Humidity Control

[Bugga]

Good morning, afternoon or night all.

I am in the need to know about humidity control. I own a Class A RV and I need someone with knowledge about controlling humidity in my RV. I purchased it last year (2024) in Anchorage and I will be relocating to Houston (humidity central) and will be storing it in a RV lot. What is the best cordless options for dehumidifiers? The more I read online the more confusing it becomes. So, for all you pros out there, any advice? Thank you for in advance for and SAGE advice.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Rene T]

Welcome to the forum.
I can’t add much to answer your question except I would try to find a storage area that would have electricity available to run a dehumidifier as long as you can run the hose on the ground.

 

[workinonit]

We use one that we bought off of ebay. They are a real game changer on an RV. Your issue is a problem in that I haven't seen a battery powered one and I wouldn't want one anyway. The one we have is like a mini AC unit with a compressor. The only type I would want.

 

[Isaac-1]

I live about 150 miles east of Houston, so know about the regional humidity, which can be a real issue with a humidity, inside and out. If you have electricity available at the storage location running the roof top air conditioner with the thermostat turned up is best, I run mine set at 90F in the summer, this will suck the humidity out of the coach without turning the inside into even more of a oven than it already was by running a dehumidifier (dehumidifiers put out a lot of waste heat).

The next best option is ventilation, running vent fans if you have solar panels, etc.

p.s. before buying a dehumidifier watch this video

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Cordless dehumidifier is almost an oxymoron. A high-volume dehumidifier is essentially an air conditioner - it squeezes water from the air by chilling it. That takes a substantial amount of continuous power in a humid environment. There are chemical dehumidifiers too, but they work OK but are effective only in a well-contained area and an RV is anything but that. An RV is large, not very well insulated, and leaks a lot of external air.

For practical reasons, you need more power than batteries can reasonably deliver. And if you have power to continuously charge batteries, you don't need cordless.

Remember also that a dehumidifier collects a lot of water. In a climate like Houston, you need to either empty it daily or have a place it can continuously drain somewhere. If it drains to the RVs waste tank, you still have to empty that every so-many days (depends on tank size).

 

[tlmgcamp1]

Tried Damp-Rid once...waste of money.

 

[workinonit]

Damp Rid.......

My house is encapsulated with a de-humidifier in the crawl space. It stays at 63% humidity. Damp rid will liquify in 5 mins in my closet.

 

[Ohiosnowbird]

We’ve used dehumidifiers in a variety of applications. We’re in Ohio also humidity central. There are cordless dehumidifiers but are not very practical. If you’re not going to be there that adds some level of difficulty. Dehumidifiers have tanks that fill up and have to be drained. Some have a hose that can be attached to automatically drain the tanks for you, in that scenario I’d say put the dehumidifier in the shower or kitchen sink. Remember your gray tanks will eventually fill up doing this. You can run the hose out the window but you’re inviting critters in and might make the lot owner mad. There are units that have automatic shutoff if you don’t go the hose route, they shutoff when it’s full. But then you have to be there to empty the tank. There are also wifi units where you can use your phone to monitor things.

We live in an off grid log cabin in Ohio and we’ve used one similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1C6HWFF?maas=maas_adg_api_591414689802971089_static_9_129&ref_=aa_maas&aa_campaignid=lv_2QGlwDg81NdsLhdEQV&aa_adgroupid=lv_2PgaAA5KohF1EeWQcI&aa_creativeid=lv_eNnLaQVh75KJ9qVMiI&th=1

Not sure how it would work in an RV, we use it when the generator is running.

We also have a digital hygrometer to measure humidity similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP50-Digital-Thermometer-Temperature/dp/B01H1R0K68/ref=sr_1_5?crid=WR6F24QA3LB7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OCJFBA_GOosXcUNcZ9Mv6T4YaIYIobESFSN0dypWdCqsKAasNV6R1YDtowZA7Gds6-qVQWFxMUIc8A_dx00wcLi1YzD5k_9603w_9T0-B3b7maiOqvzePbgjCSRwOvw8SVnyGCuzqeosaYgrm63Xw2HJgEFHr6_LrdAIOWtYd2RlXD-nZWXwGXlmrijMP3aURGM0sAKFdihQvnACVyw36SiNJo_PcJy4ja4_BZTNO6Byjd1FWCGQ4LEM89YHt17Z8gbttaeO6IYvdGGQ7K1d90tcvHgBxbTuRuhy3p5C3Tw.hy3g5sn08eAY68mZXFAnJQuJzG81uAv9rknIDSdjn1I&dib_tag=se&keywords=Measure%2Bhumidity&qid=1748012589&s=home-garden&sprefix=measure%2Bhumidity%2Cgarden%2C172&sr=1-5&th=1

 

[old RV guy]

Isaac-1's idea would likely be your most practical solution. 90° in Houston for 7 or 8 mo's a year is a cold front. Air conditioning is the best dehumidifier, the reason buying a bigger a/c is not necessarily better. The more it runs the more moisture it's pulling from the air.

 

[Isaac-1]

Just to follow up the portable dehumidifiers make since in cool damp climates, not HOT damp climates as they will both heat the space and remove humidity.

 

[workinonit]

We run the de-hum drain to the kitchen sink and open the galley tank valve.

 

[Domo]

Tried Damp-Rid once...waste of money.

We use DR in S Florida, but we are only three miles from where we store the rig in the open with no power and visit/renew the DR every third week to prevent global mold (green) from blossoming. Under those circumstances it works okay.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Tried Damp-Rid once...waste of money.

Damp Rid is an example of a chemical dehumidifier that works well in a sealed container, i.e.a fixed volume of air. It quickly absorbs water from the air but can only hold so much before it quits taking in more. The bigger the area, the more DR needed. And if additional humid air keeps coming into the container, the DR is soon overwhelmed.

 

[workinonit]

Funny, they don't tell you that in the instructions or on the commercials but true that is.

 

[tlmgcamp1]

Damp Rid is an example of a chemical dehumidifier that works well in a sealed container, i.e.a fixed volume of air. It quickly absorbs water from the air but can only hold so much before it quits taking in more. The bigger the area, the more DR needed. And if additional humid air keeps coming into the container, the DR is soon overwhelmed.

We had the capet cleaned in out basement family room. We ran a dehumidifier and I got a couple tubs of DR for extra measure. In the time that the dehumidifier removed about 2 quarts, each DR tub was lucky to have 2 ounces

 

[Rene T]

We have friends that store their RV in our campground storage area for 6 months. When they open up their rig in November, the DR bags are full. They probably got filled 1 month after they left because of the humid FL weather. I try to explain that to them but they don’t listen. Some use charcoal brikets and kitty litter. Waste of money but it makes them feel goid

 

[LarsMac]

HUMYDRY
These work pretty well for us.

 

[Rene T]

HUMYDRY
These work pretty well for us.

They are the same as DampRid. The thing is that they only last for 1 to 3 months. If your rig is storage, in no time it’s going to fill up with humidity again. Unless someone can change them out for you

 

[TheBar]

We use DR in S Florida, but we are only three miles from where we store the rig in the open with no power and visit/renew the DR every third week to prevent global mold (green) from blossoming. Under those circumstances it works okay.

DampRid works well if the RV is in storage and sealed up tight. If your RV does not seal up tight if won't last long. And you need to use the right amount of DampRid. I've used DampRid for 10 years in my 30' Class C. One large tub in the front and another in the back. I empty the toilet and plug the drains. For a 40' RV at least 3 tubs should be used.

Climate makes big difference also. Where I live the humidity is almost as bad as Houston with up to 90" of rain per year. But there is less interior condensation in the summer because the day/night temperature change is only about 25 degrees. In winter the temp change can be more than 40 degrees. Houston is more moderate than where I live. Our A/C has to be run 9 months a year while using the RV. When in storage the 2 large tubs used to fill up in a month. Now that the RV is in covered storage and we haven't camped in a year due to health problems, the 2 tubs last about 5 months. It sounds expensive but is less than running a dehumidifier or A/C.

 

[Bugga]

Good morning, afternoon or night all.

I am in the need to know about humidity control. I own a Class A RV and I need someone with knowledge about controlling humidity in my RV. I purchased it last year (2024) in Anchorage and I will be relocating to Houston (humidity central) and will be storing it in a RV lot. What is the best cordless options for dehumidifiers? The more I read online the more confusing it becomes. So, for all you pros out there, any advice? Thank you for in advance for and SAGE advice.

Regards,
Chris

Wow, thank you all!!! Now my last two brain cells are chirping!! Okay, I found a really nice spot with 20 Amp hook up. That should be enough to run at minimum one dehumidifier or maybe even two. Am I wrong? I know, it depends on the size of the unit. I can’t imagine a unit sapping more than 10 amps.