Which De-humidifier

[gary]

I was talking about this thread the other day with a mobile service guy of many years standing, his comment was.. is it 'fixed bed'? because it does seem more of a problem since they appeared on the scene?

Reason he believes is the amount of moisture they absorb in use and then releasing it in storage to allow mould etc to flourish.

Thinking of it that way, better to remove the mattress/upholstery and the rest of the van will then look after itself?

 

[Lutz]

It's a good idea to remove all mattresses and cushions from the caravan and store them in the dry at home, if you have space available there.

 

[xtrailman]

At present the humidity outside our bungalow is 86%, temp 8.6c.

i have never seen it at 100%, but usually i am looking at the temperature.

i have been using a dehumidifier now for 30 years, i only bought one after mould growth appear on the walls in the master bedroom, since using one i have never had mould growth again.

however i have never used one in the caravan, it would dry out a caravan, assuming no leaks, and all the gas vents are sealed.

but there is a danger of drying out the van too much, if the dehumidifier is set too high, ie on constant, and left on too long.

All i do is remove most of the cushions, and store them in the cinema room. then about two times a year, use a fan heater to put some heat into the van, usually after a very cold period, ground frost etc.

perhaps this is unnecessary, but i find it reassuring that the remaining furnishing are "aired".

as for white deposits on the hinges, a consequence of high humidity, before winterising i always go round ever hinge, in particular the piano type, with a good wax based polish, this stops the rusting.

of course if stainless steel was used, then this would not be required to prevent rust, but still gives lubrication.

 

[James3]

Although we tend to use the van for most of the year it is laid up in storage from about now until end of Jan. All we do is to bring it home on our driveway and put the heater on the 500watt setting overnight and the caravan feels ok. We did use the crystal systems some years back but it is a waste of time for the reasons mentioned above.

 

[James3]

I should have added that we just move the cushions and leave cupboards open to allow air to circulate. We use to bring the cushions home but now don't bother.

 

[vauxhall2]

i agree with ray,we have used a dehumidifier for years,only a small one.EHU is on a timer for 6 hours a day.this charges the battery and runs the dehumidifier.imho,you need to remove any damp air in the van before it can be replaced from outside.keeps van warm and dry with no mold/mould,even at a 50% reduction i think it is worth the cost.

 

[daven2695]

We use a dehumidifier and have as needed since buying one in 1991.

We use it on our return from damp winter month camping trips, when needed, to remove the inevitable moisture from human habitation that occurs on those occasions.

If left running they achieve nothing much more that making distilled water and drying Hampshire, but if used intelligently for a few hours they can remove damp from drapes etc and surface condensation in cold inaccessible spots.

I would not dismiss them as a waste of money; we think we have had our monies worth and have never had a repeat of an earlier experience of mildew spots on the curtains close to the wall we once had before buying ours.

However if you don't do damp cold weather caravanning then you dont really need one.

I agree, used periodiaclly dehumidifiers do reduce the amount of humidity within the caravan I have used mine for the last 4 years and the van is always nice and dry. Dave