got mirrored wardrobe doors and it is invaluable for doing those.

[caringcarer]

I've got one as I'm a btl LL. I had to get one once when a flood in kitchen from dishwasher leaking and water getting under laminate. Actually it got rid of all water. I have used it in my own home too. Well worth the money.

[ekdbmwnp]

We've just got this one,

Inventor EVA ION PRO Wi-Fi 20L Dehumidifier,"Which?" Awarded, Wi-Fi, Ioniser for Healthy Air, Laundry Drying, 24-Hour Timer, Continuous Drainage Smart Low Energy Consumption. (WEE/MM0449AA) amzn.eu/3VFGNNT?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

It's collecting loads of water since we turned it on and washing is drying loads quicker. It's also very quiet in silent mode.

[Spanisheomellletttes]

Do you air out first thing in the morning, when the humidity in the outside air is very low? We do it til the fog on the inside of the windows is gone, wipe the residue and then that is it for the rest of the day. We have doors on all the rooms, eg: for the kitchen (which we air after cooking) and we keep them closed, which keeps heat in and humidity low. We use a dehumidifier for the cellar in summer, and that works well.

[Nectarpeach]

We just purchased a dehumidifier and window vac thing in the black Friday sales, getting fed up with wiping windows every morning and buying stupid amounts of mould spray and those little disposable dehumidifiers, set us back over £300 but well worth it in my option if it means it stops the damp and mould, we did our usual routine of pulling out furniture last week and found one wall was literally dripping wet.

[LastNCof2022]

@clockapp

Do you have to put the dehumidifier in the room you want to be moistured? As in both rooms upstairs we've got condensation issues can I put it on the landing?

You can if the dehumidifier is powerful enough. Ours is a 20 litre a day one and I wouldn't go any lower.

[Puddywoodycat]

Shouldn't we have some moisture in the air though?is being too dry good for us?

[TwoMonthsOff]

@Puddywoodycat , it’s recommended to be around 50 % I think……mines been high 80’s sometimes lately, unit has got it down to around 60%

[geraniumsandsunshine]

@WhirlyTwirly

Yes I have one and yes it does make a big difference - the amount of water it has collected lately is scary. It’s a DeLonghi

I also have the same problem with my upstairs windows. The double glazing seal is fine, there’s no water in between the window panes but my windows are soaked with condensation every morning. I don’t understand how it gets in but I’m wondering if mastic around the join between window and upvc would help - I can’t afford to replace them but even if I could, it’d be a waste as the double glazing units are still perfectly ok.

It's windows from inside, I think, being attracted to the coldest surface which is the windows. If you put some warm water in a glass and put a cold piece of plastic on the top then the water would end up on it

[TaughtMeHowToDangle]

@clockapp

Do you have to put the dehumidifier in the room you want to be moistured? As in both rooms upstairs we've got condensation issues can I put it on the landing?

Dehumidifiers need to be in an air-tight room to work effectively so need doors to the room closed too.

[Blowyourowntrumpet]

I had an Electriq one from Appliances Direct, which broke down over the weekend. I'd had it 7 years though. Just bought a Meaco 12L one which is great. I got it from Currys but they're now out of stock. The Range online has a decent looking 12 L one for a lot less than I paid for the Meaco. I'd have got that instead of I'd seen it first.

[Dontaskdontget]

Yeah we have one, it’s stopped this house getting mouldy from drying laundry’s condensation like our last house did.

We have an ebac and are very pleased. You don’t need it on all the time, we just turn it on when there is laundry on the rack or condensation on windows.

[MrsPicklesonSmythe]

Our house has some pretty major damp issues (not to mention the rain that comes through the ceiling in both the kitchen and conservatory) so I've have to buy one this month.
It's collecting about 8 litres of water a day at the moment so I'd say it's probably preventing mould becoming an issue while we're being tight on heating.

I think really we probably need about 4 in our house but seeing as it's rented, sod that.

[Miss03852]

@WhirlyTwirly

Yes I have one and yes it does make a big difference - the amount of water it has collected lately is scary. It’s a DeLonghi

I also have the same problem with my upstairs windows. The double glazing seal is fine, there’s no water in between the window panes but my windows are soaked with condensation every morning. I don’t understand how it gets in but I’m wondering if mastic around the join between window and upvc would help - I can’t afford to replace them but even if I could, it’d be a waste as the double glazing units are still perfectly ok.

What brand do you have?

[Miss03852]

All the people who are having great results with your dehumidifier, can you let me know what brand you use?