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Thread ID: 69381	2006-05-30 22:46:00	Dehumidifier recommendation	Greg (193)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
459217	2006-05-31 10:57:00	I was luck enough to try out three different Dehumidifiers’ (DH) several years back at another house we lived in. They all sucked the same amount of water in a 24hr period irrespective of the price tag, so we ended up with the cheapest, a $300 Warehouse unit. We ended up running the unit 12hrs from sunset to sunrise, it made a huge difference to the moisture collected on the windows overnight. The unit was located outside our open bedroom door, I enjoyed the soft hum at night as the unit worked away. Warmed the hallway a little as well. We moved on to another house, same number of kids, teenage shower load has increased a little so I guess we are creating more moisture to the internal atmosphere, but sold the humidifier in a garage sale as we don’t need it here Why, well this house has a Concrete slab base where as the previous house was sitting on piles. Maybe placing plastic sheeting over the ground beneath the house could improve matters. FWIW - a friend of mine in an older style house, pile supports etc, installed a DVS system, claimed it cured his moisture/condensation problems overnight. I’m skeptical about these things, there are so many air leaks into the roof space, and I can’t see how a DVS or similar unit can "pressurize" a house as some ads claim, forcing moisture outside. Id like to see Consumer do a survey or test on DVS and similar systems. Cheers............John.	John W (523)
459218	2006-05-31 11:38:00	FWIW - a friend of mine in an older style house, pile supports etc, installed a DVS system, claimed it cured his moisture/condensation problems overnight. I’m skeptical about these things, there are so many air leaks into the roof space, and I can’t see how a DVS or similar unit can "pressurize" a house as some ads claim, forcing moisture outside. Id like to see Consumer do a survey or test on DVS and similar systems. Are you sure that Consumer hasn't done a test on DVS systems? I can assure you that they do work because we have one and it works brilliantly. It took longer than overnight to reach its full potential, however, but it still made a huge difference from day one compared to without it. There was a big discussion on them last year sometime. Do a search if you are interested.	FoxyMX (5)
459219	2006-05-31 11:49:00	a mate has a mitsi, quiet and does the job nicly . however price proberly wasn't a big issue . i have a delongi and yes you need to have the fan on full to remove lots of moisture . unfortunatly the fan on full is loud . just remember you don't NEED to have it running all the time and they work best in smallish SEALED rooms . absolutly pointlees running one if you have a window/door open or lots of people useing the door . i simply put it in a room and shut the door leaving it to run all day and then switch rooms etc . it has a bonus of heating the room quite nicly . $$$$ . i find what you spend on the dehumifier you save in heating costs . it heats rooms quiet nicly as well as it makes the room "feel" warm . i havn't needed to run a heater for years . DVS . . . . you suck air out of the roof space which then gets refilled from the rest of the house . which means its sucks cold wet air into the roof space and blows the warmed wet air back into your house . it needs a deumid in the ceiling which i think some of the big systems do have as well as dust filters etc .	tweak'e (69)
459220	2006-05-31 12:18:00	John, from my perspective you've illustrated one of the problems in your example of a house with a subfloor moisture problem . It would seem from the discussion that most people here (are you lot representative, erk!!) prefer to get a device that costs them anything from $300 to $900 smackers then pay $30 to $50+ to run it . That's a ****e load of money in comparisom to $2-300 worth of polyethylene roll and perhaps a few hundred more to install additional air vents to the subfloor baseboard, or ventilate the ceiling space properly, un-kink the flexible ducts on the bathroom or kitchen air extraction fans or move some vegetation . Of course not all moisyure issues can be resovled so easily, but with a bit of research, you could probably narrow down the probable causes . Bear in mind, a house should not be excessively damp to the point where it impacts on the occupants health or amenity, that BTW, is written in to law for newer dwelling .	Murray P (44)
459221	2006-05-31 12:39:00	I'm using a Mitsubishi Oasis Dehumidifier for almost 10 years now and it is till working satisfactorily. I think it is the quietest dehumidifier in NZ market. Bought one from the Warehouse before and it was so noisy that it's like having a big machine running inside the house, returned it the second day.	bk T (215)
459222	2006-05-31 22:34:00	The Brio one I purchased from the W/hse is very quiet... much quieter than a fan heater, more like a whisper and you can easily hear snoring over it :eek:	Shortcircuit (1666)
459223	2006-06-01 02:43:00	I agree with Murray's comments. Moisture in a house stems from the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry. Ventilate those areas by opening windows. Close them later. Better still, leave enough windows cracked open during the day and you'll get sufficent air changes to remove the moisture. Leave a window cracked open in each bedroom at night. Modern houses keep warm by being airtight which unfortunately leads to condensation, mould etc. So they need to be ventilated and during the day is the easiest time. There will still be some condensation but it should be manageable. :2cents:	Winston001 (3612)
459224	2006-06-01 03:40:00	Moisture in a house stems from the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry. Ventilate those areas by opening windows. That's blatantly wrong. For example in our house we've got extractors in both bathrooms and above the stove in the kitchen. Our laundry is in the garage, which is the driest part of the house due to the direct sun it gets on the metal door. The condensation comes from water vapour outside of the house. Which is really obvious, as condensation problems mainly occur in winter, not summer.	Greg (193)
459225	2006-06-01 03:57:00	That's blatantly wrong. (seems to me, is what I meant)	Greg (193)
459226	2006-06-01 05:56:00	That's blatantly wrong . For example in our house we've got extractors in both bathrooms and above the stove in the kitchen . Our laundry is in the garage, which is the driest part of the house due to the direct sun it gets on the metal door . The condensation comes from water vapour outside of the house . Which is really obvious, as condensation problems mainly occur in winter, not summer . Erm! Greg, you could be either blatantly wrong yourself, partly right or, and this is a stretch, completely right . Which is why I asked the questions several posts up to establish (albeit from afar and site unseen) what the likely issues are . For e . g . your comments in respect of: 1) Condensation and winter may merely be as a result of outside temperatures, i . e . nothing to do with the year round humidity . I'd be more concerned by exterior moisture than that produced within . Think about it . 2) If the moisture is coming from the exterior environment, you need to do something about it, don't you, not bung a dehumidier in the hopes the issue will go away, because it won't . As I said above, all you may need to do is spend a little time and money on a one off basis . 3) Check the efficiency of you bathroom and kitchen extractors and their ducts (should be 150mm duct with an inline fan if the duct is longer than a few metres or has sveral bends) . Is the laundry vented, is the dryer vented? (see the same re ducts, except 90-100mm, shorter distance and sheltered exterior vent), is your garage dryer because the air flow in your house naturally draws air from there . The warm garage door will not dry the garage without ventilation, all it does is warm the air and accompanying moisture, the moisture does not miraculously disappear without somewhere to go and something to take it (there is a possibility it actually ends up in the house) . Is the garage insulated? If not, expect moisture to be at the back of the cladding or the interior linings (if lined), where the dew point occurres, where it does no good at all . I'm not saying you're wrong, but IMO, you need to establish the cause and treat it . At the end of the day a dehumidifier may be the best solution, but I doubt that .	Murray P (44)
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