Condensation - Help!

[richo106]

Thanks @MikeGrahamT21 I am going to try and get it insulated this week

 

I haven’t got a loft hatch at the minute and also found a leak on my chimney in the loft so I am thinking these maybe the cause of moisture getting in there 

 

I turned my de-humidifiers on last night at 9pm and got to the house at 8am and they had pulled about 4L out

[MikeGrahamT21]

Consider taping a piece of VCL on the loft door hole to stop it going up, just as a temp measure, and get that heating on full whack, windows on vent, dehumidifiers running max, you’ll get there!!

Edited December 9, 2023 by MikeGrahamT21

[Ferdinand]

OK @richo106, my comments and suggestions.

 

1 - Your De Longhi Pinguino dehumidifier

 

Having read the manual for your device and watched the review at the bottom.

 

The Pinguino is a combined Air Conditioner / Dehumidifier which generally afaics runs both modes to achieve what it decides is an appropriate balance, managed together. It normally gets rid of it's collected water I think via the aircon air outlet. 

 

I *think* that means that it cannot run as a pure dehumidifier, which means that you are unlikely to get the same levels of efficiency in terms of energy used per amount of water extracted.

 

HOWEVER, you have it to hand - try it and see if it does the job - a bit of extra power costing a few £10s is nothing if it gets you working again 2-3 days more quickly, or manages a risk.

 

Note that it seems to have a pipe outlet that you should be able to connect to a  bucket by putting it on a chair or similar.

 

2 - Standard Dehumidifiers

 

A classic dehumidifier has no external window-outlet, because the water goes into the drip tray / tank, or to an outlet where you connect a piece of hose pipe or similar. It will be controlled via a switch, timer, perhaps thermostat or humidistat. It may also include a small heater to help boost the air temperature to increase the water in the air, so that it can get more out. Drying out of the air encourages more to evaporate from the walls, which is the process until the plaster is dry.

 

My domestic £149 (a few years ago) 10/ day domestic dehumidifier from B&Q has a 3 litre jug, lots of controls (timer, thermostat, humidistat) but no pipe outlet.

Normal process is either to empty the tray/jug umpteen times, or to elevate the dehumidifier and run the pipe into a bucket or soft-bucket or shower tray etc, so you can leave it alone. Big commercial dehumidifiers come with an elevating pump that lets you put the dh on the floor (it may weigh 50kg to 100kg so you have little choice) and run the pipe to eg a sink.

 

3 - Practicalities

  

Heating the place to 25C makes a hell of a difference, but afaik it is mainly the AIR that you want to heat - so suggest a fan heater is perhaps better than central heating. When you are there opening lots of windows and turning them all off may be more effective. If you can move it (or them) around spread-out places helps. It will work to do one room only with the door closed if you need to work there.

 

For a dehumidifier to be working at high efficiency, the space needs to feel like walking into a swimming pool. (Check the specs on the DH in the manual as to conditions when the magical "X litres per day" 5x more than you are getting was measured - usually 30C / 80% RH.) That will then go off as you dry it out.

 

Often the amount of water to be extracted is underestimated. Each 25kg bag of plaster used requires about 11 litres of water (2.5 gallons), so add up how many you have used and that is roughly how much water has to come out. 

 

How many bags of plaster did you use - x10 is how much water you need out in litres (ish).

 

You can dry out particular rooms by setting up polythene curtains in doorways with gaffer tape and DPM. 

 

Plus at the end make sure that all the poor circulation nooks and corners are done properly.

 

4 - My suggestions.

 

a - Do what you are doing to see how well it works.

 

b - Get 2-3 of £10 hygrometer-thermometers to monitor. Your humidity will start at 80-90% and you need it down to about 50-55%. Do this anyway - you will always find these useful, even with drying washing. You will slowly get through them over time, as they don't bounce.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ThermoPro-TP50-Digital-Thermometer-Temperature/dp/B01H1R0K68/

 

c - To enhance, get a couple of £10 fan thermostat heaters from Screwfix, Toolstation or Argos in addition to your heating. Whack em in and set them to medium-high. Probably do this anyway - always useful to have eg
https://www.toolstation.com/upright-fan-heater/p62624

 

d - If that isn't doing it enough, then look at a commercial dehumidifier or two, which will cost say £300-500 and you can get most of it back at the end, like scaffolding and other bits. I'd say these or similar are OK and decent value (plus the one I mentioned above):
Watch availability dates - if it was me I'd snap up the refurbished version of the first one - looks like a steal at £300-380. Sell it on and you should get 80-90% back. Buy, don't hire.

https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/ecd30/electriq-ecd30-dehumidifier

https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/ecd50/electriq-ecd50-dehumidifier

My thoughts and all the best. Not a time to pussyfoot too much, but also to act thoughtfully.

 

Ferdinand

 

 

 

[Kelvin]

You need more dehumidifiers running spread around the house especially upstairs plumbed into something even if it’s just a much bigger bucket to reduce emptying. Windows open when you’re at the house. Get the temperature up and keep it up. It should feel humid. It’s incredible how much water is in what you think is a relatively dry building. We’ve been plastering in spurts so it’s been a bit easier to manage. 

[saveasteading]

Kelvin and others are right. Dehumidifier running at night, with the windows and doors closed. It's worth hiring a commercial one for a week. They fill buckets, which is  water from a lot of air, which then absorbs water from thd plaster.  The power used is also heating the space.

 

On dry days, turn the machine off and open all windows to get a wind blowing through.

Repeat.

I've found that after a few days of this, the problem very suddenly is resolved.