Cabins at Fort Wilderness - Recent Experiences Getting Dehumidifier Shut Off?

[zackiedawg]

It's been almost a year since my first stay in the new cabins at Fort Wilderness...there had been some chatter that a few had been able to get Maintenance to come turn off the dehumidifier that so noisily runs nearly 24 hours a day. I lived with it since on that trip I was staying solo and it was only somewhat bothersome in the mornings before I left the cabin - I could close the bedroom door and mute it when sleeping...but it was annoying enough out there that I did request maintenance to turn it off...they seemed a bit confused about the request but did manage it somehow. I wondered if it had become a more common request by now.

I'll be back up there next Friday (2/6) and will have someone staying with me, so this time I was hoping to have maintenance turn it off - especially if someone will be sleeping in the living room. The fact that it's cooler and drier in February shouldn't present any issues with it being off since humidity and moisture won't really be an issue - I would have thought they'd only run when they needed to in the summer, but last February despite being cool and dry, that thing never shut off.

Just so there's no confusion, I'm not talking about the bathroom fan which has the little button to turn it off - this is the big dehumidifier that sits on the wall high up next to the bathroom, and has no access panels or switches anywhere on it. Most comments mention maintenance shut it down from outside the cabin when they requested it - I was out of the cabins so not sure how they did mine...but I haven't really seen newer comments about it in the past year - only back when the cabins had just opened.

So has anyone recently had luck in getting it turned off?

 

[tidefan]

For us, we've always had luck with the button turning it off. I wonder if you had a wonky unit?

 

[zackiedawg]

The dehumidifier doesn't have a button. The bathroom fan thing did have a button on the right wall as you go into the bathroom - and you can hear it audibly turning off, but the dehumidifier (on the left wall in the hall before you enter the bathroom or sink area) on mine ran endlessly, day and night and there are no buttons or control panels anywhere to access it. Plus, even when the AC was turned off, it continued to run...so it runs independent of the AC.

I guess when I check in I'll see if it's running permanently like last time, and if so, call maintenance immediately to see if they'll turn it off again.

 

[DVCPAT]

We’ve had multiple trips to the cabins with 7 day stays in August (high humidity) without any dehumidifier noise issues. Dehumidifier is needed due to the mini split AC units are oversized which cool the space rapidly but don’t remove humidity.
I would guess they’re on a dedicated power circuit so maintenance probably turns the breaker off at your request. I was surprised to see some cabins located above sitting water so dehumidifier is essential.

 

[zackiedawg]

IN summer, for sure - Florida is so humid and it rains a lot, so moisture will be an issue. But since I'll be there in winter, with cool and dry conditions, won't be going in the pool so no wet clothes or towels lying around inside, and if the temps stay below 70, I usually open the windows rather than use AC (10-day forecast looks to be showing highs in the upper 60s and lows in the 50s, so I'm good with that or anything below that).

If the dehumidifier stayed off when conditions didn't require it, I'd be fine. Maybe the cabin I had last year had a faulty one, but it never stopped and was (for me) quite loud. It's kind of like white noise, so I could see some people tuning it out, but it's just too much white noise for my ears - I had to keep the TV 5-6 more notches on volume than I normally watch.

I'll see how it sounds when I check in next week - if the last one was an anomaly, then I won't need to worry about it. If it's still running constant and at the same volume, I'll ask maintenance/front desk to turn it off.

Thanks for the info!

 

[zackiedawg]

Updating for anyone who followed or answered this thread. My 2nd stay in the cabins proved to be a no-fuss stay. When I checked in I decided not to mention the dehumidifier - I'd go to the cabin to see if it was on constantly or only occasionally, then call in to shut it down if needed. Unlike the last time, I got to the cabin and there was no dehumidifier noise. And as the stay went on, it never came on. Ever. Quiet and peaceful. Two people in the cabin, cooking foods, drying towels, etc - nothing triggered it.

I'm not sure if that means my first cabin stay was a fluke and it was broken, running all the time even in cool dry weather...and incredibly loud - drowning out the TV in the living room and still audible with the bedroom door closed...or did Disney address the issue and recalibrate them or even disable them? I don't know - but I was happy that it never ran.

I now understand when some people respond to threads about the loud dehumidifiers, they don't really understand it - they think it's referring to the AC unit sound, or the small fan in the bathroom. I wouldn't have known either if this past stay was my only experience, as the cabin was perfectly quiet. The AC sound is a hushed blow of air...the bathroom vent fan is a small localized noise with a button to temporarily disable it. But that dehumidifier was a loud, deep, constant thrum like a small diesel engine parked in the hallway idling, and could be heard through the entire cabin.

I now have high hopes that my first stay was either a one-off, or Disney took the complaints and addressed it, so the old dehumidifier noise is a thing of the past - or possibly may occasionally come on during the long humid summer, but not run constantly. I'll be back to the cabins in June, when the weather is hot and humid, so I'll find out then if it needs to run at least part time.

 

[tidefan]

Updating for anyone who followed or answered this thread. My 2nd stay in the cabins proved to be a no-fuss stay. When I checked in I decided not to mention the dehumidifier - I'd go to the cabin to see if it was on constantly or only occasionally, then call in to shut it down if needed. Unlike the last time, I got to the cabin and there was no dehumidifier noise. And as the stay went on, it never came on. Ever. Quiet and peaceful. Two people in the cabin, cooking foods, drying towels, etc - nothing triggered it.

I'm not sure if that means my first cabin stay was a fluke and it was broken, running all the time even in cool dry weather...and incredibly loud - drowning out the TV in the living room and still audible with the bedroom door closed...or did Disney address the issue and recalibrate them or even disable them? I don't know - but I was happy that it never ran.

I now understand when some people respond to threads about the loud dehumidifiers, they don't really understand it - they think it's referring to the AC unit sound, or the small fan in the bathroom. I wouldn't have known either if this past stay was my only experience, as the cabin was perfectly quiet. The AC sound is a hushed blow of air...the bathroom vent fan is a small localized noise with a button to temporarily disable it. But that dehumidifier was a loud, deep, constant thrum like a small diesel engine parked in the hallway idling, and could be heard through the entire cabin.

I now have high hopes that my first stay was either a one-off, or Disney took the complaints and addressed it, so the old dehumidifier noise is a thing of the past - or possibly may occasionally come on during the long humid summer, but not run constantly. I'll be back to the cabins in June, when the weather is hot and humid, so I'll find out then if it needs to run at least part time.

This makes perfect sense. I had assumed you were talking about the bathroom fan noise (which is easily switched off). Yep, we've stayed in the Cabins 3 times now and never came across the issue you are describing. Let's hope it really was a one off. Hope you had a great stay!