Dehumidifier or Heater?

[Pallas]

Hi all,

So I'm starting to really feel the autumn/winter in my Miraflores apt at nights, and was told by a coworker I should get a heater. However, I also heard that if I use a dehumidifier this also helps with the temperature along with reducing the humidity.

Any thoughts on which is recommended/more economical? I figure a heater would also help dry the air, so I'm not sure which would be the best bet, and also a good balance between warming me up and not killing my electricity bill.

Thanks!

[argidd]

Hi Pallas!

My husband and I are in the same situation, with our new Miraflores apt.
I think a heater will probably consume more electricity, I used to have one and my power bill went up really high due to its usage (50%).
My aunt uses dehumidifiers in her closets so clothes don't get moldy, and it really works. I mention this because you can roll the dehumidifiers around the house, and they definitely will help you not feel so cold. Make sure to dump the water out 1 or 2 times a day, I plan on using that water for something in the house like cleaning or flushing toilets...

You can find them in Hiraoka, just buy a good brand, even if you pay a bit more for it, it's better tan having to replace or repair a faulty one every so-often.

[stuart]

The standard portable dehumidifiers don't have a hose that takes humid air outside like a dehumidifier attached to a air conditioner might. This means the heat from the machine itself it put into the air, raising the temperature a bit - not much, but enough to take the chill out of the air. The moist air in Lima definitely makes it feel colder, so with less humidity there is also less of a sensation of cold.

A dehumidifier, the standard Imaco o Sole, is about 230-250 watts. They hold about 3 litres of water and will take about 1.5lts out of the air over night, and might even fill up entirely if not in an enclosed space. As well as humidify, it also gets rid of the smell of humidity. It also clears up food smells, pet smells pretty well too.

The air-blowing ceramic heaters are about 800-1600w - the oil ones 1500-2000w. They're pretty expensive to run compare to the dehumidifier. The air-blowing ones heat a room faster and are very cheap. The oil onces are 3-4 times the price and are designed to be left on for multiple hours and control their own temperatures.

I run all of the above. I'd recommend getting the dehumidifier - I don't think you can get by in Lima without one. The combination of high humidity, poor insulation etc, make it essential. Later on, as it gets a bit colder, buy the little 80 soles ceramic blower, use it on half power in the room you're in.

[fanning]

4 years ago I bought a gas heater, a catalytic one of Sole. It costed me S/. 699 and was one of the best investments for my home since then. You put a standard gas bottle of 10 Kg (S/. 37 ), which lasts around 2 weeks if you use it every night for 4 hours. It gives a real nice warmth, not like the electric heaters that blow hot air, but as soon as you turn them off you feel already chilly.
Also I have 2 dehumidifiers, but in reality I haven't used them for years. They take out like 4 liters of water in the night, but I don't feel any difference.

The gas heater is a 'life safer'.

A catalytic gas stove heats up a greater area, at a lower temperature, and as there is not really a flame, it is safer to use around children.

[sunflower]

We tried a dehumidifier for a few weeks in our first winter here and as fanning didn't feel any relief with the cold feeling; instead our electricity bill rose to unexpected heights. So we bought a Sole gas heater (back then for S/. 499, now more the price fanning said)), which uses a standard 10kg gas bottle and works for us perfect for the last 5 years. Even though our living/dining/working area is on the first floor with no basement, quite big, open with uninsulated windows and gabs in between the frames this little heater makes it warm in no time.

In winter it runs around 4 hours in the evening and sometimes an hour or so in the morning on low level. The gas lasts between 2 to 3 weeks. My mother in law, not living in a house, but in a 3 bedroom apartment uses the same gas heater, but only needs to heat for an hour or so in the evenings to have it nice and warm. But she also swears by using these electric dehumidifier sticks / tubes (sorry, not sure how they are called) in her closets.

[Sergio Bernales]

The two best things about having a dehumidifier is to dry clothes and take away that stale mouldy smell from the closet. If you have a small enclosed laundry room, the dehumidifier will dry clothes in about six to eight hours - a bit longer for things like thick towels, a bit less for thin items like shirts - without damaging them the way that a dryer does. If you put the dehumidifier in your closet once or twice a week for about eight hours, it works much better than the bola secas and the tubos and is probably cheaper overall in terms of running costs. And gas heaters are definitely cheaper than electric ones. When I was in Ecuador, because gas is so cheap - $2-3 a canister - my landlord told me to turn on the oven in the apartment if I got cold.

[Pallas]

Thanks for the great replies everyone! The gas heater sounds like a good idea, but I've always been concerned about the fumes/Carbon Monoxide poisoning. I can't imagine anyone recommending opening an oven for heat!

I do have a dryer, but am quickly noticing there's not much I can do for delicate/woolen clothing. I'm almost ready to retire these instead of walking around moldy or damaging them in the dryer. My 1 bedroom apt. is open and airy, with no real separate rooms, so I think it would take many hours/kilowatts to dehumidify and have any effect on hanging laundry. What a dilemma...

[Sergio Bernales]

Thanks for the great replies everyone! The gas heater sounds like a good idea, but I've always been concerned about the fumes/Carbon Monoxide poisoning. I can't imagine anyone recommending opening an oven for heat!

I do have a dryer, but am quickly noticing there's not much I can do for delicate/woolen clothing. I'm almost ready to retire these instead of walking around moldy or damaging them in the dryer. My 1 bedroom apt. is open and airy, with no real separate rooms, so I think it would take many hours/kilowatts to dehumidify and have any effect on hanging laundry. What a dilemma...

I know it's not perfect but you could try using the dehumidifier in your bathroom. Keep the toilet lid down and hang up your clothes on a clothes horse.

And the oven as a heater, probably not particularly safe, but then neither are those gas heaters. And I don't think he meant to suggest leaving the oven door open, or least I didn't do that, but it does work reasonably well if you've got a small apartment where the kitchen is part of the living room.

[Abigail0521]

I'm going through the same process, where is the best place to buy a Sole heater? Is there a risk of c.m. Poisoning with the gas tank heaters? Many thanks!

[amorylove]

Hi all! I am thinking to get a dehumidifier too..where is the best place to get one? I am only staying until May so it doesn't need to be super nice but something that will help my clothes not get moldy... What price can I expect and what brand?

Thanks so much!

[argidd]

Amory,

You can go to Hiraoka. The cheapest dehumidifiers are 199 soles, I recommend you buy the Bionaire ones, because Miray... well they are not so good (they all cost the same). These 199 soles ones have a 1.5lt capacity. In my case, I live in Mf, run it most of the day, it fills up in 5 days approximately.

I usually pour the dehumidifier water into the toilet tank after a flush so it is not just wasted.

[LDX]

Hi all,

So I'm starting to really feel the autumn/winter in my Miraflores apt at nights, and was told by a coworker I should get a heater. However, I also heard that if I use a dehumidifier this also helps with the temperature along with reducing the humidity.
Thanks!

if u are thinking on the dehumidifier as a help against cold, I would go with the heater

I just got a large one (Dehumifier) for my kids room (cause they are a little asthmatic )
but the thing only deals with the humidity, it gets a little bit warm, but very little...
I can barely tell

A Heater its a whole different deal...

[Pallas]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I decided to first go with a little space heater (S/200), which helped when I would be in bed or sitting still.

THEN, I was looking for a suit jacket in my closet and found that mold had taken over all 3 of my closets (all over the walls and clothes), so I had 2 weekends of washing my wardrobe. Thoroughly traumatized by all of this, I promptly bought a dehumidifier (S/700). I think the price was a bit steep, but it comes with a warranty, and I was in a big hurry to use it. It does an OK job in my very open one bedroom apt, and most importantly I was able to run it within the closets specifically.

I know I'm a little late in terms of winter, but better than never!