Dehumidifier Question

[unclegrumpy]

I agree!

 

One thing I will add, is to those that do not have a dehumidifier, running a box fan helps a lot. It does not lower the humidity, but keeping the air moving and circulating will help keep the mold problems in check.

[hawkdriver]

I use my water from it to water my plants inside and outside the house.

 

Funny, I was just going to post the same thing. Before I ran the hose, I would use the water to water the indoor plants and once they were quenched, I would then water the bushes in front of the porch. I would also use it to pour into the toilets that don't get used very often to keep the traps hydrated and fresh.

[Nkomo]

Some great information here, guys. Thanks to all who took time to respond and share information.

 

When my "war rooms" were upstairs, I would use the water collected from the dehumidifiers and dump it on my plants. Now that the "war rooms" have been moved to the basement area, we use the water collected for laundry purposes. I will empty the dehumidifier buckets into the washing machines every day and after about three days, I have enough water to fill the initial cycle for a full load (high setting). It really has cut down on our water bill.

[Bob Hudson]

Some great information here, guys. Thanks to all who took time to respond and share information.

 

When my "war rooms" were upstairs, I would use the water collected from the dehumidifiers and dump it on my plants. Now that the "war rooms" have been moved to the basement area, we use the water collected for laundry purposes. I will empty the dehumidifier buckets into the washing machines every day and after about three days, I have enough water to fill the initial cycle for a full load (high setting). It really has cut down on our water bill.

 

As my wife always says, "I love my husband's militaria collection - it preserves history and keeps our laundry whiter."

[JDK]

I have mine set at 45%. My collection room is 14'x14'. I normally have about 1 gallon per pay in the peak of summer. I run mine April-October. I then have to switch to humidifier in the winter as the humidity levels drop to around 20-30%. I have it set at 45% as well, and only run distilled water through it. I usually pump about 3-4 gallons a week into the air to keep that 45%. Keeping a constant level temperature and humidity level is very important. Especially if you have leather items which I have quite a bit of due to my flight jacket collection.

 

At least for myself, 45% seems to keep everything in my collection in tip top shape. Much lower and leather and paper gets too dry and much over 50% everything feels damp and mold can become a problem. Find a happy medium for what you collect and try your best to keep it steady at that setting. Fluctuating temperatures and humidity are the top problems for collectors of leather goods, cloth, and paper. These are the lessons I've learned over my years of perfecting everything.

 

JD

[ColdWarRules]

Thanks for starting this topic! When I am stationed somewhere I will defiantly invest in one of these systems.

 

-Nick

[fallout]

Well I don't have one but I reckon here in Missouri it'd be quite a bit in the summer 0_0

 

Nick

 

Agreed

[plick27]

Great post with some good examples of dehu set ups and ingenious uses for the removed h2o. Arch, I'm not so sure I'd use my water to wash laundry. That condensate from a dehumidifier can get pretty nasty. I'd drop some color safe bleach in the water before I threw it in the washing machine to help clean up some of the junk that may be in there. For anyone that is already using them, keep that filter on your dehu's clean. They're not there to clean the air but to keep the coils clean. If the coils get dirty or the filter gets plugged they'll run pretty inefficient and cost you more to run.

 

Mold spores are always present and depending on your location may be at higher levels than others. This typically coincides with outdoor humidity levels and can be elevated by naturally decomposing materials that may be outdoors.(woods with a nice layer of leaves on the ground is an example) Mold needs a host(pieces in our collections) and the right environmental conditions to grow. In areas that experience moderate outdoor humidity levels your central a/c unit(if sized properly) should maintain adequate humidity levels in your house(war room) to keep the mold down(remember it's always there just not active). Here's a quick read I found that explains it to an extent: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/buildings/basics/moldgrowth.htm

For anyone who is concerned about mold or the adequate preservation of their collection I would recommend getting a temp/humidity sensor and check what the typical conditions are where you store your collection. Then you'll have a set a parameters that you'll be trying to address and can find the best route to take. You may find that you'll need more than you think due to an inadequate central a/c system, the construction of your house or geographic location but on the other hand you may find that you're good to go as is and can spend that few hundred bucks on more pieces for the collection. We use these: http://www.kele.com/tools-and-test-equipment/el-usb-series-data-logger.aspx They're pretty pricey but have the ability to log temp/humidity, calculate dewpoint and you can plot a graph and print it. If you already have a dehumidifier the graph can show you how good of a job it really is doing. Even with the dehu running you may find that you have conditions that are good for mold growth and these logs will tell you when and for how long. There are definitely cheaper ones out there but I use these for business because we need the accuracy. A good reading will help you get the most bang for your buck. Only other thing I can add for now is use a good quality "pleated"(looks like and accordion) filter in your a/c unit. The more crap you can pull out of the air the less you'll have in the house that can grow. If anybody has any questions or wants to shoot me some of the conditions your trying to overcome just ask and I'll be happy to help where I can.

 

RJ

[Nkomo]

RJ,

I routinely run baking soda and bleach through my washing machine. Haven't had any problems as of yet (fingers crossed). Thanks for the great information as well.

[usmchistorian]

Anyone from the northwest mind sharing dehumidifier techniques? I'm in WA St and I know we can have a lot of moisture in the air but don't usually have the heat issues.

[RelicHunter99]

Anyone from the northwest mind sharing dehumidifier techniques? I'm in WA St and I know we can have a lot of moisture in the air but don't usually have the heat issues.

 

Humidity rises with cooler temperatures. It seems contrary to common sense sometimes because in many areas of the country, it seems like it dries out when it gets cold. But you need to remember the biggest man-made contributor to your humidity level: Your furnace. A furnace will dry out your home incredibly fast in the winter time. Here in North Dakota when it dips down below zero, the furnace runs almost constantly and burns up all the moisture in the air as its recycled through. It can easily get below 10% in the house. This is why I find it best to store my items in a finished basement as its cooler down there so it will naturally be less dry.

 

But I also have to run humidifiers constantly during the winter just to keep my room at 35 - 40%. I just moved to a new home and am having some trouble regulating the humidity because my room is in the basement but has an outside wall, so its more easily affected by outside temperatures.

 

So in Washington for example, you won't get the high heat, but you won't get extreme cold either for the most part, so your humidity could remain high just naturally because you may not need to run your furnace often. And if you are near bodies of water or the ocean, it could increase it as well.

 

Humidity is just one of those awful things that we have to deal with. I sometimes think that we may obsess over it too much. For example, I had a WW1 Canadian helmet I bought as a kid stored in my dad's uninsulated garage for over ten years in North Dakota. It was exposed to insane temperatures and humidity. But the leather is still just fine. I think a lot of it may depend on the particular piece, and that is where it could be vital to maintain property temp and humidity. Because if you have a delicate piece that is already susceptible to dry rot or rust or what have you, then you need to take extra special care of it. Then there are apparently those items, like my helmet, that are indestructible.

 

RIght now I have a big problem because I have two different rooms for my collections. I collect silver age comic books and Civil War militaria. The Civil War stuff isn't' so bad because I only have two pieces of leather and the rest is metal, but my old paper comic collection does concern me. Paper can be very brittle as it ages, especially if it was intended to only be temporary, as old comics are. So humidity too high can cause damage, humidity too low can cause damage, and any significant (more than 3%) change in humidity over a 24 hour period is bad for it as well.