I wrote not long ago that I really needed a bigger dehumidifier. I had a tiny, table-top unit that I bought a few years ago when I stayed in coastal Alabama. The air humidity here (Olympic Peninsula, WA) is phenomenal, and now we are in the winter rainy season. Condensation forms on all the windows and pools in the window frames, the perfect setting for molds and mildew. No thanks!

GE, 30-pint dehumidifier. The vertical line is actually a clear window in the collection reservoir, which slides out like a drawer. The unit comes up to my knees and is about 20 inches wide

I shopped around online, coughed up the $180, and bought, at Home Depot, a 30-pint, GE dehumidifier that is a champ! You can also buy 70-pint units, but I figured the 30-pint would do the job in my 21-foot rig, and I was right. I also appreciate that it is more compact because a tiny home does not have much space for free-standing things!

I can set the humidity level that I prefer (40) and within an hour it dries out the air and the RV. The unit has a slide in reservoir that collects the water, and every 24 – 36 hours it beeps that the reservoir is full. I dump out at least a quart of water every day or so. That seems like a great deal of water!

Some advice when you first run the unit: after using it in the open space for a few hours, I moved things from those corners where stuff accumulates. For me, that is a corner where I have a cart for shoes and another where I keep books. I also have a sewing nook. After clearing each cluttered space, I moved the dehumidifier (which rolls) near the space to dry it out. Papers that I had forgotten about in one space were actually a bit wet from condensation that dripped down, so focusing on the corner spaces was an important step in drying out my rig.

I don’t run the dehumidifier all the time and never during the night; however, I might during a long hard rain while I am sleeping. In the meantime, I run the unit when I wake up and then as needed later. I turn it off when I leave.

A nice side-benefit: my bathing suit and towels, which I need for my water aerobics class, actually dry out now before the next class!

I researched whether water collected in a dehumidifier reservoir can be used for drinking. The overall opinion is no, because it has bacteria and other critters. However, in an emergency, I would boil or filter the water (like after a major earthquake). I have a filter in my emergency gear. The water would, however, be great to water plants and for other household uses. Good to know!