Make your own dehumidifier system

First posted on the Nextdoor Edmonton app.
If you have too much humidity in your house you typically buy a dehumidifier.
They are expensive, and they can be expensive to operate.
Sometimes you have a small area such as an RV, closet or bathroom that may have too much humidity in them.
It's not practical to run a dehumidifier in those areas.
There are products on the market you can try. However they can be expensive for what you get.
One of those products is DampRid.
damprid.com/
The product works well. Have a look at the promotional video on their website.
It's a simple process. They use a container that holds the desiccant (Calcium Chloride) which draws excessive humidity out of the air and collects the water which you dump later.
It's not cheap but it does work.
So let's make our own. You can do this more cost effectively using plain old Sidewalk Deicer.
The key is to buy Calcium Chloride as the main ingredient. Do not buy Sodium Chloride. It works but no where near as well.
Pure Calcium Chloride normally looks like small white pellets. Sometimes it comes as crystals as well.
Once you have made your containers as I describe in the video, be sure to keep it out of the reach of children and pets.
Follow all the safety requirements on the DampRid website.
The first thing you will notice is that the product becomes hard. This is normal. That means it's working by adsorbing water in the air.
Eventually the contents of the first container will start to disappear and water will accumulate in the bottom container.
Once the first container is empty, drain the second of water, then refill the first container to start the process all over again.
You can make a number of these units and place them anywhere that you want to control humidity levels.
For basements use 5 gallon pails for best results.
Expect these to last 60 days or so.
Let me know if you have questions.
Stay safe.