Greetings, gardening enthusiasts,

Does anyone know the best way to reduce dampness due to houseplants?
We've had such a rotten summer in my part of the British Isles lately;
the humidity has been horrendous (frequently around 90% or more for weeks
now) and the wallpaper is starting to peel in places. It's been so humid
outside it's not been possible to air the place out like it would
normally. I can't recall it ever being this bad. I was told there are
some other houseplants that can act as effective natural dehumidifiers,
but I don't know if that's true or not. Anyway, short of hiring an
industrial dehumidifier, can anyone make a helpful suggestion, please!!

Thanks!

On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 17:28:26 +0000, Chris wrote:

Greetings, gardening enthusiasts,

Does anyone know the best way to reduce dampness due to houseplants?
We've had such a rotten summer in my part of the British Isles lately;
the humidity has been horrendous (frequently around 90% or more for
weeks now) and the wallpaper is starting to peel in places. It's been so
humid outside it's not been possible to air the place out like it would
normally. I can't recall it ever being this bad. I was told there are
some other houseplants that can act as effective natural dehumidifiers,
but I don't know if that's true or not. Anyway, short of hiring an
industrial dehumidifier, can anyone make a helpful suggestion, please!!

Thanks!

Depends on which is more important to you - the plants or the house.

Take the plants outside and keep them well watered there and in the
meantime ensure there is plenty of ventialtion to the inside of your
house.

You must have some strange plants if the humidity is so high.

On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 20:23:22 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

As to some plants acting as dehumidifiers; that's a new one on me.
Sounds like a load of nonsense!

Not over watering. Here's the reference I finally managed to track down
and I'd value the wisdom of the group on this claim:

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/5-i...ll-absorb-the-
humidity-in-your-house

Chris posted
Greetings, gardening enthusiasts,

Does anyone know the best way to reduce dampness due to houseplants?
We've had such a rotten summer in my part of the British Isles lately;
the humidity has been horrendous (frequently around 90% or more for weeks
now) and the wallpaper is starting to peel in places.

Why do you think houseplants are causing the damp?


--
Les

In article ,
says...
As to some plants acting as dehumidifiers; that's a new one on me.
Sounds like a load of nonsense!

I think he meant this

NASA claims plants filter VOCs from the air in space stations.
Not sure if it works in gravity :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study

Janet

On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 22:10:52 +0000, Chris wrote:

On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 20:23:22 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

As to some plants acting as dehumidifiers; that's a new one on me.
Sounds like a load of nonsense!

Not over watering. Here's the reference I finally managed to track down
and I'd value the wisdom of the group on this claim:

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/5-i...ll-absorb-the-
humidity-in-your-house

Frankly I'd be very dubious of any such claim - you'd need a jungle of
them to have any effect at all.

Best thing for humidity in the home is plenty of ventilation. Yes, its
hot and humid outside but by opening doors and windows you will get a
through flow of air and this will help alleviate the problem.

On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 20:23:22 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 12:56:09 -0500, Ermin Trude
wrote:

On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 17:28:26 +0000, Chris wrote:

Greetings, gardening enthusiasts,

Does anyone know the best way to reduce dampness due to houseplants?
You must have some strange plants if the humidity is so high.

Quite. Or an awful lot of them. Is the OP sure he's not over-watering
them?

Can you overwater cannabis?

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 10:19:22 +0100, Big Les Wade wrote:

Chris posted
Greetings, gardening enthusiasts,

Does anyone know the best way to reduce dampness due to houseplants?
We've had such a rotten summer in my part of the British Isles lately;
the humidity has been horrendous (frequently around 90% or more for
weeks now) and the wallpaper is starting to peel in places.

Why do you think houseplants are causing the damp?

It's become noticeably damp in here since my girlfriend moved these
infernal plants of hers in. Were it not for the fact that it's so
incredibly humid weather wise as well I might well never have noticed and
it probably wouldn't have been a problem.
I don't know what these things are called, but they smell terrible and
look horrible; I cannot see what she sees in them. Well, that's wimmin
for you. :-/

On 23/07/16 18:28, Chris wrote:
Greetings, gardening enthusiasts,

Does anyone know the best way to reduce dampness due to houseplants?
We've had such a rotten summer in my part of the British Isles lately;
the humidity has been horrendous (frequently around 90% or more for weeks
now) and the wallpaper is starting to peel in places. It's been so humid
outside it's not been possible to air the place out like it would
normally. I can't recall it ever being this bad. I was told there are
some other houseplants that can act as effective natural dehumidifiers,
but I don't know if that's true or not. Anyway, short of hiring an
industrial dehumidifier, can anyone make a helpful suggestion, please!!

An obvious point: the water you add to a plant will end up
in the air, except for the small amount that remains in
the plant itself.

The water you pour in the plant pot will either evaporate
directly or be transpired through the leaves.

I don't see how a plant can act as a useful dehumidifier
in normal UK conditions. If they could, then where would
the water go and what would be the physics/chemistry
mechanism?

The best solutions are to add less water and/or to ventilate.

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner wrote:

I don't see how a plant can act as a useful dehumidifier in normal UK
conditions. If they could, then where would the water go and what would
be the physics/chemistry mechanism?

I can't see it, either. :-/

Chris wrote:
I don't know what these things are called, but they smell terrible and
look horrible; I cannot see what she sees in them. Well, that's wimmin
for you. :-/

do they look like this?;
http://tinyurl.com/z2nzy9c

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

I don't see how a plant can act as a useful dehumidifier
in normal UK conditions. If they could, then where would
the water go and what would be the physics/chemistry
mechanism?

I think succulents absorb some moisture in the air by osmosis. Get
enough of them and they will dehumidify a room.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

On 24/07/16 15:38, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

I don't see how a plant can act as a useful dehumidifier
in normal UK conditions. If they could, then where would
the water go and what would be the physics/chemistry
mechanism?

I think succulents absorb some moisture in the air by osmosis. Get
enough of them and they will dehumidify a room.

Obviously /succulents/ can't absorb through the foliage,
so the only way they can ingest water is through
their roots.

Any de-humidification would have to be via the roots
and soil in the pot, which seems (at best) a very
inefficient way dehumidifying the air.

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 17:02:43 +0200, Martin wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 15:38:45 +0100, Stephen Wolstenholme
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

I don't see how a plant can act as a useful dehumidifier
in normal UK conditions. If they could, then where would
the water go and what would be the physics/chemistry
mechanism?

I think succulents absorb some moisture in the air by osmosis. Get
enough of them and they will dehumidify a room.

Can you get enough of them in one normal sized living room?

It would be a bit of a challenge!

Steve

--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 16:14:56 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 15:38:45 +0100, Stephen Wolstenholme
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

I don't see how a plant can act as a useful dehumidifier
in normal UK conditions. If they could, then where would
the water go and what would be the physics/chemistry
mechanism?

I think succulents absorb some moisture in the air by osmosis. Get
enough of them and they will dehumidify a room.

Steve

AIUI they absorb moisture from the air around their roots, rather than
by direct contact with moist soil, hence the need for well aerated
open gritty compost with lots of air pockets. Can't see them being
much use as dehumidifiers though!

That's the way it gets absorb but it has to start somewhere.

Steve


--
Neural Network Software for Windows http://www.npsnn.com