Genesis

Yes they are portable just like an oil filled rad. I recommend buying them 2nd hand. All mine are 2nd and they have been going for years. Look at www.trademe.co.nz you will find them for sale in the heating and ventilation section I think. Best make is Mitsibushi..look for the Oasis model. They are very simple and basically have the workings of a fridge to remove the water from the air in your house. It is the air being passed over a refrigerated plate in the dehumidifier that causes the condensation which is collected in the water container. Which is nice.

Aliwales

Thanks Genesis, not only for the advise but for the inclusion of words such as easy, and simple!!!

Ali

tiri

Just watch your power bills, those things aren't cheap to run and there was a scare with them back here in the UK a few years ago - fire risk apparently. I'd be wary buying any electrical equipment off Trademe as it's impossible to know what sort of condition its in unless you have an electrician to check it over.

It's better to find a house that doesn't need them.

Genesis

Its not about a 'house that needs them', all houses need some kind of dehumidification. The average family 'sweats' 30 litres of water into a house each day..it is NOT the house. Now unless you have your windows open all day to vent that moist air where is it going to go? Especially in winter. You can't have your windows open when it is minus 1 outside. As for electrical risks each and every electrical appliance carries a fire risk..even if its brand new. There are no guarantees in life regarding that type of thing. You could say the same thing about driving a 2nd hand car over a new one. Anyway that is what consumer boxes are for to stop fires happening. As soon as there is the minutest change in voltage coursing thru' your wiring (like an elecrical unit burning out) the RCD kicks in and isolates the wiring to that plug where the unit has malfunctioned.

tiri

Of course it's the house! I'm sitting here in a (brick) twin walled house with a family of five living in it and the dehumidifier we had in NZ is still sitting in the garage in its packaging because it's not needed. I doubt that we will need it in Australia either.

ok, but we're talking NZ consumer boxes here folks
http://www.energysafety.govt.nz/temp...____42354.aspx see number 14
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10655031

simonsi

Genesis, be careful with that figure, as I´m sure you are aware that is moisture from all sources, the human losses, cooking, washing etc, taking a worst case of winter (so least opportunity to vent to atmosphere), a family with a volume of say 300litres would be noticable if they lost more than 2% of their fluid volume so even erring on the generous side that looks like 10 litres max.

The other components of that 30L you mention come from sources that can be controlled to a greater or lesser degree - so vent your cooker hood outside, use bathroom extractor fans, don´t use open flame heaters inside etc etc. Most of these uses apply in different geographies, have you considered why a modern, insulated UK house typically ISN´T damp yet still has the 30L pumped into it AND typically has less air circulating from inside to out due to central heating and double-glazing???

Throw actual water ingress by roof and wall leaks and poor design in and that will far outweigh the 30L and your ability to deal with it by "lifestyle" measures as above.

I´m inclined to go with Tiri, it can be overwhelmingly the house.

Try the rice crispy test, how long does an opened box of rice crispies stay crisp??? Ours last weeks (we just have a log burner for heating, no dehums), in a damp house it can be under a day. Perhaps this answers the OP´s question on how to tell a leaky house, just not sure how easy the test is to do prior to purchase...

Genesis

I am sure some houses do have a water ingress issue..no doubt at all. I have never lived in such a draught free home that is to all intents and purposes totally sealed (apart from our wooden kitchen floor). There are no draughty windows etc. The only air flow is thru the large wooden floor in the kitchen that has a cellar beneath it mentioned above. Our house is utterly leak free, totally and completely. I have done 20 plus invasive test holes all over the place. The water collected by my dehumidifiers is from our 'every day living'. As far as Uk homes go I bet you a dehumidifier would collect water, however there is way more moisture in NZ air certainly (Island of the long white cloud??) in the Manawatu and thus the general environment in any case will have more moisture laden air anyways. I guarantee if you ran a dehumidifier in even your house you too would collect water. Moisture will be found in all homes. What you breath is water vapour. Google the subject the findings are there. Salt is also a good test of dampness. I have lived in a home in the UK where the salt is sopping within days when left out on a plate. Here it is out all the time and as dry as a bone.

tiri

Perhaps your house is so damp because it has no ventilation?

Genesis

My house is not damp. The water extracted by the dehumidifiers is from cooking washing and breathing etc. The house would be damp if I did not extract the water from the air.....just like most NZ homes that have neither a DVS system or thast do not run dehumids. Why do you think the story of damp houses is so prevalent in NZ? They don't all leak..only a few do. The reason most of them are damp is because of the above. My neighbours house is totally leak free also. I used to clean it for them. It was incredibly damp because they sold me their only dehumidifier???? every window was awash with condensation.

tiri

But if your house isn't damp why do you need dehumidifiers? Water from driers, cookers, washing etc. can be easily got rid of by opening a window or switching on an extractor fan. It sounds to me like its 'sweating'.

Genesis

Hmm, why is all the gib bone dry? There is no mould, no damp patches, no smells. If my house was leaking do you not think that there would be an increase in the water in my dehumidifiers..like filling up over night rather than taking all week and after the biblical rain there would have been some sign of water ingress? Houses do not leak invisibly. There are no damp window sills, all the window frames are bone dry (invasive testing). Are my neighbour's house is leaking and all the others in town that have 'crying windows'? Have you not herad the crying windows ads for DVS systems?

janek

Because dehumidifiers are used to preserve the condition of the antique furniture, some of us on here don't have to buy our own furniture, isn't that right Genesis ??

tiri

Genesis, I didn't say it was leaking, I said it was sweating. It's A bit like wearing a plastic mac on a rainy day - you get wet regardless. Try improving your ventilation if you've got problems with condensation - it's got to be healthier (and cheaper on your pocket) than breathing in articifically dried air all the time.

Did you say how much your power bills are?

Genesis

Have a look at consumerbuild.org.nz and search 'combating dampness'. It talks about heating, insulation and ventilation. Our house is well heated and fairly well insulated as it is a 1991 build. Veniltaion improvement may decrease some of the water vapour within the house but the downside is letting cold air in. On warm wintrer days all our windows are open. We alaways have the bathroom window open when showering and the cooker hood on when cooking. This doea expel some water vapour. The other water vapour that we breath out at night (when the house is full of the 5 of us) has to go somewhere. I only use my dehumids at night. They give off an ambient heat and when the CH comes on in the morning the house warms incredibly quickly due to the dry air. The reason sooooo many NZ houses have crying windows in the morning is because of all the water vapour expelled during the night. The only way to get rid of it is by having a window open or by running dehumids or a DVS system. We have double glazing too..but the water we bretah out needs to be gottn rid of. D'glazing will not get rid of water...it will only stop it collecting on the windows.

Genesis

Leccy bills are cool as I run the dehumids at night when my power is half price (with Genesis). Believe me even though the machines take vapour out there is still some left! I appreciate what you say about dry air et al..artificially made so etc. The issue with ventilation is that the house will be colder as a result if I was t improve it?? Its the one reason I did NOT insulate under the kitchen as it is a good source of incoming fresh air. It DOES make the kitchen colder but I am trying to get a balance eh?