Dehumidify-ing

Shredden

Knows his goats
I've moved into a new place and my room has concrete walls. It was fine for the first few weeks but now that it's gotten a bit colder it's all fallen apart. I wake up in the morning and it's MOIST. The walls are visibly wet. It's started to grow mold, which I've been scrubbing off with vinegar but it just comes back in greater numbers.

The problem is mostly limited to my room, which is about 4.5 by 2 meters, with floorboards luckily. Even leaving the window open a bit seems to only help slightly.

Has anyone on here dealt with a similar issue? From research it seems like a dehumidifier is my best bet, but not sure how effective the cheaper ones are? Especially in colder weather. I know theres a few people on here from Ballarat and other cold wastelands who might have faced the same demons... Can anyone shed some light on whether it is worthwhile getting the dehumidifier?
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
unfortunately concrete is porous and adsorbs moisture
if the temp is warmer on the inside than the surrounding air temp, the moisture in the air (inside the room) will condense onto the cooler concrete walls and will remain in the concrete
Yes, dehumidification is the only way, unless you seal the concrete to achieve a moisture barrier..you could try to insulate the walls, but if its a rental, probably not worth it
its all about psychrometrics and dew points baby
good luck
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
If you have wet walls there's certainly a drainage problem somewhere in the house, if it's not your house and it doesn't get fixed just leave.
 
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Deleted member FN2187

Guest
Insulate your walls with some cold room panels. Or install air-conditioning. An A/C in heating or cooling modes is always dehumidifying the air that passes through the heat exchanger
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
What about a light fitting like the IXL light and heater thing people used to put in their bathrooms? Or an exhaust fan?
 
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Deleted member FN2187

Guest
What about a light fitting like the IXL light and heater thing people used to put in their bathrooms? Or an exhaust fan?
Ixl lights won't dehumidify the room. They are very energy hungry and require ventilation to work. An exhaust fan would help but it would make it way too cold in the room.

The only way to stop condensation is with insulation. Dehumidifying isn't the answer. A/C will help, just insulate first.
 
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