De-humidifiers
Eventually, - I gave in! Extreme circumstances require extreme measures: I bought a de-humidifier!
I have always struggled to recommend dehumidifiers to clients, as they generally don’t solve the underlying problem of high humidity, the cause of mould growth.
We always need to ask: Where does the humidity come from? - and address the structural issues, like blocked gutters, leaking plumbing, rising damp, etc.
A further argument against de-humidifiers is, as soon as we open a window or door, the humidity from outside comes in and the dehumidifier virtually dehumidifies outside air, which is a ridiculous undertaking. - And a huge waste of energy, if I have ever seen one.
IF, however, windows and doors are closed and we still find high humidity levels, even though all structural causes have been addressed - the problem is clearly coming from moisture-laden air, and a de-humidifier is the go.
After days of mould cleaning in our normally clean and well ventilated home in this relentless rain and fog, I knew that we needed to actually reduce the consistently high humidity.
Central airconditioning- heating /drying did not make much of a difference.
The dehumidifier ran for 6 days non-stop and reduced our relative humidity levels from a constant 75% (loved by moulds) to 52% (hated by moulds). In addition, I run our central heating system on fan-only mode, to move the air around.
We are now hoping for some lovely, sunny days, so we can open the windows again, without letting 95% humid air into the home. - Don’t worry about a lack of ventilation when your windows stay shut, during humid times: Even then, the air gets replaced about 5 times per hour, - believe it, or not! Our homes are leaking like a sieve.
It is good to know that in future we will turn on our new dehumidifier, as soon as the hygrometer shows us high levels of humidity. Saves a lot of work cleaning up the mould, - plus the associated health problems.
Mould is toxic and disgusting- we don’t want it in our home!
Need help with your mould problem? See Services on my website
Review of dehumidifiers, including advice on which type to buy at https://www.choice.com.au and all over the Internet. Delonghi seems to be the leading brand.
Air purifier at https://buildingbiologyservices.com/indoor-air-quality
