- How much water was collected/removed?
I've been running my Ebac almost continuously since I finally got the new washing machine installed after our house move. It's been a long drawn-out process to get it all working, and I had mountains to get through.
I'd generally find this stressful as I don't have a drier and I'm in North Yorkshire, so the weather really doesn't lend itself to outdoor drying in February - if ever - and we have limited radiator space. I'd have just stuck it all on airers and hoped it all dried in a couple of days in time for the monster to start at his new school.
I've emptied about a bucket and a half so far, which really surprised me. The washing machine has a pretty efficient spin, but our new home has been left unheated for months by the landlord and felt very damp. Clearly the Ebac is doing double duty.
- What did you feel were the benefits of using the dehumidifier over your usual method of drying laundry indoors?
It became quickly apparent that the Ebac is much more efficient than just leaving things to air dry. I'd have expected the laundry to take at least 24 hours to dry, but I came down this morning and found the lot dry already, despite being quite densely distributed over the airer. As a comparison, I took one of my son's shirts and hung it elsewhere in the house. It was still damp to the touch well after the other items were dry.
- Did you find there were any improvements in air quality/humidity/condensation? If so please explain
It's early days. I didn't switch it on until the washing machine was installed, so it's not had long to do its job, but I'm impressed with how it's made the room feel in which I set it up. The whole house has been feeling damp and cold while we try to warm it up. The Ebac is in the kitchen diner and it feels like a different room. It no longer feels cold, and it's actually a place I want to spend time now.
I saw in the manual that you can buy fragrance packs to use with the machine, and if I were the kind of person to use home fragrances, I'd probably investigate that further. As it is, the machine obviously makes some noise so I'd be unlikely to run it just to fragrance the air.
- How easy did you feel the product was to use?
I'm one of those who doesn't really read the instructions, so I basically skimmed them. Then got stuck in. It's actually pretty easy to work out with no manual, and the bucket gets bonus points for being enclosed so you're far less likely to spill any of the water collected. This is a big improvement over the last one I used.
- Would you continue to use this product and would you recommend it to a friend or family member?
I will absolutely continue to use it. Now that laundry duty is done, I'm going to move it to the first floor and get it working up there to help with the general dampness of the house, as recommended. It's funny. I've never considered a dehumidifier as one of those essential pieces of kit, and DH would have been more likely to head out and get the bag of absorbent thingummy in a trough variety as a cheap solution to the damp. After using this, which gets much faster results, I would be very unlikely to return to the old school method.
I would be happy to recommend this to friends and family, as it's already making our new home more habitable. The only quibble I have is that it's quite heavy and I have back problems, and they don't supply casters as standard. Obviously, I'll order them from the web site, but I think most people would want them from the off, even if it means paying a few quid extra. Having to go to an after sales site to buy them seems a bit of a faff for something that obvious.