Dehumidifying without electrical power?

October 15, 2004 4:40 PM

I have an extremely humid bathroom with no exhaust fan and no electrical outlets. Are there any dehumidification solutions which don't require electricity?

The building I live in was built in the late '20s and no thought was given to bathroom ventillation. There's a small window but its right next to the shower, somewhere I'm not comfortable mounting a fan even if I had the electricity to do it.

posted by nathan_teske to Technology (9 answers total)

At the drugstore, there's a bunch of products like this. Hard to imagine they'd dry a whole room out, but worth a shot.

Don't laugh, but what about crystal kitty litter? When it first came out, there were demos everywhere inviting people to spritz that stuff liberally with water or ammonia, and the crystals absorbed it so quickly that they immediately became dry to the touch. See if it makes a difference to place an open bag in a discrete corner of the room. (When the color turns from cloudy to opaque, replace.)
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 5:16 PM on October 15, 2004

Leave the bathroom door open when you're finished taking a shower. That's about the only thing I can think of.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:07 PM on October 15, 2004

How about a small battery-powered fan in the window? That wouldn't be an electrocution hazard. Are there room-mates that require the door to be closed?
posted by cardboard at 7:19 PM on October 15, 2004

Keeping the window open a bit will help, too.
posted by rhapsodie at 7:21 PM on October 15, 2004

Here is a compact battery-powered fan. Combine that with the window open and the fan pointing out the door. Brookstone might have other options as well.
posted by fionab at 7:56 PM on October 15, 2004

Use a dessiccant, as nakedcodemonkey suggested, although it would be better if you could find one that didn't require disposal once it's used. There are materials that can be "rejuvenated" by a quick turn in the oven and used again.


...they're used in some commercial HVAC dehumidification systems, so if you dig around you ought to be able to find them fairly cheaply.

Of course, leaving the window/door open a little would be cheaper still.

If your tiny shower window is south-facing there are a number of solar-powered vent fans that might work.
posted by aramaic at 8:29 PM on October 15, 2004

extension cord, and a regular fan or dehumidifier.
posted by amberglow at 8:37 PM on October 15, 2004

I used to use DampRid (see the link from NCM) in a similar situation, and it worked like a charm.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 8:41 PM on October 16, 2004

I have a large bag of dessicant that I purchased online some years back. It is just like the little bags one finds packed in electronics and food packages and can be recharged by drying in a low-heat oven. I have no idea if it would work over some days in a humid shower room but you know what, I might give it a try and report the results.
posted by Dick Paris at 3:51 AM on October 17, 2004