Is Auckland really Humid? Do Your Clothes Get Musty?

[Highlander]

Lived in Vancouver which apparetnly has roughly the same level of humidity as Auckland and I liked it.

people seem to moan a lot about about Auckland being really humid - what's that about?

If we lived there, we could afford a decent (non-leaky) house with a heat pump, double glazing and wood burning stove.

DH applying for a job and I'm about to send my CV around.

bumpity bump bump

Er, I think it is fairly warm there so probably not too much need for the wood burning stove.

It's not that warm in winter, probably 10 degrees or so I guess - though maybe heat pump would be enough, especially with double glazing. My mum had gas heaters and an open fire, but only single glazing.

I don't think there would be any problem with clothes! It's just that the summer can feel a bit humid as opposed to dry heat. It also rains a lot - I never lived there but when I visited it seemed like it rained most days, but often only for a short time and then was often sunny. I certainly wouldn't see the climate as a negative, plus you can use the heat pump as air conditioner in the summer if you want.

It's hot in the summer (as a rule) and although we do have some incredibly humid days which are not pleasant (everything gets damp and it's generally unpleasant) on the whole summers here are great IMO. Those humid days are an exception rather than a rule.

We have open fires, good windows but no heat pump. You will definitely need something for the winter. We're on a lifestyle block 20-30 mins outside Auckland and we do get ground frosts in winter. Winter can be very damp. One year I went back to the UK for a month and dh said it rained every day without fail.

Whether it's the summer humidity or the winter damp clothes can get damp and musty. I have mold on clothes in the wardrobe that I rarely wear.

To help avoid damp people try to get North facing house not in the shade. In real estate adverts North facing is a selling point.

I wouldn't let the weather put you off, it's great here - generally mild compared to the UK in the winter and hot in the summer.

Agree the humidity is brief and not such a problem. I've more of an issue with the wind! We run a dehumidifier in our basement to dry clothes. A dryer would be useful for 'finishing off' drying but I'm resisting cos they are so expensive to run and bad for the environment. I may crack in winter though.

oh thelittlestkiwi I went without a dryer for 5 years as I was very anti them. DS2 has asthma and dh insisted I bought a dryer rather than hang the clothes around the house to dry. While I wouldn't go as far as to say it's cured his seasonal asthma I am a convert. Don't get one unless you are prepared to be converted. Everything now goes in my dryer in winter and whenever it's wet outside

cheers gals!

Spoke to a friend who's uncle is an architect down there and he says to get a decent house with heat pump heating for the winter - keeps everything dry. Also advised to get a new, concrete house as opposed to an older weatherboard one, as they tend to soak up moisture.

Crikey, Auckland...............

Sibble- our last rental had one and I also used it for everything. Didn't help that it was a 6 level house. That's sort of why I don't want to get one. I know if I do, I'll use it all the time. We also had $500+ power bills in the last house and defo need to cut these now we have a huge mortgage.

Highlander - you may find it hard to buy a concrete house as there aren't many about. I also find heat pumps quite drying. I'm not keen on air con either though. You can get gas central heating here if you own a home. I would have installed it but we have some odd gas heaters in our new house that we'll try first. They are flued so less vapour in the air.

i was going to add post on the same lines as highlander. older nz houses often aren't built for the humdity, esp the lovely looking but often annoying draughty and humid money traps villa houses. i also find the older ones are often poorly insulated. it does get cold in winter, cold enough to be unpleasant if it's wet inside the house.

it's been a while since i lived in one, but we usually had condensation dripping down inside the windows in winter. one notable winter, it dripped off the bloody ceiling onto us, all winter long.

a newer home is likely to be better constructed, but please be aware of the leaky homes scandal - www.consumerbuild.org.nz/publish/leaky/leaky-background.php

A lot of newer homes in this area are plaster and a lot cheaper and harder to sell than weatherboard. One agent said to me that 4/5 people will not get out of their car to look at a plaster home cos of the leaky homes scandal. We bought a 1950's weatherboard which has insulation and so far it's been very comfortable. I may be whinging in winter but I hope not... I think this is the difference between renting and buying. At least we can retrofit whatever is needed to be comfortable.

We rented a fantastic looking villa when we first moved here. I fell in love with it as soon as I looked at it. I fell out of love with it equally as quickly when the windows rattled constantly, the wind howled under the 3 inch gap under the front door along with the windows and everything we touch fell apart . I would buy one again but only if a) I could afford to insulate it properly or b) somebody had already done that. We have a 1970 concrete block house. Not great to look at but structurally sound, doesn't leak. When we moved in the windows didn't close properly and it did make a huge difference when we put in reinforced glass windows that fitted etc...

Having said that I've lived in drafty old houses in the UK. The only difference is the central heating (which not all of my UK houses had!) meant it felt warmer.

cheers, have made very aware of the leaky building scandal. Sounds awful!