Last year's monsoon season was brutal. Almost three weeks of on-and-off rain. The problem? Laundry. No balcony in my apartment, so clothes hung indoors took two days to dry — and started smelling musty.
I searched "how to dry laundry fast" and discovered dehumidifiers. Thought the AC's dehumidify mode would work, but that just makes the room freezing cold while slightly reducing humidity. Not ideal during monsoon when it's already cool.
Panic-bought an LG Whisen dehumidifier right before monsoon hit.
Laundry drying changed completely
Hung clothes next to the dehumidifier and they were dry in half a day. What used to take two days. This alone paid for the machine.
There's a dedicated laundry dry mode that cranks up the dehumidification. Towels and jeans — dry and fluffy within a day. If you've suffered through musty-smelling laundry during monsoon, you understand.
AC dehumidify vs. actual dehumidifier
AC removes humidity by lowering temperature — your room gets cold. A dehumidifier removes humidity without changing temperature. Set your target humidity (I use 50%) and it maintains it automatically.
So much water comes out
Check the water tank and you'll be shocked. Half a day of running fills it halfway. "This much water was in my air?" Daily capacity is 16-19L.
Tank is 5.3L, so during heavy monsoon you'll empty it twice a day. Or connect the continuous drain hose to the bathroom drain and never touch it.
Downsides
Heavy. Compressor-based, so it's hard to move between rooms. Has wheels but doorsteps are tricky.
Useless in winter. Monsoon through fall only. Sits in storage 5-6 months of the year.
Electricity. Running all day adds about 10,000-20,000 won per month.
Summer's over, looking back
Best purchase of last summer. Laundry smell stress: gone. Indoor air during monsoon: comfortable. If you deal with indoor laundry in Korea's rainy season, this is essential.
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