Damp and Mould in Rental Property

The Awesome Meaco DD8L Dehumidifier

For full disclosure I must admit that I own several rental properties. I don’t say this to brag but rather, as a way to verify that I know how widespread damp and mould problems in rental property lies. My tenants are usually full of stories of mouldy, damp apartments in which they lived previously.

My own apartments usually have no damp complaints however in winter tenants may dry clothing indoors on clothes racks, instead of using the dryer, in order to save money. Having operated these properties for around a decade, some more, some less, I know exactly why any damp problem occurred. I also know if the tenant has been fibbing about leaving the windows open and any other remedies which did not happen.

The law is very difficult in this area. Is it the responsibility of the tenant or landlord to fix mould or other damp problems in a rental property? On the one hand if there is inadequate ventilation, such as through ducts etc, then the landlord must fix this problem. On the other hand if tenants are drying clothes indoors with all the doors and windows closed then it’s the tenants responsibility if mould occurs especially if a clothes dryer has already been provided.

My solution with good tenants is that I am happy to purchase smaller moisture absorption devices. It hasn’t happened yet but if they were to ask me for a full-sized dehumidifier then I would say no as, like I said, I know my properties don’t need it.

Damp Solutions for Landlord and Tenant

The EcoAir DD122MK5 Desiccant Dehumidifier

Wardrobes

One problem area that I often hear or read about is damp found in wardrobes. Obviously damp and mould in wardrobes ruins clothes.

The solution here is very low-cost. Simply buy a Wardrobe Dehumidifier  for less than £1! I’d recommend this pack of 6 though which will save you on shipping costs over the long-term.

You can read more about the wardrobe moisture absorber on byemould.com.

Windows

Another damp problem that occurs often in rented property is condensation on the windows. Usually this occurs where the old style aluminium framed windows are still installed.

In my own house I use the UniBond Aero 360 Moisture Absorber and I would recommend it for warmer weather but probably not when the outside air temperature below freezing.

Furthermore I would only use one Unibond Aero 360 per window.

One Small Room

For a single room the 500ml AirPro Mini Dehumidifier  will do the job nicely. The moisture absorber devices listed above do not use any electricity. However the AirPro Mini Dehumidifier does use electricity though the usage rate is only 23 Watts.

The EcoAir DD122FW Desiccant Dehumidifier

Double Room or Larger

A great budget dehumidifier is the Prem-I-Air ‘Xtreem 10’ Dehumidifier  which is the first full-sized dehumidifier in this list. The Xtreem 10 will easily handle a double room as you can read in the byemould review of this power horse dehumidifier.

Be aware though that the Prem-I-Air ‘Xtreem 10’ Dehumidifier is a budget model. For a great dehumidifier that handles multiple rooms look no further than the EcoAir DD122FW Dehumidifier.

The EcoAir DD122FW Dehumidifier is a desiccant dehumidifier which is better suited to the temperature of the British Isles. Desiccant dehumidifiers are not only able to run at lower temperatures than compressor dehumidifiers but they are also cheaper to run at lower temperatures than their compressor counterparts.

Desiccant dehumidifiers are also lighter and quieter than refrigerant/compressor models due to the lack of fan and compressor parts.

The Best Dehumidifier(s)

I’m going to be sneaky here and list two dehumidifiers.

The first is the big brother of the EcoAir DD122FW Dehumidifier. It’s the awesome EcoAir DD122 MK5 Dehumidifier and, of course, at byemould we have an article on why the DD122MK5 is better than the DD122FW.

Incidentally the EcoAir DD122 MK5 Dehumidifier contains an anti-bacterial filter (silver nano to be precise) and an ioniser. This basically means that the dehumidifier is very suitable for those that have allergies and asthma symptoms as the processed air comes out much cleaner than when an ordinary dust filter is used.

I personally own the Meaco DD8L Dehumidifier and can’t recommend it highly enough. Ok, if I manufactured this dehumidifier I would change a few little details but nothing which would affect the performance (which is brilliant).

Like the EcoAir DD122MK5 the Meaco DD8L also features an anti-bacterial filter and ioniser. These are great features to have if the previous tenant had pets in the rental. The Meaco DD8L also has a ‘Laundry’ mode which is perfect for drying clothes indoors.

It’s the most expensive dehumidifier on this list (check the latest Amazon price ) but if you have damp, mould and/or condensation problems, then the Meaco DD8L will probably solve it.

The Meaco DD8L ‘Junior’ Desiccant Dehumidifier

Best Outdoor Dehumidifier

Meaco also make the Meaco DD8L Junior which looks exactly like the Meaco DD8L. Even the Managing Director of Meaco can’t tell the two dehumidifiers apart from a distance.However whilst the differences is not in looks the differences are very important in application.

Basically the Meaco DD8L Junior contains a standard dust filter, instead of an anti-bacterial filter, and it does not have an ioniser.

What this means is that the Meaco DD8L is perfect for household work whilst the Meaco DD8L Junior is excellent for work where tenants are not ordinarily situated (such as a shed or garage etc).

The beauty is that both of the Meaco’s feature a continuous drainage feature meaning that the landlord, or tenant, does not have to be present to keep emptying the water tank.

You can view a dehumidifier comparison table on byemould.com

If you have any questions about dehumidifiers feel free to mail me  byemould at gmail dot com