Houseplants causing damp!

[Chris]

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!

[Ermin Trude]

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.

[Chris]

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-indoor-plants-that-will-absorb-the-
humidity-in-your-house

[Big Les Wade]

Chris <c...@noreply.com> 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

[Janet]

In article <3gg7pbp5ghn7srs1v...@4ax.com>, m...@privacy.net
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

[Ermin Trude]

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.

[Ermin Trude]

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

> On Sat, 23 Jul 2016 12:56:09 -0500, Ermin Trude
> <ermin...@invalid.com> 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?

[Chris]

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. :-/

[Tom Gardner]

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.

[Chris]

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. :-/

[Phil L]

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

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

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

<spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> 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

[Tom Gardner]

On 24/07/16 15:38, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner
> <spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> 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.

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 17:02:43 +0200, Martin <m...@address.invalid> wrote:

>On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 15:38:45 +0100, Stephen Wolstenholme <st...@easynn.com>
>wrote:

>
>>On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner
>><spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> 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!

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 16:14:56 +0100, Chris Hogg <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

>On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 15:38:45 +0100, Stephen Wolstenholme
><st...@easynn.com> wrote:
>

>>On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:51:35 +0100, Tom Gardner
>><spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> 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.

[Chris]

Sort of. I'm unable to post photos, but if I had to describe them I'd say
they possess all of the aesthetic qualities of stinging nettles but smell
even worse.
I was at BnQ yesterday and saw some pretentious middle-class housewife
proudly wheeling out a similar abomination to her car. Can't for the life
of me see the appeal of these things which resemble weeds rather than
flowers and smell like cat's piss. Wimmin!! :-/

[Chris]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 16:41:56 +0200, Martin wrote:

> Does the living room look like this?
> https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--S_u76l7J--/
c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/18qovhqglcnf8jpg.jpg

No. Thank God!

[Phil L]

They're cannabis plants.

does she smoke and have weird looking friends?

[Stewart Robert Hinsley]

What might be sold in B&Q is Ricinis communis - deadly poisonous, but
still a favourite in municipal beeding - and not normally a house plant.
However Phil L was suggesting another species known for its medical and
recreational uses which wouldn't be for sale in B&Q.

--
SRH

[Stewart Robert Hinsley]

What about Tillandsia?

--
SRH

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 17:52:52 +0100, Phil L wrote:

> They're cannabis plants.

I very much doubt it.

>
> does she smoke and have weird looking friends?

She's never smoked a single cigarette in her entire life, doesn't drink
any alcohol at all and her friends are totally normal AFAIK!

[Peter Robinson]

Tom Gardner <spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

> 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.

[..]

> I don't see how a plant can act as a useful dehumidifier
> in normal UK conditions.

Nor do I.

> If they could, then where would the water go and what would be the
> physics/chemistry mechanism?

You answered your own question above. School botany was a long time
ago, but I remember that plants both respire (which gives off water) and
photosynthesize (which consumes water). They do the latter more, so the
overall effect is to consume water. But sadly for most plants you keep
having to add more water to the system to keep them alive.

Anyway, some plants can also absorb water from the air, so the only
question is whether you could somehow harness this to make a measurable
difference to humidity - presumably with a plant that requires minimal
additional direct watering. I think not.

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

Quite.

Peter

[Gunther Heiko Hagen]

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

> 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!

What the hell is this bullshit supposed to mean???

[Janet]

In article <nn2aoc$ie6$1...@dont-email.me>, c...@noreply.com says...

Maybe they will suffer a slow gradual death from ingesting tiny
amounts of weedkiller absorbed from moisture in the local environment.

Janet

[Janet]

In article <nn2pqh$ie6$1...@dont-email.me>, c...@noreply.com says...

>
> On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 15:32:35 +0100, Phil L wrote:
>
> > 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
>
> Sort of.

Those are cannabis. The smell is a giveaway and may be noticed outside
the flat. Your gf could put more than your wallpaper at risk.

Janet

[Janet]

In article <nn31o4$ie6$1...@dont-email.me>, cu...@notformail.com says...

Maybe she's only dealing it then.
What's that white powder in the bathroom?

Janet.

[Chris]

Definitely not! She's not that sort. Never in a million years. I'll find
out the full name of these things from her and get a pic off the net for
you.

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 16:19:29 -0000 (UTC), Chris <c...@noreply.com>
wrote:

I didn't know B&Q have started selling "pot" plants.

[Chris]

On Sun, 24 Jul 2016 18:08:00 +0100, Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

> What about Tillandsia?

Dunno. You lot are the experts.
I've found out what these plants are now:

https://www.amazon.com/TROPICA-Umbrella-Cyperus-alternifolius-
involucratus/dp/B00RUDHZXU/159-5502168-3746260?
ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00RUDHZXU&linkCode=xm2&tag=duckduckgo-
d-20


I suppose they do look a bit like the cannaibis plants some wag here
posted. But they're not. Still f****ing eyesores, though! :(

[Vir Campestris]

That link is a bit of a mouthful. You can shorten amazon links like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RUDHZXU

And it's a water plant? In a house???

Andy

[Chris]

On Tue, 26 Jul 2016 21:30:43 +0100, Vir Campestris wrote:

> That link is a bit of a mouthful. You can shorten amazon links like
> this:
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RUDHZXU

THanks for that.

>
> And it's a water plant? In a house???

AFAIK (but I'm NO expert!) there's nothing necessarily wrong with that.
HOWEVER, I've been doing a bit more research and it seems this species
has a terrifically high water demand, which implies it must belch loads
of water vapour out into the atmosphere. I'm guessing therefore that
there will not be an alternative plant hygroscopic enough to be able to
absorb all that vapour. :(
Surely to god they can be put outside and still survive perfectly happily
- at this time of the year at any rate??

[David Hill]

How the hell anyone can say Cyperus papyrus looks like cannabis I don't
know Should have gone to Specsavers.
Cyperus is a marsh plant in the wild but can be grown without standing
in water all the time, it will grow outside in a sheltered spot over the
summer, I've seen it growing around 100 yds from the sea in Tunisia well
rooted into sand.
Also there is a dwarf form Cyperus papyrus 'Nanus
Next thing we know people will be keeping tropical fish in tanks of
water in their houses, but then that would raise the humidity.
They would have to be mad.

[Stewart Robert Hinsley]

On 26/07/2016 22:57, David Hill wrote:

> How the hell anyone can say Cyperus papyrus looks like cannabis I don't
> know Should have gone to Specsavers.

You have to remember that not everybody can tell plants apart on any but
the most superficial level - I once had club moss pointed out to me as
juniper.

--
SRH