Dehumidifiers are a fundamental part of life

It’s a particularly wet day in the marina; to be honest, it is an extremely wet and extremely windy and grim day in the marina too, and it has been driving rain all night.

After nipping out for a pint of milk, I got back on board absolutely soaked and after cooking a full monty for breakfast, the humidity was up at 87%.

With an air temp (on board) of 19°C, the air was holding 12 g/kg which gave it a dewpoint temperature of 16.7°C.

In these conditions, the boat, being made of steel, became its own dehumidifier and water gathered on all the cold surfaces – of which there are plenty.

If I could get a surface to be colder than the hull of the boat, water would condense on that instead, and if it had a tank in which to trap the water, it would be even better.

As it happens, I have a dehumidifier and that is exactly what it does.

Half an hour with the dehumidifier running and my waterproofs are dry, and I can see out of the windows again.

The air is now at 46% with a dewpoint temperature of 7°C which is much more acceptable.

Dehumidifiers, drying and most importantly understanding air (Psychrometrics), are not just for the DR industry, they are a fundamental part of life.