Dehumidifier or Tumble Dryer

[warmsecondrinse]

#1 Might be worthwhile to pick up a second hand dehumidifier at Goodwill or wherever to see if that helps in the basement.

In the northeast the older a home is the less likely (in general) it is to have central a/c/. People use window units. Because humidity usually rises with the temp, humidity is half the problem. So people often get satisfactory results despite 'undercooling' their home. That leaves the problem of the basement and nearly everyone has dehumidifiers running except for the heating season.

#10

Like with #1, it might be worth it to put a dehumdifier in the basement. You might be able to keep the a/c temps a bit higher in the summer and still be comfortable. and once basement-induced mold starts growing it can be very difficult to get rid of.

 

[combo52]

Humidity In Your Home

A few Thoughts, if your home has central A/C you should not use a dehumidifier at the same time the A/C is on, Dehumidifiers put off a lot of heat which just makes the central air run more, it is probably cheaper and more effective to install a 5000 BTU A/C in a basement window and let it run, these use less power than a dehumidifier and the cooling will assist the central A/C.

 

You should never let the fan run all the time when the central A/C is in use if you are in a part of the country where humidity is an issue. If you leave the fan running after the compressor shuts off there is 1 or 2 quarts of water on the A coil in the air-handler, this water is quickly evaporated back into the homes air, letting the fan run all the time can raise the humidity level in the whole house nearly 5 % higher.

 

I often walk into clients homes and wonder why it is so humid yet cool and sure enough they are nearly always running the fan on the constant setting.

 

This same thing happens on window A/Cs if you leave the fan on, I would always use the energy saver setting that cycles the fan as well.

 

John L.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

#20

Good points. Now that I think about it, every situation I had first hand knowledge of was with 30pt units (EVERYONE had that size for some reason) in basements that were cool enough that heat build-up was not an issue. The one time there was a noticeable heat build-up I DID have a 5,000 BTU a/c which I did use during the summer.

Dehumidifiers vary in heat output. I've 2 Danbys (30 & 90pt) and a GE 30pt. The GE is much louder than either Danby and produces much more heat than the 90pt. Danby does. Go figure....

 

[richnz]

Dehumidifier, desiccant or with gas?

I have a desiccant type and it is excellent. It produces a lot of heat and I use it as a supplemental heater.
It is noisy though. The process it uses to dehumidify does remind me of the Bosch dishwasher and its zeolite.

BigCliveDotCom opens one up to explain how it works


It's a necessity here in NZ with the cheaply made housing.

We use the dehumidifier just for removing excess moisture. We tend to tumble dry most items but there is a clothes rack for things that cannot be tumbled (The weather is too changeable to risk using the clothesline).

I could not imagine using a dehumidifier to dry sheets or towels.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

#22

I don't think I've ever seen a desiccant dehumidifier here in the US. I've only seen compressor (gas?) types.

Thank you. That was most interesting.

 

[launderess]

Well if one has space there is always how they dry things in Norway....

 

[liberatordeluxe]

@chrisbsuk Thanks for the link regarding the Meaco dehumidifier. Reasonably priced too! I don't normally have a problem drying clothes but this year haven't started the central heating as its too mild and too warm to have the log burner running as well.

 

[richardc1983]

I am in UK, we fitted ceiling fans in the summer and one in our spare room. We also have a heat pump tumble dryer but we now use the ceiling fan for drying clothes. Put the airier with clothes on under the fan and leave it overnight, most stuff is dry by morning.

 

[launderess]

Provided one has room and or a dedicated area indoor drying of laundry is really way to go. It is better for most types of wash, and is energy efficient.

Main reason why indoor drying fell by wayside in decades post WWII was feeling the thing was lower middle class to poor. I mean you'd never seen Hyacinth Bucket hanging her wash indoors. Daisy OTOH would be another matter.... *LOL*

In cooler times of year when one has the boilers or whatever heating going anyway all one needs is some racks, and perhaps fan to move air about.

 

[bettfair]

I use this dehumidifier https://houseandbeyond.org/best-dehumidifier-for-basement/#product_1 which helps me to keep the air dry and this thing prevents the bad smells in the house. But actually I think to purchase a dryer just to compare what's will be more effective