We finally managed to buy a dehumidifier.. But–

[Guest]

We got the meaco arete one 12L dehumidifier with air purifier (3 year old son has bad allergies). It covers 55m2 and is suitable for a 3 bed house.

Question is we ran it for around 4 hours yesterday when we got it. The humidity was automatically set to 55 on the smart mode. The humidity wouldn't go below 60. Emptied last night around 3/4 litres in just 4 hours. This was in living room, internal door closed.

We have 4 rooms affected with high humidity around 70/75 sometimes as high as 80.

2 rooms upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs.

°• Would it be better to put the dehumidifier in each individual room, or place it in the hallway downstairs and open all 4 internal doors? (2 upstairs 2 downstairs)

The hallway is small, stairs have high walls.

It costs around 5p per hour to run so really good.

No wall insulation (fighting with council to get it at the moment even with EPC certificate showing E!)

We have found mould under the sofa, sofa is a good 50cm from all internal/external wall.

We had severe rising damp last year pic attached so wondering if it's in the floorboards. All furniture had to go and really don't want to do that again this year. My 3 year old son ended up in hospital with respiratory distress last year.

That's the main reason for buying a dehumidifier because it nearly caused a full mental breakdown last year. Now to find mould again is too much.

When the sofa was by the external wall in summer, no mould underneath it at all, now we moved the sofa to this place 3 weeks ago and mould under it, but only in one place on the floor.

Hoping someone knows where to put the dehumidifier as above and if there is anything else I need to do or buy to stop the mould again?

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The pic of the wall is last year!

[Julia]

I got this exact same model yesterday. I’m planning on putting it in each room and then a central area. We’re in a 2 bed maisonette with a very damp downstairs room that used to be the coal storage outbuilding.

My mum was encouraging me to get the 20l so I’m hoping 12l is ok.

[Jessica]

Have you got suspended floorboard flooring or a concrete floor?

I had a concrete floor and kept getting damp patches, turned out that the damp membrane had failed in the floor and I had it all removed and relayed.

Definitely see how you get on with the dehumidifier, but if the problem still happens, then this is something the landlord needs to explore (assumed you're renting as you referred to council).

[Helen]

We have meaco and it’s on the landing upstairs , all.
Doors open mostly , when first got it we had to leave it on all the time and it took 5 days to get to 55 where I have it set.

[Lisa]

We bought this one make last year. We placed ours downstairs in the hallway and then decided to put it upstairs on the landing (once the humidity downstairs had come down to where we wanted it).

It did take weeks for it to get where we wanted it to. But once you get there, it will only come on when needed.

My work friend bought the same and are also fab for drying clothes.

If you ring/email Meaco they will let you know what’s best xx

Don't miss: What is a good affordable dehumidifier?

[Jess]

To begin with you can use it in each room to remove excess moisture.

Then afterwards use where you need it and ensure that when you cook or dry clothes, you close the door and use the dehumidifier in that room to catch the moisture at source and in the other rooms only as needed.

[Jade]

Did you say the council did a new damp proof course? Did they do it properly? They should have taken the plaster off to the brick and re plastered everywhere because that looks like a bad case of rising damp. They also should have damp proofed the floors as well as the bricks on the walls.

I’d start by focusing on the worst rooms and alternating until you see a solid reduction.

If you haven’t already done so, contact your local MP to push the damp issue with the housing. There is more pressure on councils to take responsibility for damp housing because of how detrimental it can be to health. Push, push, push. Good luck.

I lived in a damp house and it really gets you down xxx

[Stacey]

My house isn’t damp but when I first got my dehumidifier, I was amazed how much moisture it drew out of the room. I put it in each room for a couple of days and closed the doors to the rooms when it was on.

Eventually, I put it in one area and could leave the doors open. That seemed to be the most effective route.

I don’t know how much it costs having it on but I’m a low energy user (usually 3kwh electric daily)