How to deal with Humidity

[mikenmo]

We're full time now and for the next 10 months still working our 8-5 jobs.

We shower each morning, both of us, and are noticing that a good bit of humidity results from the steam. This may not be to bad if we ran the exhaust fan but it's still way to cold for the DW for that! Before leaving this morning we opened the front windshield curtain and water was nearly sheeting down inside. This can't be good.

My question is how do fulltimers handle the humidity in the closed MH? Our Mhome has 'basement air' and drips alot of moisture but obviously not all or enough. What potential damage can be done by this moisture and is a dehumidifier the answer?

This is, and will be for many years, our home. Rather then try and reinvent the wheel I'm asking to learn form your experience and recommendations. I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll be seeking knowledge from the group!

TIA
Mike

[NLOVNIT]

Moisture will wreak havoc on anything & can do a lot of damage, not the least of which is the mold/mildew & it is important you get it out of your rv. Even without showering, moisture from just occupying (cooking, washing dishes, breathing) an rv will cause problems.

When it's too cold to run the exhaust vent, the A/C, or the heat pumps, I will at least open the vent in there while showering & for a short time after to allow the heated moisture to naturally rise & escape out the opening. After showering, I will also put a small fan on the floor to circulate air & help dry out the area. But, sometimes that's just not enough & a dehumidifier is called for.

You could try a mid-sized one from Eva-Dry, like the one pictured below, sold by RVUpgrades (a site sponsor). I've also read where people have larger dehumidifiers & set them in the shower with the runoff hose going into the drain so they don't have to keep empyting a collection bin. But they're heavy & can be a hassle to remove & put back everyday.




Lori-

[TXiceman]

You need to control the moisture before it does any serious damage. Whn cooking or showering you need to have a vent open and then run the vent fan at times. In cold weather, we will open the bathroom vent about 1/2 way (no fan) while showering and then when finished, crack open the bath window and run the fan a bit to clear the moisture. Then we take a squeege and wipe down the shower walls and floor.

While sleeping we leave a vent open a small amount in the sleeping area. Moisture control is really more critical in an RV then a home to to the much smaller volume of the RV.

The windshield is a big problem due to the lack of insulation. What can help is to make a thermal blanket (the foil backed bubble stuff) that fits over the OUTSIDE of the windshield. Also, use a small fan to blow some air across the windshield to keep it a bit warmer.

With the small interior volume, and less insulation than a home, you will need to vent and run the heater a bit more.

Ken

[marielw824]

Thank you. These are great suggestions/info. We are in a VERY small RV (23') with 2 people and 2 large dogs. AND we're in San Francisco area right now ... if it isn't raining, then the fog is just making everything soaked and weeping with wetness. We are in the 4th or 5th week of this now. The walls just weep with moisture. I run the fan on low, cool air but it isn't enough and it costs a lot. I can't run the heat all the time ... it's too hot. ??? Our solution is to NOT stay in San Francisco next winter.

[Ray,IN]

You might try renting a small 120VAC de-humidifier for a week. If it works you can buy it from the rental company.

[powerboatr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marielw824 Thank you. These are great suggestions/info. We are in a VERY small RV (23') with 2 people and 2 large dogs. AND we're in San Francisco area right now ... if it isn't raining, then the fog is just making everything soaked and weeping with wetness. We are in the 4th or 5th week of this now. The walls just weep with moisture. I run the fan on low, cool air but it isn't enough and it costs a lot. I can't run the heat all the time ... it's too hot. ??? Our solution is to NOT stay in San Francisco next winter.

we use a dehumidifire i purchased at home depot a few years ago
at night it goes on full run in the living area while we sleep

it also helped stopping all the air leaks around the coach

[RV Wizard]

Definitely get a de-humidifier. Once you get the RH down to where you want it, the unit will run a little less to keep it there as to getting it there. I kept ours at about a 60% setting and never had a problem anywhere in the coach. Be sure to allow air circulation as mentioned to get into closets and cabinets on a regular basis. We would open door in bedroom and bathroom during the day and in the kitchen and living room at night. We lived in our coach for about 6.5 years and hope to do it again one day!

[wagonmaster2]

Buy a dehumidifier. A year and 1/2 ago I bought a 24 pint Fridgedaire from Lowes for $159 and even though I was hesitant to spend that much on a trial deal it ended up being the best money I've spent on RVs in the last 20 years. We use our coach for vacations 4-6 weeks at at time 2 or 3 times a year and with the 2 of us showering, washing hair, laundry, and cooking the humidity seemed to just keep climbing even in weather where we could open windows and vent occasionally. You will be utterly amazed at how much liquid you can remove daily from the inside of your coach.

Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G

[Bill2]

If the shower is the only problem, try taking a shower with the water not so hot. In other words use warm water instead of hot. The steam won't be so bad. We never have that problem with our 40' HR Endeavor and never turn the fan on. But then again we are not in Ca.
Bill

[marielw824]

Thanks Bill. I can say for certain it isn't the shower. We only use the campground shower. We are too small for live in day in, day out showers. AND it makes too good of a closet ... truth ... mops and brooms and bleach, etc... But we will have to try the dehumidifier. We're coming up on another 8 - 10 days of rain and fog. Woo hoo .... Wasn't there a song ... "it never rains in california?" : ? )

[wagonmaster2]

Also a humidity gauge is a good addition to having a dehumidifier. They aren't very expensive and you can then tell just how much good the dehumidifier is doing and won't get it too dry in the coach. Don't want your woodwork shrinking or warping. I usually try to keep our coach between 65 and 80 percent humidity, 70% is a good goal for me. When it reaches 85-95% things will start feeling damp and walls and windshield will sweat during cold temperatures.

Wagonmaster2

[NLOVNIT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marielw824 Wasn't there a song ... "it never rains in california?" : ? )

Yep. Albert Hammond, 1972. The rest of the lyrics are "...but girl, don't they warn ya, it pours, man it pours."

Lori-

[RedneckExpress]

I open the roof vent and turn on the fantastic fan once I get the hot water running, that way the bathroom has a sink of heat and the cold air is less bothersome. I also installed covers over all my roof vents so they could remain open in all kinds of weather.

I personally have a 12 volt device that helps somewhat with the moisture.

Quote:

Originally Posted by From the Journey of the Redneck Express I wound up settling after much discussion with fellow campers on the NewAir ADS-400 Mini Humidifier from Air N' Water Inc for around $50 (they had a sale on at the time) and it came with free shipping.

This unit has worked okay, I've had to do some work on it more than once because of the quality of the materials, but its kept moisture from building up at the foot of the bed where I was having the most problems.

I'm going to try building a little ducted air unit with some luwann and a couple of computer fans and a rheostat to move air from the main living space into the cabover to help alleviate the problem more. I don't have ducted heat in my cabover, so there's usually a decent temperature differential between the two.