Dehumidifiers

[runnerr]

Does anyone have any information on dehumidifiers? I need a large 70 pint for my basement. Consumers report says to get the largest you can afford. We built a new house with a finished basement and the humidity is about 65% I think 45% is closer to normal.

Thanks runnerr

 

[Martha]

We run a dehumidifier in our basement. They are pretty low tech so you can probably just buy a big one based on price. One thing I disliked was having to dump the water tank, daily when it was especially humid. We ended up running a short hose from the tank (there was a place to attach a hose) so it could drain out automatically. We had no good place to drain it so we ended up having it drain into our laundry tub.

 

[Robert the Red]

"Buy a de-humidifier for your basement" is my stock piece of advice for first-time home buyers. Otherwise you get mold and an ucky clammy basement.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Big feature to look for is the ability to run at lower temperatures, unless you keep your basement heated to a fairly high temp. Many units may ice up and freeze at temps below 70 degrees. The good news is that they throw hot air, so it'll warm the room up for you fairly quickly. The bad news is that it does the same thing in the summer time when heat may not be your biggest desire.

Some are pretty noisy too. My big kenmore unit makes a ton of noise and half of it is cheap plastic case buzzing.


Its basically a big inefficient air conditioner which condenses cold water into a bucket and blows its exhaust into the room.

Some portable air conditioners can also function as heaters, air conditioners AND dehumidifiers at the turn of a switch...you might investigate one of those...provide you cooling in the summer, heating in the winter and dehumidification all year round.

 

[Charlotte]

Power Bill...

On a related note, when we run ours, our monthly power bill easily takes about a $30-$40 jump upwards. And that is sort of offsetting the fact that we can run the AC a little less since it's drier... Doesn't seem fair...

 

[Danny]

We're using this one and have been quite happy. We tucked it away in a remote corner of the lower level because it is a bit noisey...still, it's successful at dragging the overall house humidity down to 45 Kenmore 54501 50 pint Dehumidifier w/Electronic Touch Controls at Sears.com

 

[ERD50]

Does anyone have any information on dehumidifiers? I need a large 70 pint for my basement. Consumers report says to get the largest you can afford. We built a new house with a finished basement and the humidity is about 65% I think 45% is closer to normal.

Thanks runnerr

We generally need to run the house air conditioner during the most humid periods. So I just opened some vents in the basement to circulate the air that has been de-humidified from the air conditioner. Did the trick for us, your conditions may be different though.

-ERD50

 

[Darryl]

ERD 50 might have the best answer?? Our basement is about 900 sq.ft we have a 40 pint and run a hose to a sump well so we never have to touch it. Turn the dial to the humidity "trip point" and walk away.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Only thing you want to watch with venting existing "upstairs" heating and air conditioning through to the basement is a) the spread of mold spores from the basement to the rest of the house and b) any carbon monoxide producing items currently in the basement.


Whats the climate like where you live? An air exchanger that moves outside air into the basement, absorbing the heat/chill from the air and passing it back into the incoming air would solve the problem a lot cheaper than a dehumidifier. Providing the outside air is drier than whats in the basement.

Warmair.com - Air to Air Exchangers

And yeah, you want something in the 40-45% humidity range. Below 40% its a little dry on the skin and nose...above 49 and mold and mildew start blooming.