Dehumidifier hack is useless?

[PlinkPlonkFizz]

There have been lots of money saving tips being discussed. One that sounded good was using a dehumidifier to dry clothes rather than the tumbler.

I tried it out yesterday using the box room. The clothes were on a clothes horse, dehumidifier pointing at th and the door kept shut all day.

8 hours later I checked them....not dry but damp. Too damp to iron.

So the 350kw dehumidifier running for 10 hours (guessing it would need another 2 hours to dry them) surely amounts to roughly the same cost as 1 hour in the tumble dryer?

We put things that can be tumbled in the dryer, and then the rest gets hung out on the radiators. Humidity currently at around 30%.

We have an airing cupboard, no room to put anything in it though… the hot water tank takes up the whole space…

😂 not gonna help with rising energy prices, largely out of UK hands

The only "hack" that will work is direct action - striking and taking to the streets to demand restitution from our thieving lying government and fair wages from our billionaire CEOs and asset hoarders.

can’t be arsed with all that.

Love my oodie and my dehumidifier too much for that kind of thing! 😂

Are you not in the UK?

As in the UK the spelling is "mould".

What I could get away with in drying clothes and showering in other European countries I couldn't do in any housing in the UK. UK housing stock is generally dreadful.

I suppose making and burning effigies of certain members of parliament would keep you warm....

My parents AC was in the alcove next to the chimney breast. It was massive.
Mine is big enough for a carpet cleaner and a dyson with 2 shelves above.

OK. I'm spoilt.

Pretty much all cotton. Bedding, towels, tshirts, undies, leggings, pjs.
Fleece stuff is nearly dry when it comes out of the washer.
If I can't tumble it, I probably won't buy it.

If the average dehumidifier is £1.50 to use 8 hours, then it's pretty similar to a condenser tumble dryer at £1.77. And it may take more than 8 hours. I think they are a false economy.

I agree. My tumble dryer costs me 86p per load. It's quicker and more convenient for me too.

The trouble with Mumsnet at the moment is that there are plenty of dodgy types who are on the site for marketing purposes, pretending to be real members. Then, genuine people who repeat it. I'm not saying that's happened on this issue, as I don't know, but it could have. You have to be careful to check out tips.

You do realise that a dehumidifier actually removes moisture dont you?

If you have a condensing tumble drier and a dehumidifier, then you have a choice of which to use and may well decide the tumble drier is cheaper or more convenient than the dehumidifier.

That's a completely different state of affairs from not having a tumble drier and instead hanging laundry to dry indoors. All that water going into the air has to leave the building by one route or another, otherwise it will cause damp and mould.

Yes thanks. I have one. I have had it for years.

leaving wet washing draped everywhere for the moisture to evaporate and then sucking it out of the air with a dehumidifier is stupid in the winter

The "hack" is to use your dehumidifier not to dehumidify the air but specifically to dry loads of washing, instead of the tumble. Is that not rather obvious?

I saw this idea in a newspaper article as well as mentioned on MN.

I assume you’re talking to me since I’m the immediately previous poster.

if wet washing is draped around the house to dry the moisture will be going into the air. Water doesn’t move directly from the washing to the dehumidifier without passing through the air.

all these people dashing out spending money on dehumidifiers would be better off using their tumble driers and not filling the air in their homes with extra moisture (which they then suck out again)

each to their own though. It’s stupid but people do like to insist they’re right and don’t like to admit they’ve wasted money.

Some people on here are assuming everyone has already spent money on a tumble drier, has room for it and like the result of tumble dried clothes. There are other benefits to a dehumidifier if someone chooses to buy one.

£175 for a Zambezi? Where? There are out of stock or well over £200

Well yes but this thread was about using one instead of your tumble dryer. Which assumes that people also have a tumble dryer.

clearly if you don’t have a tumble dryer and you have to air dry your clothes then it will be better to run a dehumidifier than not run one. But to own a tumble dryer and instead rush out and buy a dehumidifier to dry clothes is odd logic.

“Odd logic” - unless you also have a damp problem in other rooms/want to avoid it, or have anyone suffering from asthma etc.

Meaco Zambezi is available (convert Euro to £) but it's well over £250.

www.chmarine.com/meaco-dd8l-zambezi-dehumidifier/

Meaco Junior dessicant @ £175.

www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/meaco_8l_desiccant_dehumidifier_electronic_control_dd8ljunior/version.asp

You'd need to read about the difference between the versions.

www.meaco.com/products/meaco-dd8l-junior-dehumidifier

I give you this article.

TBF - Martin Lewis didn't say all of this. The Express just went 'freestyle'

www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1705747/martin-lewis-save-money-energy-bills-dehumidifier-cost

"He suggested a dehumidifier which costs approximately seven pence an hour to run compared to a tumble dryer which would cost £1.99 per use.
If someone used a dehumidifier 100 times a year, instead of a tumble dryer, this would save them £191.90 a year."

There is a LOT wrong with that calculation.

There is a LOT wrong with that calculation.

There really is.

I used to have to wipe condensation off all my windows everyday in the winter. And mould. Got the 20l meaco and now have no mould snd virtually no condensation. It doesn't make the house warm exactly but it does make it less cold because there isn't cold dampness in the air. And dry air is easier to heat!

I have a smaller dehumidifier that I put in the cupboard with my water tank, hang up the wet clothes on rails and it dries in a day.

The 20l meaco fills up in about 24 hours. I'd much rather get all that moisture out of the house. It also acts as an air purifier.