tiri

Oh that explains it, your house probably doesn't have a semi permeable membrane in the walls. A lot of the older houses have the equivalent of a plastic bag as a liner - it doesn't allow the house to breathe at all. I know because our rental was like that.

This thread was about identifying damp rentals though wasn't it? I think it's safe to assume that pretty much all NZ houses are going to be damp to some extent - whether it be from leaking building or plastic bag syndrome. Probably the more modern the build the better the ventilation and insulation will be. The last thing you want to be doing is running up massive power bills trying to keep the place warm and dry. Neither should you be risking using dodgy second/third hand equipment off trademe.

Genesis

1st it costs about $1.30 to run 4 dehumidifiers per night. That is $40 a month. Not much to keep a house way warmer and dryer. 2nd I have no idea as to why 2nd hand goods of an electrical nature are probably dodgy. Dehumidifiers are a fan and the simple refrigeration unit like in a fridge. I have been running 4-5 of them for 5 years now and the only thing that has gone wrong in all that time was a set of bearings in the fan of one unit. Modern homes have breaker units (consumer units) to overcome the issues of faulty electrical machinery. I appreciate by the nature of electrical equipment it all carries some risk but if you take it that far should we all start throwing our leccy stuff away arvo 2-3 years? And as I mentioned are all 2nd hand cars dodgy too? You could be driving a 2nd hand car you bought yesterday for 4-5 months before you get it woffed again..God knows what could be wrong with it in the interim period. I am well risk adverse when it comes to safety issue but I am not going to start getting paranoid about simple 2nd hand leccy goods.

tiri

Yes but at least with a car you get a mechanic to check it over before you buy it and it gets regular WOF inspections. You should look at those links I posted about electrical fires to see what can go wrong with these things.

Sorry Genesis, I know you are happy with used electrical equipment but I think it's just a little bit dangerous to be advising other people to do the same without knowing what protection their circuit boards have (especially in a rental) and what the quality of the goods is like.

It must be better to just tell people to try to find a house that doesn't need them, than to expose them to the risks of possibly faulty electrical equipment and the ongoing liability of higher electricity bills.

chocolate cake

I'd agree, never had any great issues ever in the UK waking up to windows drenched with condensation, and regularly used to dry my clothes on the radiators too. Steam from cooking, should go straight up an extractor fan.

tony72

firstly genisis can i just point out 2nd cars dont carry the risk of DEATH just by touching them!
Im not an electrician trying to frighten anyone out of buying 2nd hand goods, but there are some dodgy pieces of equipment out there.
I have 20+ years of practical experience in the HVAC (heating,ventillation and air conditioning) industry. you say you are running FOUR! FOUR! de-humidifiers! where do you live? beneath whangarei falls!
Also, de-humidifiers will not make ANY difference to the temperature of a house, or anywhere else they are employed.
I have installed less air drying equipment in 12 story office blocks! as for the cost, $1.30 a night for FOUR units is, may i add, a very conservative ESTIMATE, have you read the plates on these things? they cost more to run than you think.And with nz electricity prices would central heating not be a better option?

tony

simonsi

Errr, he has that too I think!

Genesis

They are around 220 watts per hour per unit. They are all plastic it is impossible to get a shock off them. There is nothing metal on the outside at all. I have a large house (over 300 sq mts) and 5 humans. I googled it last night and they reckon 4 humans will exhale about 20 litres per day into the home. You were right about the electrical consumption..I was well out. It is a $1 a day. Lets round the 220 watts to 250 X 4 = 1kw. My night leccy costs .1221 cents a k/w per hour inc GST at 15%. That is the 4 units using about 1kw per hour. X that by .1221 X that by 8 hours per night and then that by 30 + and that comes to about $30 a month. If I ran them during the day (I don't) it would be way more as day leccy is about 24 cents a unit. And they DO make a difference to the temperature as drier air is easier to heat than damp. When the C/H was 1st installed the house would not warm very efficiently, introduced dehumidifiers and it got warm way quicker. Also like a fridge (as this is how they work) they give off an ambient heat. It works for me, does not cost much and unlike my neighbours house my house is not damp and they like me are leak free too. The difference is I dehumidify my house and they don't.

squarepants

Thank you so much for this. We're living in a cave disguised as a 90s brick and tile house, and collectively we've had more sick days in the last 9 months than in the last 20 years.

Having never lived in this kind of environment before, it's difficult to know how to manage it - especially when you're the tenant and all the solutions need investment the land lord isn't bothered about. We were spending about $40 a week on bottled gas in the coldest months and we were still cold and uncomfortable - I took to leaving the children's clothes in the airing cupboard all of the time because leaving them in wardrobes just meant they were damp.

Cleaning mould from the windows before it grows on the blinds was a chore that needed to be done weekly and took a couple of hours and tons of bicarb of soda.

We'll certainly be buying one of these now - my newly manicured nails thank you

Genesis

Your bottled gas heater alas will be adding to your dampness. I think they give off shit loads of water vapour, I remember the atmosphere round my dads when I was younger when he was using one of these..it was like a swimming pool. I do feel the info. on dehumids is VERY important. They are a HUGE help and had I not been told about them I would be living in an unpleasant situation. How do I know they work? When I moved into this house 5 years ago it was damp, there was that musty smell and there were black mould spots on the window. The house did not feel right. (Obviously for the open home the house had been properly aired). So I put in proper heating (european C/H) and introduced my dehumidifiers, problem sorted. Dry, odour free, warm living. People want to argue its not this and it is that and you have this problem here, pretty much don't have a clue as they have not been to my house and don't know it. Dehumidifiers will improve the interior atmosphere of any home. Dry air is easier to heat. Period. I still open all the windows when I can to get a change of air during the day as this is what is recommended by experts. You see houses are so draught free these days that in itself can cause an issue unless you are proactive about it.

simonsi

Gas flame heaters give off water as part of the combustion process so as Genesis says will have been massively adding to the damp problem. switch to electric radiators pdq.

Dry heat sources:

Anything electric
Log burners (the water vapour goes up the chimney)
Heat pumps

As you are in a rental if there is no log burner or heat pump then you are probably limited to ditching the gas heater and switching to electric heaters.