LauraNotts

Hey everyone,

My little rental has no heating and no HRV, now that winter has arrived we are swimming inside and cultivating a new civilisation of mould on the sills. I am opening the windows to clear it but then I just get really cold and have to turn the heater on all over again. So, is it worth getting a dehumidfier to help with the problem or will I be wasting my money?

sazzle1979

Hi Laura

My mum always used one at home - and people at work here seem to think it is a good idea. We havent tried it in our rental yet as good ones are really dear.

I bought some "Damp Rid" hangers for our wardrobes and cartons for the rooms and they seem to be helping. The wardrobe hangers are nice they give a lavendar smell and have stopped my clother feeling wet in the morning when i put them on.

Be interesting to see what people think of a dehumidifier - if they are expensive to run?

S

moonie2011

We too have no hrv or heating, we use a dehumidifier all the time and it's well worth it, the one night it stopped during the night because it was full we woke to soaking wet windows. Have no idea how much it costs to run but in my opinion it's worth it

Look on trade me, Facebook selling sites or FB local community pages to see if anyone has one they no longer need

Mark Smith

Worth putting some of the damp rid containers in the bottom of wardrobes.
We use this model and get the refills. http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/ca...ber?SKU=177124
Still picks up a bit of moisture even though we have a HRV.

bourbon-biscuit

YES! From the description of your living situation you NEED one. As for whether they are expensive to run - they cut down heating costs (dry air easier to heat) and they are better for your health. The levels of sickness due to damp homes here is incredible - a couple of Dr trips and a couple of scripts and you have the price of dehumidifier covered. Go and get one today. No, tomorrow cos Briscoes will have a Thursday sale on Buy it, plug it in and run it 24/7.

Bo-Jangles

I agree with you BB - a dehumidifier is an essential piece of kit and should just accept it's part and parcel of everyday life here. No question, suck it up, pay the bill and gain back your sanity.

Having your stuff ruined in cupboards is no joke and the general damp in your bones, your bedding, your clothes, underwear and everything is just so soul destroying and utterly miserable.

Snap Shot

I was going to buy the most expensive one I could find. In the end, I paid $NZ79 in a second hand shop.

It works pretty well as I only have to dehumidify one room which is the old garage which has been converted into a family room. We keep our books in there.

We've got central heating and double glazing too.

However, I've seen mould on the wallpaper on one of the bedrooms. Which I'm going to have to wipe off.

bearskin

I'd definitely go for one. We have a mid-range model that we run during the colder months.

We move it around the house and put in a different room pretty much every day (our house is situated in such a way that the back of the house doesn't get much sun during winter, although the front is very very sunny), and open the cupboard doors so that it draws any damp air out of those as well. It gets emptied every other day.

I've noticed that it also gives a slight heat output which helps as well.

Outside of May-September it just get stored in the cupboard with a heap of crap on top.

LauraNotts

Thanks everyone for the replies. I chatted to my flatmates and we're going to try to wangle one out of the landlord before Albert the mould monster gets over 5 inches tall. Failing that I am gonna stump up and buy one for our general health and wellbeing.

Diamond guy

I lived in Timaru last year and you will almost certainly need one. Our rental had a log burner in the lounge and that was it, cold as!

PS Also from Notts ;-)

LauraNotts

Awesome Diamond guy but I moved up to Chch three months ago so not in Timaru. Where in Notts?

Philzbub

Hi Laura,

Haven't read all the responses but I'm sure most people will be of the same opinion - dehumidifier is a must. Spend what you can on one too. Always check trademe and try and pick a good one up second hand rather than new. We bought a tidy Mitsubushi off Trademe and its been excellent, no trouble at all. In the winter we run it most of the day and rotate around the bedrooms for sure (wifes at home so that helps), and at night in the living room. As soon as you get up draw the curtains and run the dehumidifier in the bedroom.. open the curtains and close the door for best results. Also it's worth washing down all the windows inside, and the frames with some detergent and buy a product called Exit Mould and spray and wipe this around the window sills, frames and other areas prone to grime or mould - this will help no end. Do this at least once a year twice if you have the patients for it! It's not the best job in the world. I've also been to Mitre10 and bought those window / door sealing strips and stuck it in the window frames that leave a gap and let the draughts in! Depending on severity of draughts I see people using bubble wrap and all sorts to keep the cold out... this creates a second barrier and can help no end apparently. I haven't needed to resort to this but don't discard if needed. Also not sure if you have young ones or not, but be aware it's not good to run the de-humidifier whilst the little ones are in the room, it can dehydrate them quickly apparently.

One last thing I found to be a worthy investment was those panel heaters, even if you buy a new one there around $100-$120 from Mitre10, again, search trademe first I picked one up for only $40 - still going strong 12 months later! They're brilliant for bedrooms they will take the edge off and heat the room depending on how big it is. They cost hardly anything to run (compared to alternatives) so you can leave them on without too much concern if needed. I would say if the room is 12ft square or smaller the panel heaters actually heat the room anything much bigger and one panel heater may not be enough to heat it, but we have found them to be great in ours and the kids rooms.

Anyway hope that helps a bit.... Good luck..!

jmh

Pretty overwhelming support for a dehumidifier - my mum swears by hers.