Okay, so not the most fascinating topic you're likely to come across on uptheclarets - sorry for that!

Anyway, my apartment is suffering from high humidity. We've had new windows installed and combined in a drop in temperature here, we find a lot of moisture on the inside of the windows. Opening windows helps a little after a while but I'd prefer to solve this without having to have them open all the time in winter. There's also a noisy road outside where we live.

I'm considering buying a dehumidifier and was wondering if anyone has experience with this? Is it possible to buy one that will serve a small apartment and several rooms? Or would I be looking at having to buy several? (Not ideal because electricity is quite expensive here). I notice there are various size humidifiers. What I'm looking for is one that's capable of just being put in the middle bedroom or the living room (biggest room) and just taking the humidity out of the whole apartment (it's about 60m2). Would prefer it to be fairly quiet. Anyone able to shed some light on this?

We had the same problem in a v large front bedroom with bay window in a rented flat. Had a unit similar to the one at the link and it helped. Definite thing to avoid is leaving wet towels on radiators or drying clothes in that area as this will lead to the ongoing issue irrespective of a dehumidifier. When using tumble dryer open windows/ventilate that particular space as much as possible.

It might be worth trying the uni bond dehumidifier capsule units first. They're about 8 quid each and would fit easily on a window sill. No noise, not as bulky, no running costs other than replacement capsules. You'll soon know if it's proving effective.

Re the dehumidifier, don't buy one with less than 5l capacity. Even then you'll still be suprised at how often you're emptying the thing. Doubt it would be as much outside of the room you place the unit in but that's a bit speculative as I'm not basing it on any tried and tested formula. Our doors were closed most of the time.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=dehum ... UsQgTYIqwU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Have you got a loft above you? If so then you could try a positive input fan. I know some people have used them to great effect.

I suggest you could google ebac, mine is a basic ebac15, and i find it to be very good drying the heavy washing and condensation, the makers do say it is rare that it is the only de-humidifier made to cater for the English climate, you could leave it placed in the central position in your apartment and go from there, although it does run reasonably quiet. Good luck!!

Must have drunk too much last night..... could of sworn that said "buying a defensive midfielder" at first take.

what_no_pies wrote:We had the same problem in a v large front bedroom with bay window in a rented flat. Had a unit similar to the one at the link and it helped. Definite thing to avoid is leaving wet towels on radiators or drying clothes in that area as this will lead to the ongoing issue irrespective of a dehumidifier. When using tumble dryer open windows/ventilate that particular space as much as possible.

It might be worth trying the uni bond dehumidifier capsule units first. They're about 8 quid each and would fit easily on a window sill. No noise, not as bulky, no running costs other than replacement capsules. You'll soon know if it's proving effective.

Re the dehumidifier, don't buy one with less than 5l capacity. Even then you'll still be suprised at how often you're emptying the thing. Doubt it would be as much outside of the room you place the unit in but that's a bit speculative as I'm not basing it on any tried and tested formula. Our doors were closed most of the time.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=dehum ... UsQgTYIqwU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the info! We have a balcony for drying clothes but there's not enough space for everything and have sometimes had to put some clothes on an airer in a bedroom. Will try to avoid doing that and see if it helps to some extent. The capsule units seem a great idea - particularly if I get a dehumidifier for the living room and want to provide some assistance for it in the bedrooms. Unfortunately we don't have window sills so I'd need to find a solution to placing them as close to the windows as possible. Anyway, I'll definitely go for a larger dehumidifier if I find one that works for a small apartment and multiple rooms.

IndigoLake, Just found the literature model no DE65WH-GB £149.99 direct from the factory. google or you tube

Longsidebovril wrote:Have you got a loft above you? If so then you could try a positive input fan. I know some people have used them to great effect.

Afraid not - another apartment above us! Thanks anyway though.

IndigoLake wrote:Thanks for the info! We have a balcony for drying clothes but there's not enough space for everything and have sometimes had to put some clothes on an airer in a bedroom. Will try to avoid doing that and see if it helps to some extent. The capsule units seem a great idea - particularly if I get a dehumidifier for the living room and want to provide some assistance for it in the bedrooms. Unfortunately we don't have window sills so I'd need to find a solution to placing them as close to the windows as possible. Anyway, I'll definitely go for a larger dehumidifier if I find one that works for a small apartment and multiple rooms.

Here's the thing I had in mind but given no sills a smaller unit may be easier in your place. No harm in trying this anyway. Good luck.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00F1D ... ref=plSrch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We had exactly the same problem, especially when drying clothes in winter. All that water has to go somewhere and in our case it was running in rivers down the walls!

We got one of these. Went for this model as it has a rechargeable dessicant and is allegedly economical to run
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00I5N ... UTF8&psc=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Problem solved completely, with the added bonus that clothes dry much quicker

Whichever model you get make sure it's a decent one. The cheaper ones for around £50 or less just won't do the job and you'll have just wasted your money

The key to success is to reduce the amount of water vapour being produced by whatever means
possible and, more importantly, provide ventilation at all times. Ventilation is the key. I have
2 to 3 windows open almost all the time - kitchen and bathroom being the most important and
effective. Closing internal doors doesn't help either.

As previously mentioned, clothes on radiators and leaving water hanging about in sinks, baths etc
are a huge contribution to damp problems. If you take regular baths, run the hot and cold water
together to keep the steam down. Even closing the toilet seat helps, believe it or not.

Ebac are considered the Rolls Royce of dehumidifiers, and are a good investment overall. Whilst some
are relatively quiet when running, they still become an annoying drone if you are sat quiet.

I bought a cheaper one from Screwfix (about £90) after my 15 year old ebac went down and it works but I would honestly go for an ebac given the choice again.

Hiya indigo i live in spain and in the winter suffer with the same problem
With humidity terribly as Spanish houses are not built to caterer for this problem
The walls pull the damp in as there are no gutters around roof lines and the water seeps into the walls and causes this
The best de humidifiers are sold in Wortons I bought one for hundred and fourty euros
You have to use it in one room and close the doors for about 3 hours depending how bad it's got if your walls are going black then it's allday till you have sucked all moisture contents from the room.
Unless you get an industrial one but that would be some noise and the domestic ones arnt the quietest
Yes I recommend having a look in Wortons it's sorted my problem out UTC

Funky has it, Indigo. Ventilation is key. The most moisture is normally from the bathroom and kitchen if you can fit extractors in these you are halfway there.
We live in a high radon area and as a result are used to having our windows open. As long as this doesn't incur a security problem for you It is the way to go. Balance of the inside and outside air temp. leads to very little window condense and that is very easily wiped away in the morning.
Good luck.

Hi Indigo, although not the cheapest, this Delonghi should do the trick. easy to move around also.

http://www.leroymerlin.es/fp/17970050/d ... Ficha=0811

blackburnturfite wrote:I suggest you could google ebac, mine is a basic ebac15, and i find it to be very good drying the heavy washing and condensation, the makers do say it is rare that it is the only de-humidifier made to cater for the English climate, you could leave it placed in the central position in your apartment and go from there, although it does run reasonably quiet. Good luck!!

Thanks for the recommendation - I'll take a look at the link you posted in your other comment. Seems there's no shortage of choice so I'll have to do a bit of research but ebac does look decent from what I've seen.

what_no_pies wrote:Here's the thing I had in mind but given no sills a smaller unit may be easier in your place. No harm in trying this anyway. Good luck.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00F1D ... ref=plSrch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great, will definitely consider this. Will probably need a larger unit but this may well work for the smaller bedrooms! Thanks again

Croydon Claret wrote:We had exactly the same problem, especially when drying clothes in winter. All that water has to go somewhere and in our case it was running in rivers down the walls!

We got one of these. Went for this model as it has a rechargeable dessicant and is allegedly economical to run
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00I5N ... UTF8&psc=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Problem solved completely, with the added bonus that clothes dry much quicker

Whichever model you get make sure it's a decent one. The cheaper ones for around £50 or less just won't do the job and you'll have just wasted your money

Hi Croydon. That looks good based on reviews. Did you find it did the job for multiple rooms at once or did you have to move it around? Anyway, yes will definitely invest in a good unit and not a cheap one.

Funkydrummer wrote:The key to success is to reduce the amount of water vapour being produced by whatever means
possible and, more importantly, provide ventilation at all times. Ventilation is the key. I have
2 to 3 windows open almost all the time - kitchen and bathroom being the most important and
effective. Closing internal doors doesn't help either.

As previously mentioned, clothes on radiators and leaving water hanging about in sinks, baths etc
are a huge contribution to damp problems. If you take regular baths, run the hot and cold water
together to keep the steam down. Even closing the toilet seat helps, believe it or not.

Ebac are considered the Rolls Royce of dehumidifiers, and are a good investment overall. Whilst some
are relatively quiet when running, they still become an annoying drone if you are sat quiet.

Good info here - thanks! Yes, we try to provide ventilation where possible but just end up cold or with too much noise from outside. Have managed to get the humidity level down from a high of 72% to 49% from opening all windows for a while. Pretty nippy in here now though! So hopefully a humidifier will help in that respect.

JohnMac wrote:I bought a cheaper one from Screwfix (about £90) after my 15 year old ebac went down and it works but I would honestly go for an ebac given the choice again.

Seems ebac is a popular choice! May well be the one I go for then - 15 years is pretty impressive. Will do some research over the weekend, thanks

Longside4evr wrote:Hiya indigo i live in spain and in the winter suffer with the same problem
With humidity terribly as Spanish houses are not built to caterer for this problem
The walls pull the damp in as there are no gutters around roof lines and the water seeps into the walls and causes this
The best de humidifiers are sold in Wortons I bought one for hundred and fourty euros
You have to use it in one room and close the doors for about 3 hours depending how bad it's got if your walls are going black then it's allday till you have sucked all moisture contents from the room.
Unless you get an industrial one but that would be some noise and the domestic ones arnt the quietest
Yes I recommend having a look in Wortons it's sorted my problem out UTC

Hi Longside, will have a look on the Worton website - thanks for the recommendation. I'm hoping to find one that serves the whole apartment at once rather than having to move it around. But if that's not possible then so be it. I think you're right though - the design of buildings here doesn't help!

piston broke wrote:Funky has it, Indigo. Ventilation is key. The most moisture is normally from the bathroom and kitchen if you can fit extractors in these you are halfway there.
We live in a high radon area and as a result are used to having our windows open. As long as this doesn't incur a security problem for you It is the way to go. Balance of the inside and outside air temp. leads to very little window condense and that is very easily wiped away in the morning.
Good luck.

We have an extractor fan in the kitchen but don't have one in the bathroom. The bathroom isn't closed off though so we tend to open the window following a shower to get rid of the steam pronto. I will consider getting an extractor fan put in though. Thanks for the info!

Clevedon Claret wrote:Hi Indigo, although not the cheapest, this Delonghi should do the trick. easy to move around also.

http://www.leroymerlin.es/fp/17970050/d ... Ficha=0811

Hi Clevedone, thanks for the link! Will take a look and compare it with some of the others mentioned (mostly ebac) in this thread. Least I'm not short of options

Have a look on 2nd hand pages/groups for one.

The amount of people that buy one after having one leak in the house and then selling them a month later is very high.
I picked a 2nd hand one up for £15.
I run it in the kitchen at night in winter. Better than a heater in there.

IndigoLake wrote:Hi Croydon. That looks good based on reviews. Did you find it did the job for multiple rooms at once or did you have to move it around? Anyway, yes will definitely invest in a good unit and not a cheap one.

Have only used it in a single room so no experience I'm afraid. It has a directional fan on top that blows out warm air so it certainly gets the air circulating

We used to have a problem in our conservatory at night in the winter. Glass with lots of condensation in the morning, walls and blinds with green mould. We bought a powerful dehumidifier as it's a large conservatory and problem solved. Put it on overnight and no more condensation or mould.

The main thing is with dehumidifiers is the performance which is litres per day. The higher the better especially for larger areas.

This is the one we got and it's brilliant and half the price of some others. Would recommend something like this and leave your doors open when it's in use.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TROTEC-Dehumi ... SwSypZAHhZ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Boy had that problem for as long as we have lived in our new house ( 12 year old ) as we were told the windows are great and there is very little heat that escapes so we have problems . We have two dehumidifiers one downstairs and the other one upstairs . We use a Delonghi brand and works very well and takes about a pint and a half of water out of the house each evening , again all depends what we have drying cloths wise .
Leave all your doors open in the house we keep them on for around 8 hours a night and it works very very well i must say . Ohhh never use it in the summer April to late September .

Tribesmen wrote:Boy had that problem for as long as we have lived in our new house ( 12 year old ) as we were told the windows are great and there is very little heat that escapes so we have problems . We have two dehumidifiers one downstairs and the other one upstairs . We use a Delonghi brand and works very well and takes about a pint and a half of water out of the house each evening , again all depends what we have drying cloths wise .
Leave all your doors open in the house we keep them on for around 8 hours a night and it works very very well i must say . Ohhh never use it in the summer April to late September .

Just been watching a fire brigade presentation on shutting doors at night.

Even old flimsy doors that are shut gives you an extra few minutes than if it was open in the event of a fire.

Quickenthetempo wrote:Just been watching a fire brigade presentation on shutting doors at night.

Even old flimsy doors that are shut gives you an extra few minutes than if it was open in the event of a fire.

Yer maybe but if you want the dehumidifier to work then this is what you have to do , hey that's why we have smoke detectors in the house .

I have a dehumidifier that only works when temp is over 8 deg C. What's the best way in somewhere cold (detached garage or 3 car size bay, in a barn), have a small unibond type and several moisture absorbing bags, but really need something better.

Envirovent

There are basically two different types of dehumidifier, compressor or desiccant.

Compressor works a bit like a fridge, it creates a cold surface for the water to condense on and get removed. A desiccant dehumidifier has a desiccant wheel that absorbs the moisture from the air, in a similar way to a sponge. The desiccant is regenerated by an internal heater so that the process can be repeated time and time again.

The desiccant ones are quieter and work better when the air temperature is cold (like a garage). The compressor ones tend to be cheaper to run (the desiccant ones output a lot of energy as wasted heat) but heavier.

The advice about opening your windows works for two reasons. Not only is it an effective way of getting rid of moisture but it also serves to get rid of unpleasant smells. Like it or not, the average person farts 15 times a day (approx 5 litres). If you manage to hold them in during the day, they come out at night whether you care to admit it or not. Add to that the icky phenomenon of morning breath (x2 if you co-habiting), and you can imagine the fetid smell. And that doesn't even take into consideration the yard of brown cable laid in the bog every morning or the cooking smells from the night before.

Seriously, open every window in your house or flat for 30 mins each day regardless of the temperature outside, give the duvets a good airing and let the fresh air work its magic. No one wants to be spoken about behind their back for living in a stinking flat. By all means get a de-humidifier but don't use it at the expense of getting fresh air into the flat once in a while.

aggi wrote:There are basically two different types of dehumidifier, compressor or desiccant.

Compressor works a bit like a fridge, it creates a cold surface for the water to condense on and get removed. A desiccant dehumidifier has a desiccant wheel that absorbs the moisture from the air, in a similar way to a sponge. The desiccant is regenerated by an internal heater so that the process can be repeated time and time again.

The desiccant ones are quieter and work better when the air temperature is cold (like a garage). The compressor ones tend to be cheaper to run (the desiccant ones output a lot of energy as wasted heat) but heavier.

Superb, thanks for that. Enplanes why mine gives out hot air when I expected cold.