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Damp means different things to different people
Damp can be a musty smell in the air, mould
appearing on walls, a tidemark on the wall, a cold feeling when you
touch the walls, brown patches on the floor, walls or ceiling or
condensation. If your problem is condensation then follow
this link.
Brown tidemarks, cold feeling on the wall
The above will normally stop at about one metre
from the ground and only happen on walls that are in contact with the
ground (this can be internal walls as well as external). This is
called Rising Damp and is caused by the Damp Proof Course (DPC) either
missing fully or partially and the brickwork coming in to contact with
the soil.
The brickwork sucks up the water and this causes
the damp marks on the wall. You will need to contact a surveyor to
get the DPC fixed but the resulting work will be expensive and will take
time to plan and execute. In the meantime a dehumidifier will dry
the air in the room which will mean that the wall will then realise the
moisture that is is holding into the room for the dehumidifier to suck
in and process. Although the wall will start to suck water up
again from the ground and the process will become cyclic, the
dehumidifier will help to control the problem until the DPC can be
fixed.
Read on the learn more.
If a brown patch appears in the middle of a wall
or on an wall not in contact with the ground.
This will be a leaking pipe and will need immediate
attention from a plumber to find the source. If you do not cure
this problem asap then at worst a ceiling could collapse! in the
meantime a dehumidifier will help to dry out the effected area.
Read on the learn more
Why does water appear on my windows/cupboards/walls?
It is a basic law of physics that if the surface
is cold enough and if there is enough water vapour in the air then it
will condense. This means
in the case of windows whether they are double-glazed or not that if
the windows are cold enough and there is enough moisture in the air
then condensation will occur.
Where does this water come from?
We all produce water by drying clothes indoors,
poor heating, calor gas heating, the boiling of
vegetables, showering, rain, calor gas heating and making cups of tea
all produces moisture. It
is just an on-going process that never stops.
Can I just get rid of it by opening my windows?
This is fine on a nice summers day but in winter
opening your windows will just result in you losing the heat from your
central heating and create draughts.
This is a waste of money and if it is raining will just let more
moisture in. You might
as well just throw fivers out of the window.
What about the black spots of mould on my window
and bathroom sealant?
Mould occurs around 68% humidity, condensation occurs
at 100%. As you can see
from this you can have mould but still have clear windows.
A dehumidifier will prevent the mould from getting any worse
and once you have cleaned the mould away it will stop it from coming
back.
How does a dehumidifier work?
A dehumidifier draws the air in from the room over
a filter and passes it over some cold coils similar to the coils on
a fridge. As the coils
are cold water condenses and drips into a bucket.
The air is then reheated to room temperature and blown back out
of the dehumidifier.
Will a dehumidifier do the whole house?
A dehumidifier creates a volume of dry air in as
large a space as its fan can effect.
After that it will be helped by the fact that damp air will always
migrate to dry places. As
long as you leave all of the internal doors open a correctly sized dehumidifier
will prevent condensation from appearing around the whole house.
Do I put it in the worst room?
You can if you like put it in the main problem area
to start with and then move it somewhere more convenient when you feel
that the problem is under control.
If it is just condensation on the windows that you are worried
about a dehumidifier in a central position at for example the bottom
of the stairs will cure the problem in the whole house.
Are they expensive to run?
A dehumidifier costs about 2-3p an hour to run.
You should take into consideration the fact that the dehumidifier
will not run all the time, as it will be controlled via its humidistat.
Secondly it is very expensive to heat a damp house and you will
see a reduction in your central heating bill when you start to use your
dehumidifier.
What is the humidistat?
Just as you have a thermostat that you set on your
central heating you have a humidistat on your dehumidifier. This will allow the dehumidifier to turn off and on as required
without you having to worry about it.
Should I turn the dehumidifier on for just a few
hours a day?
No just let the dehumidifier decide when to come
on using its humidistat.
Will they help with allergies?
A dehumidifier will reduce the relative humidity
in the house, which will prevent dust mites and other pests from breeding.
In this way a dehumidifier can help with allergies.
For more information on allergies and fighting dust mites please click
here.
Unheated
areas
Why do unheated areas get separated out?
A dehumidifier that can be found in your local high
street store is designed for use in your home, which is nice and warm.
In a garage, store, workshop, boat, caravan, holiday home or
a conservatory the temperature will drop a lot lower.
Since a dehumidifier works by reducing the temperature internally
it can easily reduce down to freezing even if the ambient temperature
is 10°C. What you do not
want is for your dehumidifier to form a block of ice or for you to find
a puddle on the floor.
What happens when the temperature in the room
drops down towards freezing?
Most dehumidifiers designed for use in the home will
just stop working and turn themselves off.
Others will try to work and might well suffer from a build up
of ice. Those with a defrost
system are likely to only extract a tiny amount of water.
What is the correct type of dehumidifier to use
in these applications?
You need a machine with a function called hot gas
defrost. If the dehumidifier
does not have this then do not buy it. Examples of our
current range can be found here.
How does Hot Gas Defrost work?
Hot gas defrost works by reversing the coils and
using the heat from the hot side of the coils to melt the ice to water.
When this is done the heat is returned to the front of the machine
to warm the air before it is blown back out.
So what temperature will a hot gas defrost system
work down to?
Freezing.
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