condensation on windows from a gas heater--suggestions for dehumidifier?

our house does not have central heating.

we bought a bottled-gas heater which works wonderfully at keeping the upstairs warm.

this is the problem: we're finding massive pools of water on the windowsills in the room where we use the heater, and mold on the inside of the double glazing.

we've read that a dehumidifier may help, but we're unsure about extraction rates & such.

anyone bought one recently? any suggestions on brands & where to find them?

Hi Niku

Dehumidifiers are good bits of kit for domestic environments. The amount of water/Water vapour that is generated internally is a substantial amount and of course has to have somewhere to go else will 'collect' as you now see.

In my rental apartment I bought one with I think an extraction rate of 20 litres per day from B&Q for about £90 - it was on one of their 10% special discount offers too I think - so normal price was £100 - was a couple years ago now though

It will 'bump' up yer electricity bills of course, not by a vast amount but proportionally. I've found the best way to use em is during the day after the morning hustle and bustle of getting ready, cooking and cleaning. Everyone's daily routines are dfferent of course, but the general thing is to use them after an activity which releases or uses water.

to help, I suggest getting a timer to help control usage.

My rental apartment is a 2 bedroom place with proportionally balanced room sizes, leave the doors open to all rooms so as to remove as much moisture as possible. I've instructed my tenants to use the machine, I suspect they use it less than I've told them but when I check the place is 'dry' and doesnt feel muggy or damp.

I don't know what size place you have, obviously 3 bedroom houses are that much 'larger' and so will require a bigger capacity unit and/or maybe 2 20/litre day units - one upstairs and one downstairs etc....

I definitley recommend getting one

Hope this helps

DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Are you keeping the windows closed?  If yes, opening them a bit will solve most of the problem.  I don't know about gas heaters here, but the ones we brought from Japan are dangerous in closed rooms... you might want a carbon monoxide monitor if you want to use the heaters in closed spaces.

hiya

just to add to Madeira's point - yes, opening windows will be a 'free' resolution, but up to a point. As it's winter, the draught and cold air coming in if you do this will of course mean you'll use up more energy and thus costs trying to maintain a good internal room temparature. However, maybe by opening windows for a short period and maybe leaving for work shortly after and shutting them could prove effective? all depends on the individuals daily routine I guess.

I think you can 'top up' any solution you use by getting those 'granules' that absorb moisture - look on ebay, do a search for 'moisture' and then filter the results to 'home and garden' you'll see em for like £3-4 a time, not sure how long they'll last but over time, it'd probably be cheaper to use the electric dehumidifier solution.

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Ultimately, the best solution would be to switch to a different form of heating.  The portable LP gas heaters are quite effective in terms of heat, but they do generate large amounts of water vapor, as well as filling the room with other byproducts of combustion.

Electric might seem a less attractive proposition due to running costs, but if you are buying gas and then using electricity to run a dehumidifier because of condensation, you might not be saving much in the long run.