Dehumidifiers
I was just wodnering as it is a concern of mine, (Maybe unwarranted one) of contracting damp within my van. I have done all the usual drain downs, open bathroom doors, fridge, cupboards etc
Does anyone use or looked at using dehumidifiers such as hanging wardrobe ones, or ones like small unibond aero-360 moiusture absorbers?
Does anyone put in sila gel packs into drawers etc?
Final thing should the fridge vent covers be put on if the van just sitting in the drive to protect from rain and wind etc?
My van will be staying on my drive and not undercover or in storage.
Comments
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It does not do them any good sitting on the driveway doing nothing. They are mostly commercial vehicles and need to be moved rather than just sat still. By some thick long johns and get out there. Biggest problems with dehumidifiers is the air holes that
are present in all MH's. You just dehumidify the atmosphere.0 -
Ah ok, i see.So in other words no point in getting or using any form of dehumidifier/silica gel pouch.
The motorhome will be used during the winter, its just for when it may be sitting there for a 2/3 week period where other circumstances dictate it cant be used. Where it will be sitting for this length of time, the plan is to use it instead of the car if we have a day out somewhere.
Possibly im just being over cautious and nervous, its our first MH and a large outlay for us so didnt want to ruin it right at the start of having it.
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I had a problem with the roof of my swift which has a aluminium skin which developed corrsion and let the water in to the roof.
After making repairs I sealed up the fridge vents and installed a di-humidifier, I also have a moisture meter, so knowing the start point, which was soaking wet in places I can say that the dehumidifier removed all the water over a 30 day period.
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thanks for the responses, just want to make clear i dont have any issues with damp. The MH is brand new, well ive used it two weekends in the 3 weeks since i picked it up. I just dont want to be the cause of any issues of Damp being introduced.
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I have a mains de-hum which I had for when plastering the house. I put that in the van when it's on the drive and use the little cups from an egg poacher to cover the floor vents so that I only dry the inside of the van. After a week away I get about 4 litres
out of it, and then 1 litre every fortnight.0 -
Auchty, plug in your mains lead every w/end and go & reside in the van for a few days, Pretend its Bunree or some such !
ha ha, everywhere i read about sites Bunree gets mentioned. I will have to put it on my list of places to visit.
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We've never used dehumidifiers in the caravan either. To try and take moisture out of the air seems a bit like an impossible task, to be honest. I don't see that it does much good.
If you are worried about damp, I think it would be fair to say that most 'destructive damp' is caused by water ingress.
David
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If the air coming into the van, and it will, has a high moisture content than that in the van then those dehumidifying things are a total waste of money and time! And to be honest, that's most of the time! Like pushing pound notes down the drain!
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We have campervan on driveway.Access to 13 amp hook up.Use van all year.However we have an electric dehumidifier and will use it now and again in winter plus a blow heater, We dont remove any bedding etc.and never had any problem with damp/condensation
or mould. Likewise on good dry days will open all the doors to give a good airing.0 -
We have campervan on driveway.Access to 13 amp hook up.Use van all year.However we have an electric dehumidifier and will use it now and again in winter plus a blow heater, We dont remove any bedding etc.and never had any problem with damp/condensation or mould. Likewise on good dry days will open all the doors to give a good airing.
if you can hermetically seal your van than that may work, if not Canute may be worth callng for! The air moisture content entering and leaving will always balance out!
But evey little bit may just reduce the absorbtion of moisture by those materials which will retain it! Removing them may be a better option and definitely a cheaper one!.
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If the air coming into the van, and it will, has a high moisture content than that in the van then those dehumidifying things are a total waste of money and time! And to be honest, that's most of the time! Like pushing pound notes down the drain!
Is it a bit like having a heater in an awning?
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We've never had a damp problem and never use gel sachets or humidifiers. I have occasionally put on a heater for an hour or so when the van has been sat for a week or two in very cold weather. Otherwise we use the van throughout the year. As others have said, it needs to be active. I do leave off the handbrake and use chocks on the drive.
Design of your motorhome will have a big part to play in what you should do. If cushions are against the wall and not against a board that provides an air gap, then I would consider removing the cushions or at least keeping them away from the wall. Removing food to discourage mice is another must do. If you check the van at least weekly, you'll soon see the early signs of internal condensation. That's when you deal with it.
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Humidifiers -- A complete waste of time. Open the windows. door and the roof vents every few days to let the van be filled by fresh air ..
The only dampness you have to worry about is if your van has a water leak ( Common to certain models from all British manufacturers) then you have to have the dealer put it right ASAP.
K
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use cat litter
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I wouldn't worry. We leave our MH 2-3 weeks between trips, don't do anything to it other than drain down in case of frost, make sure nothing damp is left inside, give it a good clean, then periodically go in once or twice a week to let some air in, check
things over, sit and have a cup of tea, get it ready for next trip! Using a MH regularly seems to be the key to keeping things working fine. We are lucky to be able to keep MH at home, and to be able to use it frequently. Ours is having its MOT tomorrow, fingers
crossed!
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Some people are pro dehumidifier some are anti, I have never seen any scientific proof either way, but for what it costs to buy five disposable units - about £3-£4 to maybe protect a £40k+ unit, why not, if it works you are on a winner, if not no harm done
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We have had our motorhome nine years, its kept in storage, and isn't used in the winter months. We leave cupboard bathroom and fridge doors open and the external silver screen on. Its neither heated nor dehumifided. A couple of visits over the winter on
really nice days to check and leave door open for half an hour. Touchwood no damp issues, its 14 years old now,I think an even temperature is the key if you're not using it. Not been able to motorhome in the winter and probably won't be able to.0 -
The worst weather for damp in the mhome is when we have cold days followed by warmer days.
The mhome retains cold, rather like a refrigerator van, thanks to its insulation, So when the doors are opened a waft of warmer moist air is introduced and condensation can form on cold surfaces. Also on / in the foam of the seats and bedding.
we use the mhome may once or twice a month, and make sure that we have a run that both fully warms the engine, and also has a good blow through of air, also running the air conditioning on warm.
Do have damp checks carried annually, If you think the mhome feels, smells damp, you are probably correct. We have had leaks caused by badly fitted high level marker lights, roof bar mounts. That said, over twenty odd years we have had no other damp problems.
We used a 240v dehumidifier, but found that it was a wasted exercise.Rgds
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If you run a dehumidifier in a C/van or M/home ,all you are doing in ingesting the ambient surrounding weather !! Yes it will fill the water resovoir of course ,but thats all from outside !! They are a misnomer !! 
.Adequate ventilation is preferable .0 -
Cold or warm air is irrelevant, it's the moisture content of said air that is important.You can have damp cold air and dry warm air or dry cold air or damp warm air. What ever we do to alter the humidity content of the air itself in our vans will be pretty
much ineffective. Just remove materials which may absorb and retain that moisture may be most effective action we can take.0 -
If you run a dehumidifier in a C/van or M/home ,all you are doing in ingesting the ambient surrounding weather !! Yes it will
fill the water resovoir of course ,but thats all from outside !! They are a misnomer !!.Adequate ventilation is preferable .How does a recirculating dehumidifier draw in air from the outside, granted there will be a natural airflow but surely it will be unaffected by the unit
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We have had our M/H 4 years now so its done 4 Scottish winters, we don't heat or dehumidify it. In between trips it sits outside the house. We have fridge vents on once it drops to 10c and try and use the van at least evey 2-3 weeks, if we can't then we
take it for a 20 mile drive. We do life the seating away from the sides and leave lockers open, curtains closed but not blinds.0 -
Thanks All i really appreciate the comments. We leave the doors open etc when its a nice day and do pretty much what everyone says with doors open inside etc, so should be good. Its just newbie nerves i suppose.
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If you run a dehumidifier in a C/van or M/home ,all you are doing in ingesting the ambient surrounding weather !! Yes it will
fill the water resovoir of course ,but thats all from outside !! They are a misnomer !!.Adequate ventilation is preferable .How does a recirculating dehumidifier draw in air from the outside, granted there will be a natural airflow but surely it will be unaffected by the unit
it doesn't directly draw air in at all but vans are built with vents. They, the vans, are not sealed units therefore the moisture content of the air inside will naturally balance with that outside as it is free to enter. And so the moisture content is, as
you say relatively unaffected by the unit.0
