I have a tenant has rung me with a damp/condensation problem, classic mould in low airflow area not near obvious source of external water. Going to buy one to lend to him, then after problem resolved it'll go in my cellar to improve things down thee where paper and card goes off after a few months. What do I need to look for in a unit?
Digital controls so you can set the humidity (55 percent ideal apparently) rather than having it running unnecessarily wasting power. External waste flow (ie not just into a tank which gets filled, unit switches off, everyone forgets to empty, damp comes back), unit to match size of property, max flow per day (important if very damp and have lots of moisture to extract - some domestic units can extract 20l+ a day).
Some cheap deals on Ebay.
Other thing is, there's two types - refridgerant stylee, or dessicant based. The latter works down to freezing (which the former doesn't) and is quieter - generally more expensive tho'.
We recently got one of these from B&Q
doing a very good job upstairs in a 5 bed house
http://www.dehumidifierreviews.co.uk/bq/bq-wdh930dah-dehumidifier/
EBAC
We have a Ruby Dry desiccant model. Designed by Mitsubishi who are apparently the Daddy when it comes to de-humidifiers. As mentioned above the desiccant models carry on working when the temperature drops whereas the performance of the refrigerant models drops of very sharply when the temperature drops below 20C. They are also much quieter than refrigerant models. If your going to use it in a basement the lower temperature performance of the desiccant models will be better.
Been running a Delonghi one for over 10 years in my cellar. It's not particularly lightweight and you have to empty the tank but it only needs that about once every two weeks. Not expensive to run as you can set it at various 'drying' levels. Has worked faultlessly despite it, and the filter, being covered in all sorts of grot during building works various.
Ta for all that,
I've been over to the house in the meantime, and it does look as if it's condensation. Plenty of washing sitting about, all windows closed and no tumble drier. I'll have a punt on one of those desiccant units if I can find one in stock somewhere this afternoon. He's a bit upset naturally since the backs of some of furniture is covered in mould, but it's in farthest corners of rooms which are only heated a few hours a day. I'll try to educate him to at least weekly get all the windows and the back door open at once for an hour or so and get the air moving, but it's not easy getting laundry done without costing a fortune (and a planet) on tumble drying through the winter.
If you're going to run a dehumidifier you need to keep the external doors & windows closed
Surely if there are no water leaks causing the problem then any mould is his problem and he should be responsible for compensating YOU for ruining your house?????
I bought an X-dry absorption/desiccant type jobbie. £185 delivered so not cheap but seems to work very well. Turbo Laundry mode gets a load of laundry dry in about 2hrs (costs about 20p in electricity) and normal mode lifts a litre or so a day out of the house if it's left in the hall for a couple of hours with all the doors to the bedrooms open (@ about 6p an hour).
I went for the x-dry for its low temp ability - its amazing in the shed/workshop and has also dried the van out really well too. Whilst it pushes out air with quite a force, I do find it works even better in small sealed spaces like a shed/van/laundry room if there is a fan going too - I use my manky turbo training pedestal fan at the same time.
Absolutely, mastiles. Couldn't agree more. But an unhappy tenant will sooner or later move on, costing me redecoration costs, loss of rent, advertising, possible other minor repairs to do during the void period. For the sake of lending him a unit (which I'm after for my cellar anyway) for a few weeks until he convinces himself that he needs to manage moisture and airflow better, I avoid losing a tenant, and Jan/Feb/Mar is not the best time to find a new one, whilst everyone's bank balances recover from crimbo. Convert - I have a good dozen big fans sitting around left over from when a tenant decided to use my house as a cannabis farm, I'll lend him a couple too.
Fair enough - that is a very balanced view to take. I would piss in his shoes personally - and then he would have ammonia-scented mould.