Dehumidifiers

[Cowsontheloose]

So talk to me about dehumidifiers for drying clothes? I have several airers. Are they really worth the hype?
Any recommendations?

The method I've used for years is to hang clothes on a clothes horse and point a normal fan at them. It's the air movement that dries the clothes, no need for a dehumidifier. Just a standard fan left on low overnight, and all my washing has dried easily.

Just started using my dehumidifier this week, first time I’ve ever owned one. What I’m finding is that the laundry mode is a complete waste of time! It does nothing! Today I’ve put it just on ordinary dehumidifier mode, seems to be working better.

They way everyone raves, they're the best thing since air fryers (which I also don't own)

That's only because they don't know about a clothes horse and a fan 😉

Now, air fryers, they're a whole other thing. Love mine. It's as good a boon as the slow cooker was when i discovered those, although I'd probably go for one without a paddle if I ever got another as it is more versatile.

@HappiestSleeping but surely the moisture in the air causes mold? I live in Dublin and would need the dehumidifier to remove the moisture from the air. It is too wet to leave the windows open.

Don't use it specifically for laundry, but drying indoors through the winter it speeds drying, stops condensation and mould (so far). I think the fan would use as much or more electricity and doesn't get rid of the moisture just moves it off the clothes to the windows, walls or wherever.

People prefer a dehumidifier over a fan because they don’t want the water in the house causing mold.

I use one. It works, although obviously not as speedily as a tumble dryer. I do a couple of washes, hang it all up on rails in the bathroom and shut the dehumidifier in there overnight. I leave it to air for the rest of the day. No way would an ordinary fan work for us, we have a damp old house.

Hubby has gone mad and bought one for every room! Electric one in conservatory, which does get a lot of mist and standing ones for others. Last year we got the smaller disposable ones and were shocked at how much and quickly they filled up.

I use a dehumidifier when I dry laundry in the house. If I didn't use it then the windows would be covered in condensation in the morning.

I bought the basic one from Argos and it has been helpful.

As pp have said, it helps with general damp in the room / house, too, so you're not just fanning moisture everywhere indoors when you have the windows shut against bad weather. I've just spent a lot of money on de-moulding and redecorating various rooms in the house and still have more to do ...

I do have a tumble drier but £££ and eco-disaster really.

Thanks. Il keep.an eye out and see if there are any bargains

We live in an old stone house and tend to dry clothing indoors. It was cold in the kitchen yesterday when I was aiming to dry some jeans, so it wasn't great at drying, but I reckon my dehumidifier extracts a good 4-8 pints/water each week depending on how much washing/showering we've done.

We have a Meaco like this:

www.meacodehumidifiers.co.uk/products/meaco-20l-low-energy-platinum-dehumidifier-3-year-warranty-meaco20le

I've spotted quite a few of the in small museums/art galleries recently.

Love mine. Before getting it I had condensation and mould around the windows. I shut it in a room with my airer and the clothes are dry within hours instead of days. Makes the whole area feel much warmer too.

Buy cheap, buy twice though. Don't get a shit one. Meaco dehumidifiers are excellent and definitely work well on the laundry setting. Moisture is removed from the air. It benefits the house too. A fan just blows moisture around and will result in a damp house.

To be honest, I've never suffered from mould. Even in the wettest winters I've always just cracked a window open or used the trickle vents.

I concede that the weather is getting wetter, but I still have a window open. My view is that as soon as one opens a window, the moisture comes in, thereby making a humidifier less worthwhile.

A fan and a dehumidifier are two completely different things. A fan doesn't remove moisture.

I have a Meaco dehumidifier and it's fantastic. The moisture it takes out of clothes plus obviously the house and it also heats the house up.

I also have a tumble dryer but only use it for bedding and towels.

DH and I WFH and use one in the room we work in, where we also dry clothes. Bit of a Victorian slum vibe but it keeps us warm without needing the heating on.

Tipping out all the litres and litres of water is satisfying!

I know a fan doesn't remove moisture from the atmosphere, but it does dry clothes by removing the excess moisture from them. My point was that there is an amount of moisture in the atmosphere (50-55% in the UK on average, a bit less in the winter). While washing will elevate temporarily, it will be to a small degree, so opening the windows and ventilating the house brings the internal humidity back to average.

A dehumidifier will indeed dehumidify, but only until the windows and doors are opened (letting humidity back in) thus defeating the object. Most domestic dehumidifiers are pretty gutless. Get a wet and dry bulb thermometer, that will show the efficiency of the dehumidifier.

Of course. Il will have a look. MIL has given us our Xmas money to.buy something

Highly recommend the Meaco, was quite skeptical but it is one of the best household items we’ve bought for actually doing what it should do.
It’s surprising how much water it removes and we didn’t have a massive problem to start with, for laundry it’s so helpful for drying washing or wet dog walking coats etc.
Edited to Meaco from Marco, no idea who he is but doesn’t help with air quality!

It works really well but has to be in a closed small room with the washing.

@Cowsontheloose have a read of this https://www.richardsonandstarling.co.uk/blog/damp-dehumidifiers/

There are many other related articles. To be effective, you'd need to spend a lot of money on a high powered dehumidifier. Much easier to open a window.

We've always found dehumidifiers very effective. I'd be a bit wary of bumph from a business that makes its money from rising damp, chemical injection and all that.
Opening a window doesn't help in damp, cold, but moisture laden environments (we live by the sea). And it certainly won't dry your washing. Adequate heating and a dehumidifier is far more effective.

We bought a Meaco and put it beside a rack full of washing - it's highly effective.
Haven't had to use the tumble drier at all since buying it.
As pp said, it's very satisfying pouring all that water away and knowing it's not just gone into the walls.