Do we need to use a dehumidifier?

[SENMum1727]

We’ve finally gone from renting in small flats/houses to owning our first home together. We’ve always used dehumidifiers previously when we had to dry indoors - in the last house a load of washing might take a couple of days to dry with the dehumidifier. But in the current house washing dries overnight without - we either leave it in the kitchen/diner which is a large space that can be closed In or in the hallway which id a large open space. It’s a newish build that we didn’t buy new and is much bigger than our previous homes.

I want to use the dehumidifier because surely the water is going somewhere. We’ve had mold issues in previous homes. We have two young children. We love our new home. Why risk it? DH thinks they are energy intensive and cost too much money. All our costs are about to go up with council tax, bill for a larger home etc.

I’ll put the dehumidifier on overnight next time we do a load and dry it indoors. But interested in any thoughts from here

Definitely better to use the dehumidifier when drying laundry indoors. Might not be such a big deal over summer when you have windows open, but come winter there will be nowhere for the moisture to go other than the walls of your house.

We use one. Our dining room is our laundry room (I know we are lucky) and we have the dehumidifier going mainly because husband like to wash 3 or 4 loads in a row.
If we did one each night I would be less concerned.
As you leave it already - try it and see how much water it collects and how it change the drying time.

Make sure you double spin the wash as it will dry a lot quicker. We have a cool, airey house and have never needed a dehumidifier to dry washing and don’t have damp but I think it depends on the house. We use a heated airer sometimes and also hang stuff just inside the airing cupboard. We do a wash a day too.also sometimes tumble dry for 20 mins to dry a little bit

Dehumidifiers aren't massively expensive to run. I have one, and run it all the time (it turns itself off when it gets to low humidity).

Really helps what would be an otherwise damp victorian terrace. Takes 6 litres of water out the air every day or two.

Weirdly during a cold winter it doesn't take much. Spring and autumn are the damp seasons.

Do it, your house will thank you.

May I ask for a recommendation for a make of a dehumidifier please 🙏

Meaco are great.

I've currently got an ElectricQ one, cost about £160. Really pleased with it.

I've had Meaco in the past, also very good for around same price.

Seems like a lot of money, but it's one appliance I swear by. Wouldn't be without it.

Appliances Direct have a good selection.

It's because humidity is relative so the warmer the temperature, the more moisture the air can hold. Humidity is only an issue when surfaces like walls/windows/ceilings etc are cold enough for the moisture to condense. When it's warm outside then it's probably a waste of money to keep a dehumidifier running even if you're drying washing - unless you want to dry it more quickly.

@SENMum1727 I do use a dehumidifier for drying washing in the winter, but I try and balance how quickly I need it to dry with the amount of electricity it consumes. So you could set the humidity level on the dehumidifier to 55/60% and see whether you get any condensation on the windows - if you do then set it a bit lower. You don't necessarily need to have it on the laundry setting.

The room where I dry the washing is quite a damp room because it’s an extension and I don’t think the builders built it that well. We bought a dehumidifier and I was honestly shocked at the amount of water that it collected from the air.
I don’t leave mine on overnight but that’s because I worry about the safety aspect of having things plugged in (obviously some things have to stay plugged in and on) but yeah, I’d use it if I were you!

I’d use one, but also in the morning fling the windows open to air out the house. We don’t have one but I keep all the windows in our house on the ventilation latch so there’s constant airflow - I’d rather there was a slight fresh air draught than stagnant warm air, but I appreciate not everyone wants to live like this!

As long as the pavements and patios are dry you should be able to get washing dry outside. (It dries quicker on lines strung across the garden rather than on a rotary line, especially in winter )