What do you do for condensation inside cabinets?

[Naio]

My previous van was too small to have cabinets, but my current van does. Plus storage under the bed and in the loft over the drivers area.

It's raining where I am, and it will be for the next week or more. The walls inside the cabinets and in the storage areas are WET. Luckily, I put my clothes inside garbage bags, in the cabinets. The insides of the garbage bags seem to be dry so far.

But what can I do about all this water? It's condensation, not leaks.
I've been opening all the windows and doors and the ceiling fan, running the heat full blast. But it only help so much when the outside air is 100% humidity.

Dehumidifiers are expensive, but do I need to buy one?

[msmith1_wa]

If the outside metal of the van is the back side of the cabinet some ridged or even reflectix type insulation would help.

[Naio]

Thank you, everyone, for all the helpful suggestions! I think my solution is going to involve a bit of everything.

I ordered a small dehumidifier, and some damp rid type stuff. I picked up a tiny heater at a thrift store. I'm running my big heater, with a window and the roof vent open, for about 6 hours a day, some in the morning and some in the evening. I'm keeping the cabinet doors open. The weather has improved a little, but not a lot.

The insides of my cabinets are finally dry!

The weather has improved a little, but not a lot. I think the thing that tipped me over into problem land was that I tried to dry my wet rain clothes, and a couple pieces of wet laundry, in front of the heater with the roof vent closed. Now I know better.

Long-term, I might make some structural changes to the cabinets. And I was planning to build more cabinets next summer, so now I know that I need to incorporate air circulation into the new ones!

[Grit_dog]

Or since it’s a diy conversion, if you go full hippie and put a small wood stove in it for heat, that will dry things out as good as a dehumidifier.

[PastorCharlie]

Without removing the moisture from inside the van it only absorbs into the furniture, paneling, carpet, walls, ceiling, clothes, and any material that is porous. It will cause mold, rot and rust. What are those items worth?

Being cheap is not always cheap. Hisense makes a good dehumidifier, Lowes is a good source.

[Grit_dog]

Does the van run?
Drive somewhere it's not raining?
Dunno what your van looks like but diy conversion could mean about anything.
It's hard to keep moisture down in a full size truck camper, with good insulation, forced air heat, if there's multiple people and it's wet/winter weather, wet clothes etc.
Keep air circulating with a fan and get a dehumidifier if that doesn't work.

[olfarmer]

If your humidity is that high, I think a dehumidifier is your best bet. They are not terribly expensive. I would check Walmart and Amazon as well as the big lumberyard chains.

[RambleOnNW]

We take and run a large 60-pint dehumidifier that draws around 600 wats when in high humidity or cold locations. That is the only way to keep the humidity down to a reasonable level of 60-65%. The unit is heavy but fits well under the dinette table between the table leg and bench seat and I block it in with other gear so it doesn’t roll out.

Normally we keep that dehumidifier in the garage.

During our stay we have it running in the back. We only used it once this year at the end of October when it got below freezing and we had hook ups.

We also have one of the small 80 watt units that uses a Peltier effect device but being small has less effect.

[mdcamping]

Naio wrote:
My previous van was too small to have cabinets, but my current van does. Plus storage under the bed and in the loft over the drivers area.

It's raining where I am, and it will be for the next week or more. The walls inside the cabinets and in the storage areas are WET. Luckily, I put my clothes inside garbage bags, in the cabinets. The insides of the garbage bags seem to be dry so far.

But what can I do about all this water? It's condensation, not leaks.
I've been opening all the windows and doors and the ceiling fan, running the heat full blast. But it only help so much when the outside air is 100% humidity.

Dehumidifiers are expensive, but do I need to buy one?

You said your running the heat, Dehumidifiers will also keep your space warm so you might not need to run your other heat source if your cold. Best to keep your windows closed.

Mike

[doxiemom11]

I keep Damp Rid in enclosed storage areas and change them out every couple of months. Have also been known to run heat from a space heater and A/C to reduce humidity when in a cool humid area. Our biggest areas are the windshield, the outermost storage area under the bed exposed to the cold outside, storage under the dinnette booths and husband's closet ( he doesn't get into it 15 times a day like I do mine LOL ). You can purchase these type of things at Dollar Tree for $1 each. Sometimes in near cleaning supplies, other times near fabric storage and closet storage items.

[pianotuna]

Hi Naio,

What type of electric heater? If fan based, make a "mini" clothes rack and place it so the heater blows on the wet clothing.

I think that vents and windows fully open is over kill. You may be bringing in so much moisture through the windows that the heater can't keep up.

Sending wishes for you to be warm and dry tonight.

Here is the cheapest on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/TOSOT-Dehumidifier-Small-Rooms-Square/dp/B07B4WHXHD/ref=sr_1_53_sspa?keywords...

and here is a Walmart unit:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Soleus-Air-30-Pint-Dehumidifier/40900316

And Lowes:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Soleus-Air-SoleusAir-30-Pint-3-Speed-Dehumidifier/1000930644

[Naio]

I'm using electric heat, so it's not a source of water. I suspect you might be right about just moving the water around inside the van.

I made some progress last night, having all the windows plus roof vent open, and the heat on full blast. Even though it was still raining outside.

I might break down and buy a small dehumidifier. Although, since I don't have Amazon Prime, it probably won't arrive until the two-week storm is over. Anybody recommend a particular cheap one? I have tried things like dry z air before and found them to be pretty useless. But maybe inside a small space like a cabinet they are better?

One major problem is drying my wet clothing when I come in from the rain. That was the problem last night, I think. I don't have ready access to a clothes dryer where I am.

[colliehauler]

In a small space with high humidity you have a lot of moisture. I agree with others a small dehumidifier would be the best solution. I had the same issue in Northern Florida. The single pane windows were always wet on the inside. I purchased a 30 pint model.

At the time I was camping with 4 Collies and myself in the trailer, that puts a lot of moisture into the space.

[smthbros]

Closed cabinet doors insulate the cabinet space from the living space causing it to be cooler. Air at 100% relative humidity and 50° temperature will have 55 grains moisture per pound of air, If you increase the temperature of that air to 70°, the relative humidity drops to 49%. At 80°, the relative humidity will be 35%.

[pnichols]

PastorCharlie wrote:
Install a Dehumidifier and pipe the drain outside and the problem is solved...other efforts just move the moisture around inside.

That's the best long term solution so as to be ready for wet weather anywhere anytime ... unless Naio is trying to drycamp in the rain. If so, that probably means a generator has to be in the mix.