What are ways to dehumidify an apartment without a dehumidifier?
Asked by
zina (
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)
July 19th, 2008
I’m up in the mountains in a very rainy region, in a small stone-wall apartment. It’s very damp and quite cold (50–70 F), without much air circulation, and I notice a moldy type smell in the bed/blankets/pillow/couch. Towels after showering take two days to dry. Any at-home tricks? The most important thing would be a solution for the bed, since I think it’s making me congested. (So far leaving the gas stove flame on and getting a fan have been suggested. Are either of those really going to help?)
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6 Answers
You might find this site from Virginia Tech, which has a bunch of ideas for different rooms and conditions, helpful.
You can buy room dessicants, which may help too. Here is an online site, but you should be able to get them in your hardware store.
Hope it improves.
Circulation of air is a key component to dehumidify. can you vent up through roof with fan to pull in less humid air. careful on gas flame, carbon monoxide, etc. can water be diverted from around the exterior so moist soil, runoff, etc is not wicking through the stone into the living area. can you dry cloth on an outdoor line; near a fire or stove so that they do not add to room’s moisture load. minimize boiling large quantities of water indoors, use an outdoor fire or grill. any thing to reduce moisture in contact with the dwelling and generating moisture within will help the total humidity load good luck.
For the towels; my grandmother fell in love with towel warmers while she was in Ireland. Both dried and kept them toasty for the tub.
You may have tried it, but there are still electric blankets on the market, which might help dissipate your bed moisture.
could you use rice? the same theory works for not getting moisture in a salt shaker. that’s a total guess. never tried in the real world.
Get some of that crystal cat litter and spread it out on a cookie sheet. Place a fan in such away that there is gentle air circulation over the pan. It’s a desiccant, should help. Better still would be if you could formulate some way to move the air through it. Maybe make a box out of screening or hardware fabric and put it in front of the fan…?
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