Re: Can Couch Be Saved? - KJ

December 29, 2008

Hi KJ, thanks for bringing this post to my attention. One of the

things that confounds me is we have very low humidity in the winter.

We use wood heat which keeps the humidity under 30% all the time, but

it's not affecting the " things. " There is, however, a basement area

that isn't heated and so the humidity is higher there. We don't go in

there much so I'm not sure if it's an issue or not. I wonder if

they're lurking down there and coming up here to feed. What a nightmare...

>

> everything you do that breaks the life cycle is going to help. BTW if

> you get a dehumidifier, be SURE and get one with the Energy Star

> symbol on it unless you can afford whopping electricity bills,

> because even the efficient ones use a lot of juice. Worth it, though.

> Well worth it. Good advice, Holly.

>

> The following info is from an earlier post.

>

> KJ

>

> DEHUMIDIFIERS

>

> Cost: Average price for dehumidifier whole-house, medium sized

> models for medium sized homes range from $180 to $400. Bigger houses

> need higher capacity or multiple dehumidifiers. The larger the

> capacity, the less frequent the need to empty the water tank, but the

> heavier the tank! Before you empty, turn off the unit and let the

> drain hoses drip for a few minutes or you will wind up with water

> inside the housing when you remove the tank.

>

> Notes: Because the humidity gauges on some dehumidifiers are less

> than accurate, a separate humidity gauge such as the Heat-

> Humidity Gauge can be helpful. I got a tiny digital model at Walmart

> for under $10. However, it ran neck and neck with my LG 45-pint

> touchpad model I keep between the master bedroom and bathroom, which

> displays the humidity, so I keep the gauge in the room with the Gold

> Star 30-pint, which has a manual dial and on-off switch, but no

> humidity indicator.

>

> The fan in some models continues to run even when the dehumidifier

> itself is off. This does not impede the effectiveness of the

> dehumidifier.

>

> One member of the group said they got the 25-pint model at Lowes (w

> LCD), set it on the kitchen countertop (large footprint), ran hose

> directly into sink drain. Put large thick towel underneath to reduce

> noise. They said they move the unit around their small studio

> apartment " in sections, mostly in the bath room, especially after

> showering. " They reported that it has " great casters and a handle and

> a nice LCD with RH [relative humidity] indicator. " At night, they

> place it near the kitchen area, then move it to the living area,

> depending where they are at the time. "

>

> Another says " [My humidity] will drop down to 35% but by selecting

> the " on " button the unit will operate continuously, regardless of the

> humidity in the air.

>

> Another recommends that for the first 2 weeks we try and be really

> careful not to help the things increase in population. Try to keep

> everything that is exposed to our skin very clean. Then when you

> notice lower numbers of the things in the environment you might put

> your tote right in front of the units so it keeps your clothing at a

> very dry level so the things can't breed. "

>

> The same member goes on to say, " I don't understand what happened

> when we first started running the units but my husband and I both

> felt something happen to our skin. On the second day of running them

> our skin felt like it sort-of relaxed...??? I don't know how else to

> put it. We kept running our hands up and down our arms because our

> skin felt nice. Also the way our home smelled changed. It was a very

> clean smell that was in the house after the first 24 hours of

> running. " [could it be that household mold is dying?]

>

> Another says, " My home is around 2300 square feet. One 40 pint unit

> down stairs seems to be enough to dry out the whole down stairs and

> I'm guessing the down stairs is around 1100 square feet. One might be

> enough for your home of 1600 sq.ft. If you notice

> improvement.....save up for one more and really blast them in

> closets, car, etc "

>

> WHO HAD REPORTED ON DEHUMIDIFIERS AT THE TIME I WROTE THIS:

>

> Marguerite - bought Fridgidaire one at Lowe's for 150 bucks with 25

> pints. wishes she had bought the hose.

>

> got a very LOUD one at Target for his 1200 sf apt. He

> returned it and bought an LG that won't get below 50% hum.

>

> redheadlefty " <tylerpriest@> got relief from dehumid.

>

> " <bobbyboyd99@>

>

> Adam says he bought his 50-pint Gold Star model at Walmart. It lowers

> humidity in 5% increments (so does my LG, but I think LG makes both

> since they are identical inside). The unit ranges from 35%-70%. He

> says you can order it online and have it delivered to the nearest

> walmart for free or pay extra for shipping directly to you.

>

> Rita said they have a Gold Star also and they were in stock at their

> local Walmart, however my local Walmart had just returned all their

> GS models to their warehouse for the winter, and had only Haiers,

> which I knew from the reviews in the group were very noisy.

>

> Rita says they placed one upstairs in front of the closet that I'm

> afraid to clean out, and another downstairs in front of the coat

> closet.

>

> mnf62 says he bought a Haier dehumidifier at Target, that it is

> really loud, but that it has been really getting the water out of the

> air. He also ordered 2 Danby DDR606 large dehumidifier models.

>

> lorenuciadoekes bought two 50-pint dehumidifiers from Ace Hardware

> that " aren't too bad. "

>

> miteyman advises: Another possibility for the entire environment - I

> forget who has been suggesting drying out the environment with

> dehumidification.

>

> It seems to be working well for us. You might consider spraying

> windex on clothing (to avoid spreading mites as you move them to

> microwave), then one by one putting in microwave.

>

> Then once the area is clear, and all bags/boxes/closets/drawers open

> and clothing treated, put a dehumidifer in and run it full

> time " forever " (meaning months).

>

> I got two new dehumidifiers to join our existing one. The new ones

> are Delonghi 65 pint with pump from Costco. Good things about it: 1)

> you can turn it on " Turbo " and it just keeps on going - our bedroom

> is down now to 22% humidity. and 2) it has pump that can send the

> extracted water pretty far away to drain in a tub or sink.

>

> Anyway, this seems to have been pretty effective at our house

> (following Cedarcide treatments which seemed pretty helpful but I

> think the dehumidification is more so).

>

> That way, you can dry out all the affected area at once. But make

> sure everything is open so it can be dried, and don't expect it to

> happen all at once! It can take a long time but it SEEMS to be

> working for us after about a month. Almost no bites or crawling.

>

> BTW I googled " compare prices delonghi dehumidifiers pump " and got

> quite a few hits. The pump adds $50-100 in cost but if you want to

> run it while you are gone and can afford it, it may be a good

> investment. One of the LGs (see above) also comes with a pump.

> ===

>

December 29, 2008

Hi KJ, thanks for bringing this post to my attention. What confounds

me is our humidity is really low here in the winter. With the wood

heat burning, it's consistently lower than 30% - but the " things "

don't seem to be going away at all. We have a basement area that's

unheated and has higher humidity. Maybe they hide out there and come

up to feed. What a freakin' nightmare...