more about dehumidifiers

Moving to a permanent house from temporary furnished apartment. The building has been fully renovated inside but, among a long list of poorly designed things, they did not install a dehumidifier system, only the a/c.

I am new to HK.

Are dehumidifiers really needed? Am I going to start finding mold in clothes, sofas, walls, rugs, all fabrics....if I do not buy dehumidifiers right away?

Is it really that bad or we can survive with just the a/c?

I have read other threads about dehumidifiers but not sure if the a/c could be enough.

Thanks.

Good air conditioning systems remove moisture from the environment. However, do you want to have the expense etc of running the air conditioning all the time - even in the cooler months?


Dehumidifiers are relatively cheap to buy and run. I think most people would agree that they are indispensable in Hong Kong. As are heaters in your clothes cupboards.

Thanks for your replies. I was trying to avoid those ugly bulky dehumidifiers but I guess it is not possible. We went to Wing On and saw the ones they have. I am not familiar with dehumidifiers (as I come from a hot but dry kind of weather) but I did not think they were that cheap. Are there other better places to get them?

Would we need one in each room, especially the rooms where we do not spend much time and the a/c would not be on that often? Do people spend the day going around the house and emptying the dehumidifiers?

Sorry about all the questions (that can sound very stupid) but, again, I have never had to use dehumidifiers before.

Thanks again for your replies.

"Are dehumidifiers really needed?"


YES! And you should get the little dehumidifying tubs for every drawer and cupboard that contains clothes.



"Am I going to start finding mold in clothes, sofas, walls, rugs, all fabrics....if I do not buy dehumidifiers right away?"


In summer, you will pretty soon. More than that, the humidity makes the air feel stifling. It's just not very pleasant. Drying the air out a bit will make the place feel much nicer and less stuffy.



"Is it really that bad or we can survive with just the a/c?"


A very expensive solution to have a/c on constantly. Electricity is relatively expensive in HK. With dehumidifiers + ceiling fans, you can use a/c much less and save literally thousands a month. We did a comparison with our neighbors on power bills in summer. We spent 3200 and they spent 14000 for identical townhouses. Granted, we may have a higher tolerance for heat, but with our fans and dehumidyers we simply don't need the a/c anywhere near as much.


Another thing: you turn off the a/c when not home. When you are away, you can set the dehumifiers to 24/7 operation with a hose attachment. Have it drain in the bathtub/bathroom drain/kitchen sink. Note: get units where you can attach a hose. When you go on vaca you can just leave the units on. You'll get home to a warm but dry and non-moldy house.



"I have read other threads about dehumidifiers but not sure if the a/c could be enough."


A mentioned, A/C is a much more expensive solution.



"I was trying to avoid those ugly bulky dehumidifiers but I guess it is not possible. "


Some don't look that bad but I see what you mean. For me, noise level is more important than looks. And they don't need to be in the middle of the living room. Put them in corridors or bedrooms and leave the doors open.



"Do people spend the day going around the house and emptying the dehumidifiers?"


Definitely get ones with big tanks, 4-5 liters. You'll only be emptying them 1-2 times a day. Between the two of us and the helper, it's not a lot of work.



"As are heaters in your clothes cupboards."


Alternatively, dehumidifying tubs.

We have lived in HK for almost 7 years and have not used dehumidifiers - nothing has gone mouldy yet. We do put the dehumidifying tubs in each of the wardrobes and only need to replace them every 3 months or so.


I would suggest you try living in your new place before buying any electrical dehumidifiers.


We only have the a/c on in summer whilst we are home which is night time and weekends.

JinHK, the tubs will do the job preventing mold. So that's fixed. However I still say that drying the air out a bit makes for a more pleasant indoor environment. Then again we don't run our A/C very much.

I have found that an overhead fan in the bedroom obviates the need for the air-conditioner most of the time. But the dehumidifiers are always on during the day, in the bedroom and the living room as well.

I have never heard of a built in dehumidifier system. In Canada, you can have a built in humidifier with the central heating system. But in HK, central heating is rare.


Dehumidifier - this is a must have in my opinion. Makes your flat much more comfortable to live in. I turn mine on all day when I am away from home so the noise level does not bother me. When I get home, a big tub of water awaits. I have two dehumidifiers - one for the living areas and one for the sleeping quarters.


Wing On is a good place to by, cheaper than Fortress, Broadway, etc. I've used some of those cute ones with the little tubs but they don't work as well as the big industrial looking ones (Olympia brand).

So you do not need one dehumidifier in each room but just a couple or three and doors open?

We are in a big apartment with big rooms.


I still wonder what you do if you are gone for days or weeks (as it will be our case) and do not have a helper. Someone mentioned the dehumidifiers with hoses....is that the only solution then? And same question, just two or three in bathrooms do their job for all the house?


Many thanks for the replies.

"So you do not need one dehumidifier in each room but just a couple or three and doors open?

We are in a big apartment with big rooms."


Quite. You can keep doors open to create larger "dehumidifying zones".


As for the number of units, it depends on the size of the place and the size of your dehumidifiers. There's only so much moisture that a unit manages to extract. If the place is too big it can't keep up.



"I still wonder what you do if you are gone for days or weeks (as it will be our case) and do not have a helper. Someone mentioned the dehumidifiers with hoses....is that the only solution then? And same question, just two or three in bathrooms do their job for all the house?"


If you can't get anyone to empty them, the hose is the only solution. Works fine in my opinion. Note that you only use the hose when you want to. Otherwise it's just "normal" with the tank.


As for how many you need, it really depends. My suggestion is that you buy one and see how it works. The decent ones have a humidity readout so you can tell if it is having an effect, and how much.

anyone knows where to buy a hose?

Plumbing store or hardware store. Try Thomson Road in Wan Chai around 80-90. Also Tai Yuen Street around 22. On South Side Stanley Hardwares behind the Wellcome.

Usually you set the desired humidity level and once it reaches that the machine shuts off automatically and then turns on again when necessary. I think de-humidifiers are still more efficient than using your a/c.