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dcason's avatar
dcason
Explorer
Jun 10, 2021

Does damp rid have a place in rving in winter/cooler temps

due to rv being closed up. We will begin our full time adventure in early September but for many years we have been quasi retired and used our rv for 2month long trips. This past winter in AZ but at sons so cooler temperatures (like high teens) with rv closed up and condensation...I was wiping the windows a lot.

Any ideas how to combat this when you are trying to keep it warm in rv. We had been using Mr. Buddy so he was part of the problem but 2 adults and one lovely dog in rv that is 24 feet long was pouring moisture into the air and then add showers.

Any ideas for cutting down on moisture that doesn't involve me running around wiping windows.
  • "Damp rid" will indeed pull water from the air, and is most cool to watch.

    The limitation is that "a pint" of damp rid will grab a pint of water- and it's done. (That's not a chemistry statement, its that the container is about 1 pint in size.)

    A dehumidifier will grab a pint of water in a couple hours, and keep going for days, weeks, months (as-needed)...(assuming there's a drain hooked up).

    Which one really removes moisture?
  • So open vent and window is pretty much and run heat on the wall instead of mr. buddy and vent shower after usage...cooking run exhaust fan.

    WE lived in a 30' 5th wheel trailer with bd room and 13' living area slide for one winter in Oklahoma where in our area we have constant winds and had temps down to just below zero at times.
    We tried all the cracking windows/vents...fans to move air around but all that did was create a cold drafty camper with the central heat running 24/7 and burning a 30 gal lp tank every 2 days. Sweat everywhere and was really bad.
    Full timers at the local KOA park said to use dehumidifiers. We bought one and it helped so we bought another. No more sweat on the windows/walls/ceiling or in the closets. And we had a warm dry camper after that.
    Burning LP inside does create humidity ...as others say use the power vent behind the stove when cooking especially something that requires heating/boiling water.
  • The Buddy heater was more than "part" of the problem. It was likely the majority of the problem. Heating a good size camper in "high teens" ambient temps, is what? 1 or 2 20lb bottles a week?
    Each 20lb bottle of LP puts about 4 gallons of water into the air.
    Why one would use a buddy heater more than occasionally if full timing it in anything more than a motorhomeless situation, I don't understand.

    Ditch the buddy heater, run a dehumidifier if necessary, kick the dog outside!
  • I bought a small dehumidifier for use in florida/3 months, summers in NY, christmas in ny for a month? and we will wing it boondocking or go to warmer areas.
  • Grit dog wrote:
    The Buddy heater was more than "part" of the problem. It was likely the majority of the problem. Heating a good size camper in "high teens" ambient temps, is what? 1 or 2 20lb bottles a week?
    Each 20lb bottle of LP puts about 4 gallons of water into the air.
    Why one would use a buddy heater more than occasionally if full timing it in anything more than a motorhomeless situation, I don't understand.

    Ditch the buddy heater, run a dehumidifier if necessary, kick the dog outside!


    yup, burning any fossil fuel yields CO2 and H2O + heat. In the case of propane, 1 gallon of propane burned dumps slightly less than a gallon of water into the air.
  • valhalla360 wrote:
    ktmrfs wrote:
    If you have humidity problems, go to a big box store and buy the smallest compressor driven dehumidifier you can find. It will do the trick.


    You can minimize adding moisture but this is really the only true solution but doing it off grid is a problem.

    Damp Rid can help if it's in the back of a closet with little airflow but won't really have any noticeable impact on the larger living space.

    Look up the specs on dehumidifiers. A small one might have a 2.5 gallon reservoir and running continuously, you may have to dump the water multiple times per day. How many crystals will you need to absorb say 30-40 gallons of water per week?


    If you're living in it that's correct, but it does have its place. We've stored our trailer in a cave over the winter and Damp Rid or similar is essential to keep the moisture low enough for stuff not to grow. 4-5 64oz buckets was enough to keep our 18' trailer smelling good enough that an hour of fresh air was enough that you wouldn't notice. Lady at check-in said some folks ignore their warning in order to save a few bucks, costs them a LOT more in mold and mildew damage.

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