I need a dehumidifier. I've never used one. Does anybody have any advice.

[applegrove]

Last edited Mon Oct 30, 2017, 01:11 AM - Edit history (1)

I live in a basement one bedroom (living, dining, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom) apartment 1/2 of it at street level. As it is an old concrete building there is not exhaust for the bathroom.

[mucifer]

1. clean the inside with vinegar and water once a week so it doesn't mold and make you sick

[pangaia]

2. Don't you mean a dehumidifier?

[applegrove]

6. Yes. Thanks for catching that.

[bettyellen]

3. They sell combo light/ fan fixtures at Home Depot that don't need an exhaust .

They're pretty easy to install if you have the ceiling wired. I upgraded mine to the bigger one because it's no where near a window. It helps.

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. Keep that thing clean.

[brush]

5. Keep it emptied. I had one in a basement in NY and it filled up every couple of days.

[Leith]

7. Not Only Clean It Regularly

Make sure it is easy to clean. Some of them are real buggers to scrub out when they need it.

Also, if you are not used to having white noise while you sleep, get used to it. White noise blocks out traffic noise, the neighbor with a motorcycle, most loud thunder, idiots with woofers bigger than their car trunks, barking dogs, etc. If you just can't do white noise, run the shower on hot with a fan blowing in the bathroom for a few minutes before you turn in for the night.

Edited to add: well, obviously I know more about humidifiers than DEhumidifiers. I live in the Mojave Desert so the last thing I want to do is remove humidity. I apologize for the misunderstanding.

[applegrove]

8. It was my mistake. Some asked if i did not mean dehumidifier and i corrected

my OP to yes. I added the "de".

[Laffy Kat]

9. Move to Colorado.

Opposite problem.

[applegrove]

10. LOL!

[Laffy Kat]

11. Truly. I am so tired of getting shocked when I touch metal.

Of course I never remember it and touch the same thing over and over. Ouch.

[applegrove]

12. Static electricity I guess? Do you have to adjust baking times for recipes too?

[Laffy Kat]

14. Not just baking, even cooking rice will take longer and use slightly more water.

I'm at over 5,200 ft. Honestly though, sometimes I forget when baking and the outcome is fine. I go more by look and feel than time,

[Phentex]

16. Me too...

but I seem to be the only one in my house who gets shocked on a regular basis. We run a humidifier in the winter but it doesn't help with the shocking. (of me).

[Laffy Kat]

17. Feel your pain.

It's especially bad at work. All of us get shocked by this one door handle we have to use a dozen times a day, it's a bad shock but so fast none of us remember it until it happens the next time. It's become a running joke.

[LuckyCharms]

13. I used to have one in my basement.

If your basement apartment has a utility room that has a floor drain, you can set up your dehumidifier to empty into the drain, rather than having to empty the catch pan. There is usually a male hose connection on the dehumidifier. Cut a section of hose to the length required, and attach the female hose connection to the dehumidifier. Run the other end of the hose into the drain. You may need to clamp the hose somehow into the drain or near the drain (if you leave the drain grate on).

[mythology]

15. I am in the same position

I have three small dehumidifiers. One in the kitchen, one the living room and the other in my bedroom. Two of the three have whisper technology and are so quiet as to not be noticed.

[DFW]

18. We've used one for decades.

We bought the house we're now in over 25 years ago, and the construction was rather primitive. This is an area that gets a LOT of rain, and if the house isn't well isolated, water seeps through. It was to the point where it started shorting out our electricity and we had mold growing on the walls downstairs. It got so bad that we had to have the house excavated to the foundations in the back and re-isolated. It took us over a month of using the dehumidifier before the dank smell was gone. During wet spells, we still have to use it. Disinfect it frequently after use, and you should be fine. Bathroom is essential, and you should wipe the walls dry after every shower. We do that even though our shower is above ground. It's just too damp here to risk not doing that. My wife had asthma as a child and is still very sensitive to respiratory diseases.

[MiltonBrown]

19. Buy a metal one used instead of a new plastic one. Cheaper and most likely will last longer.

I worked in an auction house for many years and they came in most every week. The plastic ones often were DOA while I never came across a (brown) metal one that didn't work.

This advice works across the board- old made in USA items were well built and often last forever, new plastic junk was built to fail and will do just that.

[applegrove]

20. Food for thought. I don't know where i'd find one.

[MiltonBrown]

22. Have you ever bought anything used?

I know that in this day and age a lot of people never do. I'm just the exact opposite and pretty stubborn about not letting corporations have any of my dough lol

[applegrove]

23. I used to buy clothes used. Furnished my first few apartments with

furniture borrowed or repurposed from family. I've found a place where I can do a monthly billing for 2 years for a dehumidifier. I hope they have a big selection. No interest. No fees. Think I will do that for this purchase. I think.

[Awsi Dooger]

21. I bought a Frigidaire 70 pint about 6 months ago

For a one-story home in Miami. I had discovered I didn't care if the internal temperature was 82 or thereabouts as long as the humidity is controlled. So I spent $225 plus tax for the dehumidifier on Amazon, set it to 55% after some experimentation, and then jumped the central air thermostat from 77 degrees to 82.

Works great. I should have thought of this years ago. My power bill has plummeted. I do have a wall unit in the bedroom that is Energy Star and some nights I turn that unit on and down to 77. But only during sleeping hours. I turn it off as soon as I wake up.

The 70 pint is easy to dump in the sink. During summer I'd have to do it maybe twice per day on average. The light blinks when it is full. It can be set up to drain via hose but in that case the unit has to be higher than the sink, or wherever you are sending the water.

The thing is loud but not unbearably. I have to clean the filter every two weeks. I appreciate that there are wheels on the dehumidifier for easy transport.

Right now we are in a comparative cold spell in Miami so the unit is basically never on. I think I have emptied it once in the past 3 days.

[blogslut]

24. A cheap fix

Fill containers with rock salt and place them around your home.