With many people heading down to the coast this December, they are likely to walk straight into a wetter, heavier start to the holidays. The early summer weather has arrived with more rain than usual, and KwaZulu-Natal’s humidity has kicked up sooner than many expected. It only takes a day or two for that moisture to creep indoors. Towels refuse to dry, bedding feels a bit limp, and cupboards develop that unmistakable coastal smell.
“Anyone who has done a December at the coast knows exactly what I am talking about,” says Wynand Deyzel, Sales Manager at Solenco. “You open the door, excited for your break, and the house just feels damp. Clothes stay cool and clammy, the air hangs on your skin, and even your phone or camera can behave strangely in the moisture. It takes the shine off the first few days.”
And it is not only about comfort. Once a closed-up home fills with warm, wet air, it seeps into everything from fabrics, wood, and even the corners you forget to check, causing everything from allergic reactions to spoiled furniture and structural damage. By the time the crowds arrive, many families end up running the aircon far longer than they planned, just trying to make the space feel normal again.
Fortunately, there are simple ways to ease the load.
- Give your cupboards and bedding room to breathe. Keep cupboard doors open during the day and turn bedding down so moisture does not settle into closed, still air.
- Spread out anything wet. Towels, beachwear, and washing that pile up in one corner stay damp for hours. Space them out so the moisture can escape rather than soak into fabrics and furniture.
- Let your electronics acclimatise. Phones, cameras, and lenses can fog when moved between cold aircon and warm, humid conditions. Leaving them to adjust naturally helps prevent condensation from forming inside the components.
- Watch your aircon use. Running the unit for hours to “dry the air” is expensive and does not actually remove large amounts of moisture. Aircons cool the air, but they draw a lot of electricity when used as a substitute for a dehumidifier.
- Remove the ‘sticky’ feeling with a dehumidifier. Durban’s heat is uncomfortable due to humidity rather than temperature. A dehumidifier does not cool the air, but removes the moisture that makes rooms feel sticky. The same principle works in reverse in places like Cape Town in winter, where the familiar “winter chill” is often caused by high humidity. Lowering the moisture level helps rooms feel warmer without touching the thermostat.
- Help your aircon run more efficiently. When humidity is under control, an aircon does not have to work as hard to reach or maintain a comfortable temperature. That means better performance and lower electricity use, especially during long holiday stays.
- Choose the right dehumidifier for your space. Mobile units such as the MeacoDry ABC 10L or MeacoDry Arete One 20L work well for most holiday homes because they are quiet, energy-efficient, and easy to move around. Larger coastal properties often benefit from compact ceiling-mounted systems that stay out of sight and can extract up to 45 litres of moisture per day. Full-inverter models, such as the Fairland and Solenco ceiling-mounted units, use exceptionally low energy and can run continuously, keeping humidity stable even when the aircon cycles off.
“A dehumidifier does the quiet work that makes a holiday home feel fresh again. Aircons chill the air, but they are not designed to pull out large amounts of moisture. Once you remove the humidity, the whole space feels different. Rooms smell cleaner, towels dry properly, and aircons run more efficiently.”
With wetter, stickier weather settling in early this year, air treatment is becoming the difference between a home that looks good and a home that feels good.