Delonghi DEM 10

...dehumidifiers and came across the Delonghi DEM10 Compact, available online at both John Lewis and Amazon at the price of £99.95. I didn't want to order online as I was more than likely to be out when it was delivered, so I decided to order from my local branch of John Lewis. (I could have opted for Saturday delivery from John Lewis online for an extra £6.95, but knew it wouldn't cost that much to take a taxi home from the shop.) It was going to be ...
...tried to be more vigilant about putting the extractor fan on when I had a shower, not overwatering my plants, not leaving coffee mugs full of water while waiting to be washed, and putting washing out to dry in the garden whenever the weather was fine.

I chose the compact model which has a handle at the top, and as it weighs about ten kilos I knew it would be possible for me to carry it from one room to another if need be. I'm not particularly ... more

One morning, pulling a pair of boots from under a chair in the corner of my bedroom, I was horrified to find them covered in mould. A few days before, I thought I had noticed a smell of mould as I came through the front door of my flat, but I had had no idea where it was coming from. From the time I moved into my flat, I had been aware that the plants didn't need watering as often as they used to, and washing did seem to take a long time to dry, even in summer. There was obviously a lot of moisture in the air; the boots could just be tied up in a bag and disposed of, but I didn't want to end up with mould growing on the walls and creating a health hazard.

I decided to have a look at dehumidifiers and came across the Delonghi DEM10 Compact, available online at both John Lewis and Amazon at the price of £99.95. I didn't want to order online as I was more than likely to be out when it was delivered, so I decided to order from my local branch of John Lewis. (I could have opted for Saturday delivery from John Lewis online for an extra £6.95, but knew it wouldn't cost that much to take a taxi home from the shop.) It was going to be at least a ten-day wait, and in the meantime I tried to be more vigilant about putting the extractor fan on when I had a shower, not overwatering my plants, not leaving coffee mugs full of water while waiting to be washed, and putting washing out to dry in the garden whenever the weather was fine.

I chose the compact model which has a handle at the top, and as it weighs about ten kilos I knew it would be possible for me to carry it from one room to another if need be. I'm not particularly good at sorting out how things work, but going through the manual (translated into eleven languages), it all sounded pretty straightforward. Finding a suitable place, however, was a bit tricky, as you should leave a clear space of at least 50 cm both in front and behind the dehumidifer. The only solution I had in my tiny flat was to position it sideways on top of the desk in my bedroom. The manual recommends that for ongoing use it is placed in a hall or corridor with rooms left open, but this is not possible for me. Another recommendation is that the dehumidifier is plugged directly into a socket rather than using an extension lead.

It was a little frustrating to read, when I finally unpacked it, that it had to be left in an upright position for twenty-four hours before being switched on. Nevertheless, one more day wasn't going to make much difference here or there - although I didn't want to have to throw away any more boots. It was early on a Sunday afternoon when the time came that I could switch on, so at least I had half a day to see how things worked out. To start the dehumidifying process, you turn the dial at the top in a clockwise direction. If you turn it almost halfway or further, the dehumidifier will work continuously; however, although this may be desirable at first, in the long run it could lead to too dry an atmosphere which can cause skin complaints. Once things are under control, you can turn the dial perhaps a quarter or third of the way and the dehumidifier will keep the humidity at the chosen level, switching itself on and off as need be. The only drawback here is that if it has switched itself off, you might forget to switch it off at the mains when you are going out, whereas when it is running you will be aware of the humming noise and remember that you need to switch off and unplug.

As the dehumidifying process takes place, you can see water gradually rising in the transparent tank at the base of the front section. The tank has a capacity of two litres and it just needs to be pulled out gently (by gripping it on either side) so that it can be emptied down the sink or in the garden, as you prefer. It's very easy to slot the tank back in again. A light comes on at the top of the dehumidifier should you forget to replace the tank before switching the device on, or if the tank is full. There is no possibility of overflowing. If you are leaving the dehumidifier on for a long period of time but are unable to empty the tank for any reason, you can use the drain hose that is supplied instead of the tank. I have not done this as I do not wish to position the dehumidifier near a sink, but according to the manual all you have to do is remove a rubber bung and connect the hose in its place.

At first I found that the dehumidifier was on continuously, especially as I had a load of washing drying indoors. I usually have it switched on for a couple of hours in the morning and around six hours later in the day, perhaps for longer periods at weekends. After a few days I found that if I turned the dial about a quarter of the way round, the dehumidifier did switch itself off every so often, indicating that there was no longer too much moisture in the air. I began to notice that washing was drying more quickly and a wooden door that had been sticking was now opening and closing quite easily.

It's so easy to operate the device and remove the tank when it needs emptying. The only other thing that really needs attention from time to time is the dust filter, which can be cleaned by vacuuming and if necessary rinsed in lukewarm water then dried. Although I wouldn't want to leave the dehumidifier on whilst I'm asleep, the noise it makes is really not intrusive - in fact it's quieter than the extractor fan in my shower room.

The dimensions of this model are 434x330x260mm. One additional feature is an electronic low temperature operation device that is activated when the room temperature is too low, and it prevents ice from forming. I have not had any personal experience of this feature as I always have heating on in the room when I am using the dehumidifier.

I am convinced that this was money well spent - apart from the risk of respiratory infections resulting from mould, I could have ended up with a big redecorating job on my hands if mould had started growing on the walls. There are larger dehumidifiers available at higher prices and these are usually permanent fixtures, but I find that the compact model suits my needs better with its removable tank and the possibility of moving it from one room to another. 

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