Steamy Windows / Dehumidifier Advice Please

[Richard Harvey]

I am thinking about buying one of these freestanding dehumidifiers, i have seen them advertised from about £100-£300 in Argos, John Lewis etc.

Has any one had good or bad experiences with this type of thing. Are they quiet enough to run at night time, i would guess they sound like a fridge/fanheater ?

ok i could open the windows but mine are either closed or open and don't have those small trickle vent slots that new double glazing units have.

Thanks, Richard.

[Alan Taylor]

Richard Harvey:

.

I don't know if this of any help, I put a very fine film of washingup liquid on the inside of my car window and they don't steam up, lot cheaper too.

 

I think little onions/feathers will know the best thing to stop windows steaming up especailly if it is FROSTY

 

ALAN(NL)

[bitsbobs]

I heard that shaving foam does the trick. I use an electric razor so I've not tried it.

 

If you have any success in any of the methods then please let me know as I think I'm in the same boat as you.

[bitsbobs]

...........And here's more solutions:

 

http://www.havennook.com/Household%20Hints...ints_window.htm

[Richard Harvey]

Thanks for those replys , i should of added that it's also the puddles (lakes ! ) of condensation on the inside window boards each morning that i wanted to help ease. I don't think those measures will help much but i may try it on one window first.

Thanks again

[Newt]

Dehumidifiers in Winter - maybe not such a great idea. Consider:

 

The ideal humidity for human health and comfort is between 45 and 65 percent of the maximum amount of moisture the air can hold at a particular temperature.

 

In winter, lets assume it is very humid outside. 90% and the air temperature is 5ºC. You like the house a bit warmer and heat the air to 18ºC. The humidity inside should drop to about 45% due to the change in temperature. About the minimum for good health and for comfort.

 

Make it colder outside, less humid outside, or warmer inside and you will drop below the amount of moisture you need in the air to be comfortable and healthy.

 

As a side note, any wooden items in the house will suffer worse than you do as they will dry out and then absorb water again when the humidity inside rises as it surely will as the season moves into spring and summer.

 

If you have serious moisture problems in winter, your air circulation probably needs improving. Especially since the condensate on the windows is simply more water you need in the air but don't have since it is sitting useless on the windows.

 

Also, you can stop the condensation problem while lowering heating costs if you can install double-glazed windows (pane of glass, air space, pane of glass) rather than the single pane things. Glass by itself is a horrible insulator and you are paying lots of money to make up for heat loss thru the windows.

 

You are more likely to need a humidifier in winter and a dehumidifier in summer.

 

[ 24. October 2002, 05:14 PM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[davidP]

We bought one for the bathroom as we use the shower over the bath a lot and don't have an extractor fan and were getting some mildew on the painted walls. We got it from B&Q as they had a load of them on special for about £180 (and still had them about a month ago). It's done an excellent job and produces a surprising amount of water from a small room (which is excellent for watering houseplants). As for noise, it's on a par with a fan or something like that.

[Paul_H]

Got one from Wickes a few years ago, as my cellar is damp, really good at extracting moisture and really quiet to begin with but after about 3 months, when the fans had run in a bit, it definetly became louder and now sounds very similar to a heater fan on slow speed, which some people would find annoying at night others wouldn't.

 

Unless damp as opposed to condensation is your problem I personally would look at alternatives eg. fitting air bricks to improve air circulation

[Howard 13]

I take it you're talking about your bathroom.

 

Obviously an extractor fan is your best bet if there is space to fit one.Failing that there are different types of air moving devices about just to keep a steady flow of air to prevent the problem.

 

De/humidifiers are probably O.K but they're never going to solve the problem.

 

Fitting different types of fans/vents etc is what I'm currently doing for a living.Whereabouts are you living?

 

HB.

[Jim Roper]

From what I remember of my Building college days, Newt's advice is spot on.

I thought that I was a mine of useless information, but it comes in handy sometimes.

If you have wooden casements then consider replacing them with ones that have rebates big enough to accommodate double glazed units. Probably just as cheap as paying someone to alter the existing rebates, unless you could do it yourself.

You could consider secondary double glazing that you can remove in the summer.

If you have thermostatically controlled central heating then single glazing literally amounts to money out the window.

Far better to cut down on your heating bills and not have to run a de-humidifier either. If you have a blocked up fireplace in any rooms, put an air-brick at low level so that it takes the coldest air in the room and still maintains enough air changes per hour for you to remain healthy.

I can't count the number of times I have been asked to advise on a chimney that won't draw, only to find that all the windows and doors have been sealed up so that no air can enter the room.

If you change the condition of something in one direction, then something else's condition has to change in the other direction. I think Newt's observations are based on Boyle's Law, but I might be wrong.

Another observation on a related topic. I am working in a distribution centre with several floors of walkway/storage areas. On the top level there are, at the moment, lots of free-standing air conditioners sucking in the warm air and blowing out cold air. Without any ventilation to the outside, something inside these machines must be getting very hot, unless the laws of physics have changed.

 

Jim Roper