Many RVers use humidifiers while they’re in dry climates, and many RVers also use dehumidifiers when they’re in humid climates. Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air, which helps curb the growth of molds and dust mites (and other not-so-fun things).
RVs, since moisture can get in easily because they’re so exposed to the elements, might need dehumidifiers to be used often.
How often do you use one in your RV? Please tell us in the poll below and leave a comment too, if you will, explaining the circumstances. Thanks!
In a word… never. I guess we e never really noticed a vast difference in using one or not using one.
While in Quartzsite this last winter it was very dry and windy, but not uncomfortable. Now we are staying at a friends house in central California and the weather has been all over the place, cool and dry, hot and dry, wet and windy. So I wouldn’t begin to even know when or how to use a dehumidifier since we have never really used one.
Happy RVing and hope to see you down the road!
SMH
Same with us. Central CA, AZ, Nevada are all so dry we never needed to think about dehumidifiers, but a summer spent in Ketchikan changed that. We had terrible problems with humidity in the closets, under the mattress, in the windows. Yuck. Now, living in TN, we keep Damp Rid in it all the time and that seems to do the trick. One in the kitchen area and one in the bathroom. We go through about 5 a year so far.
One is running now with the RV in the back yard. We live in TN so humidity is a fact of life, and a dehumidifier is cheaper to run than the A/C. As was said in the article it prevents several bad things.
Actually, I believe one’s air conditioner is a dehumidifier. If that is the case, many of us use one when not in our coach. Ours is actually sitting on our pad in FL with the A/C set on 80 degrees. I’m sure water will be pouring out of it many days.
I hate to tell you but you Dehumidify your RV every time you turn on the air conditioner.
What about when your RV is is storage?
In Louisiana… I have a small household dehumidifier setup all the time when the RV is in storage. Depending on the temperature and weather, we may carry it with us.
While we were in Texas for part of the winter, I ran the humidifier constantly. Back home in Florida, we garage the trailer so air conditioning isn’t needed but the dehumidifies run all the time.
Our RV is all-electric, so no propane to add to interior humidity. We also squeegee the walls and floor of the shower after each use. Although this does not remove every drop of water, it does eliminate a very large amount of it. We also garage our RV when not in use. We have had our RV for 5 years and have yet to find mold or mildew anywhere.
We live in SW FL so humidity is a fact of life but our coach stays plugged in with the A/C running. When we travel, and run into heat and humidity, the A/C is turned on or if it cool and raining, sometimes the heat. Our biggest issue with humidity is lack of it when we’re out west. Then we’ve had to run a humidifier in order to keep the indoor humidity at a point where we are comfortable. My sinuses are painful when the humidity gets too low.
We leave moisture absorbent packs in the trailer all the time and run the air on low humidity setting while it is parked. Florida humidity is about as bad as it gets.
Not much use for a DEhumidifier in the desert.
We do, however, frequently use a HUMIDIFIER. 😉
Moisture absorbent packs, esp when in storage.
I’m in northeast NY so humidity is usually not a major issue. I just don’t boondock in hot, humid weather. Need shorepower so I can run my A/C.
I don’t use a plug in dehumidifier but I do use re-chargeable desiccant in fine mesh bags. I put them in cupboards, drawers & hide them in plain sight. They adsorb moisture and when the beads lose their color it means they can’t absorb anymore. Dry them in the microwave or oven, the color comes back & they’re ready to use again. I’ve been using them for 11 years & haven’t had to replace them yet. Of course they last longer in dryer climates before I have to re-charge them.
I couldn’t legitimately answer the question because we never used a dehumidifier…until we got to Oregon. There, with rain large parts of the year but esp during the winter, we HAD to buy one. A good one. It took as much as a gallon of water a day out of the air – and that’s even with windows & vents normally closed but venting during showers. Pre-dehumidifier, I would soak up condensation on windshield, windows, back walls of cabinets & closets and end up outside, wringing most of a gallon out the towel before hanging it outside somewhere out of the rain to try to get it a little dryer before needing to use it again the next day. We’re now in CA, humidity not a problem; nor was it in AZ, NM, other SW states.
We rarely use a dehumidifier. We have found we only need one in damp parts of the US where they temperatures are below 65 and we’re not using the AC units. Our RV is in a climate controlled building when not in use but before we built that, we would put charcoal in tin pie pans inside to keep moisture done when stored.
We don’t use a mechanical dehumidifier; we have a couple of hanging dehumidifiers that we plug in to “recharge” them as needed.
We live in Oregon, but usually spend winters in Arizona. However, one summer we spent four months in the RV on the Oregon coast. We purchased a dehumidifier and used it every day. We haven’t used it since 2014.
We use Damp Rid when we’re in humid places. Works fine.
We do too, but only when ‘stuck’ in Houston for an extended time. We live in NV and don’t know what humidity is . . .
We too use Damp-Rid but only 2 or 3 buckets and only left in the motorhome for the fall, winter, spring months. Seems to work fine – never see any frost or moisture on the windows – even between +25 and -25f. I also remove the sink traps and plug the drain lines during the winter.
We constantly use our Dehumidifiers, both electric and DampRid. It was a surprise to learn we live in a Micro-Climate where we pull a huge amount of moisture out of the air, yet 10 to 20 miles away, our friends Dehumidifier rarely pulls any moisture.
We run ours for at least eight hours a day when we use our trailer. You would be amazed at how much moisture it draws out in just that short amount of time. It helps in many more ways than you would think inside a smaller space. It’s good for you and your camper as well.
I keep dehumidifier on when not running AC ‘s
We use the dehumidifier 24/7 from about November to June because our 5th wheel is parked in a pole barn in the PNW. When using the RV we are usually in a much drier climate.