To ask about dehumidifiers

[SemperTemper]

Our windows are steaming up overnight and there's lots of condensation in the morning. We have a small baby so there's a lot of washing on two clothes airers which isn't helping. Will a dehumidifier resolve this? What size would we need for a two bedroom flat?

It’s utterly indispensable in our Victorian basement maisonette, especially in the shoulder season when it’s cooler but not cold enough for the heating. We can dry a whole load of washing overnight.

We have the Meaco 12L one as others have mentioned and we run it 24/7, set to come on and off as the humidity reaches a certain level.

Lonicera with a window open, humidity will only fall as low as the outdoor humidity - so if it’s raining or drizzling, it’s a futile exercise.

MrTrebus I think a dehumidifier is a lot cheaper to run than a tumble dryer. Also not all items can go in a dryer?

I put everything except bras in my tumble dryer always have and never had an issue but I don't own any wool or cashmere etc. I bet if you fully looked into it and worked out the costs it's hardly any difference in running costs.

I think the dehumidifier solves all of our problems (old Victorian building) and is compact. The condensation problem exists without the clothes drying, it's worsened by them though. Tumble dryer just dries clothes.

Yes they are great. We have a deLonghi from John Lewis, was about £100 with 2 year warranty. It is 200w/hour on full power, but it's adjustable, so not too bad bill-wise. It is in the utility and shower room area and easily covers both rooms with the doors open. Also buy a hygrometer (from Amazon etc) for a few quid which gives the humidity reading. We have one on the wall and put the machine on if it's over about 60. Some dehumidifiers may have this built in though.

Anotherbloodycyclist - so yours costs £21.60 a month? :O

Would we be better with 2 in a larger house? We are all one level but hang loads of wet washing (4 kids) in the utility room at one end of the house - tho that area doesnt seem so bad. It is our bedrooms at the other end of the house that really have the problem. I suspect it is the flat roof, north facing walls and that we have patio doors in the bedrooms that we dont open at night. Or would one big one be better to do the whole house?

2 seems excessive to me Another20 (unless you've got cash to burn)

They're easy enough to pick up and move from room to room. You'd only need to blast the bedrooms for an hour or so in the morning to get rid of the build up from overnight.

Thanks for the reassurance about leaving them on all the time I bought one a couple of years ago a meaco dd8l and have been put off using it when I'm out or in bed which is big chunk of time! I had a builder come round to do some work last year and he was saying how one of his customers house caught fire when she was at work because she left her dehumidifier on and they were dangerous. Mine switches off when it's full anyway.

I’ve ordered one from Screwfix. Good reviews and good price. [https://www.screwfix.com/p/wdh-316db-16ltr-dehumidifier/1379g]

Will let you know if it’s good

I have an ebac one and now no damp window sills etc. Quite horrifying how much water it actually 'sucks' in.
Can you wait until Amazon do their Black Friday event? I got mine from them, about £100.

I have a delonghi one and wouldn't be without it. Washing dries twice as quickly and the air feels better too.

Just had my one (link up thread) on for an hour (you have to leave it upright for four hours before first use ) and it pulled 1/2 pint out of the air in just that one hour. Pretty good. A little louder than I was expecting but then it was on a hard stone floor, not carpet.

If the damp is mainly coming from washing then you can put the washing in a small room with the dehumidifier to dry it more quickly and stop moisture getting into the rest of the house. Apparently a pair of wet jeans holds a litre of water

Yes they can go on fire if not looked after - the fire risk comes from fluff building up in the air intake.

We had a Delonghi one and I found it used quite a lot of electricity. It did dry the washing though and our house was damp as hell.

Nice feedback, Flouncy. I'm still investigating what size we need but will decide on one tomorrow. I'm looking forward to non-dripping windows.

Used to live in an old cottage with little natural ventilation. A dehumidifier dried the place out amazingly - couldn't believe how much water it drew out of the walls/air/furnishings etc etc - (sold it on - and moved into a ,pmodern house!)

I have a Meaco 20l low energy dehumidifier which I've had for a couple of years.

Although I don't remember it being that expensive

It works like a charm and I pay for the filters as well. It does make a difference.

Even though I don't have condensations on my window due to them being drafty, I splurged last year on a Silvercrest Dehumidifier. I think it was about £100 with a 3 year warranty. It got different modes: Drying Clothes, Air Clean, Target Humidity and Automatic. It's got a filter, timer and a drainage hose too. It also have a sensor and will beep once the water container is full and will automatic stop. I might buy another one if it comes up for sale in January for use in basement or first floor.

Can I use the water to water outside plants?

I've just bought one from Argos for about £100. Live in a new build but don't have a tumble dryer and the washing hanging in the utility room leads to a damp smell all over the downstairs. The dehumidifier works like a dream and the washing dries so much more quickly. It's very quiet and much cheaper than running a tumble dryer.

We have one as our place has a damp problem and like others I do tend to dry stuff indoors during winter. It’s one that beeps when full and turns itself off, amazing how much it gets out of the air. One thing I will say though, you don’t say if your in upstairs or downstairs flat but I have to place mine on a folded up towel otherwise it makes the floorboards vibrate and is aparently quite noisy in the flat downstairs.

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. I've ordered the EcoAir DD122FW-MK5 Classic.

Worried about the fire risk. What should I go to avoid the fluff build up??? I can’t see any? I do nothing but empty the thing!!

Dalesgirl, you could email the manufacturer of your particular one and ask if you don't still have the manual. Or check online for a PDF manual.

Yes - check online for the manual for your model. Mine (a Trotec) has a removable air filter that needs cleaning regularly and replacing from time to time. It slides out and you remove the fluff like you would from a tumble dryer filter.