Moisture Evaporators

[Waffenreich]

Good afternoon gents,

It's a dreary day here in Virginia so I thought I'd do a little bunker maintenance. My house is 15 years old and although we built it to contemporary environmental/climatic control standards I have had a spore or two pop up in my room over the years. This is due in large part to the large stone planting boxes that surround the part of my foundation that is exposed above the slope going to the yard. Unfortunately they retain moisture and keep the foundation walls cold. I think the temperature differential between the cold walls and warm room is creating a little temperate climate that is suspending moisture in the air.

There's no dampness in the room, or musty odor, but a couple of years ago when I noticed the couple of spores I went out and found these. They work great and I recommend them to everybody, regardless of where you have your collection in your home.

Take a look.

[Waffenreich]

You can get these in the U.S. at a store called Dollar Tree. And, they only cost a $1 each

I'm sure there are comparable products around, I just find these to be effective and convenient as there is a Dollar Tree about 10 minutes from my house.

[Waffenreich]

The upper half is filled with small silicate desiccant balls and they are separated from the lower containment area by a small thin slotted plastic tray.

[Waffenreich]

You pop the blue cover off and peel the foil back to expose the absorption barrier. You then put the cap back on. The barrier is just a thin piece of material like a paper towel that probably does nothing more than keep the balls in.

[Waffenreich]

I keep 10 of these in my room year-round and replace them when the balls disappear and they are over half-full with water.

As you can see they work pretty darn good. This is a side-by-side comparison of one that has done its job (left) next to one ready for use (right).

[Waffenreich]

It is absolutely mind blowing how much moisture is in the atmosphere in here.

This picture shows what 10 of these captured in the scope of about 6 months. I poured 9 of them into this 1 Gallon jug (3.78 liters for our Euro-mates) (beer bottle for size comparison) and I still have one left over.

I'm thinking of recycling the water and using it to brew a batch of beer

So there you have it men. I highly recommend these whether you think you have moisture or not. They work great!

Regards!

Bob

[Erich B.]

That's amazing!
Erich

[Nicolas P.]

I used to live in Guangzhou (Canton) and now I'm in Hong Kong. Both quite humid places (GZ is insanely damp), so these products are everywhere. I use them for my closet and they work perfectly, but I prefer a dehumidifier for the rest of the apartment. These products can become used-up in no time if placed in large, humid areas. Besides, I don't like throwing away so much plastic (but that's a personal thing).

Dehumidifier appliances work very well also, if you don't mind the humming noise.

[Waffenreich]

Erich/Nicolas,

Appreciate you guys dropping by.

Nicolas - I have considered a dehumidifier. I'm not crazy about having one purring all the time, however considering what I've shown in the volume of water pulled from the air in about a 6-month period do you think one's necessary? I'm not big on contributing to the South Pacific garbage patch, but these little plastic guys go straight into the recycling bin when they've maxed out.

vr

Bob

[Jean-Claude]

I dont have a collection room per say but lots of containers full of stuff & some framed items and use a similar approach...

I've used the little dessiccant bags you get with packaged stuff (new tools, appliances, hardware) ever since they've been around: they work fine for me and they are flexible. I can stuff 1 in a medal box/case, a few in the back of a frame or in a container full of individually wrapped pieces or in dagger padded envelopes and nothing has ever turned to "the dark side" (oxidized, zinkpest) on me.

Every few years (or when I think of it) I remove them and stick them in the microwave for a little while to remove any possible humidity build up and they can be reused over & over again

Cheers JC

[Jeff V]

Here is a dehumidifier I recently purchased from Amazon. It is very quiet, I can hardly hear it running, and it does a great job. It is amazing how much water gets pulled from the air.
Honati Home Dehumidifier, 2000ml Ultra Quiet Small Portable Dehumidifiers with Auto Shut Off for Basement, Bedroom, Bathroom, Baby Room, RV and Office (Up To 269 Sq.Ft)

Price was $69.99.

[Peter_Suciu]

In my "bunker" - the finished basement that I've done my best to waterproof" - I run a dehumidifier year round and set the humidity to about 30 percent. Apart from one mishap last summer the room has maintained a near constant temperature and humidity.


I find a dehumidifier preferable to the silica packs, which seem to need to be replaced. Most of the time I have the dehumidifier empty via a concealed hose to a floor drain in another room, but in the summer I let the water collect and I empty it daily in the garden.


I also recommend an air purifier to keep the dust to a minimum.

[jacquesf]

In my "bunker" - the finished basement that I've done my best to waterproof" - I run a dehumidifier year round and set the humidity to about 30 percent. Apart from one mishap last summer the room has maintained a near constant temperature and humidity.


I find a dehumidifier preferable to the silica packs, which seem to need to be replaced. Most of the time I have the dehumidifier empty via a concealed hose to a floor drain in another room, but in the summer I let the water collect and I empty it daily in the garden.


I also recommend an air purifier to keep the dust to a minimum.

I run the same setup in my bunker at 40% an it works like a charm. I am 150m from the ocean so it is harsh. I pump about 5l a day. In the beginning I emptied 15l a day, but it has now stabilised. J

[Peter_Suciu]

The flip side in the winter. I'm in Michigan and in the winter I run the heat all day as I work from home, so that can dry out the house VERY quickly as I tend to keep the house on the warm side. I run a humidifier to get the humidity back up to 30 to 40 percent.


The funny thing is a lot of furnace companies recommend lowering the humidity to 20 or even 15 percent or less so the windows don't fog up. I have a simple solution, a towel! I don't want to be in a dry desert all winter, so instead the windows fog a bit and I wipe them.


Best thing is to have a few humidistats that can determine the humidity in each room.

[N.C. Wyeth]

A complicated subject . . .

This may open the eyes for some of you fella's who collect, store, and display textiles . . . an interesting and well-researched article from Smithsonian Magazine that keeps it relatively simple:

https://www.si.edu/faqs/antique-textile-storage

By the way - for textiles, I still say this is the best advice I've come across:

4. Air conditioning in which the temperature is in the 65-70°F (18-21°C) range and the relative humidity is between 40% and 50% is ideal for textile storage. With these conditions, excessive drying is avoided and mold and mildew growth caused by excess moisture are discouraged.