humidity level in basement

[broadway]

I have a dehumidifier running 24/7 during the summer months.


I have just bought a humidity gauge.


The basement is about 750 square feet.


80% of the basement is below ground level. There are windows.


What humidity level is appropriate?


I am thinking I may need to buy a more powerful dehumidifier for next summer.


.

 

[RunningBum]

On my humidifier, the setting for "Basement" is 50%, I think. It depends on where you live. In the deep south, that may not be attainable.

Could be you need to do some grading and/or landscaping to keep water away from your foundation.

 

[Bamaman]

50% is normal humidity for a basement.

 

[Walt34]

We have a dehumidifier in the basement and like yours in the summer it runs 24/7. I am usually able to get the humidity down to ~40% and am happy with that. We don't see mold anywhere which would be a sure sign of high humidity.

About five years ago when prepping FIL's house for sale we first had to address the water problem in the basement. During heavy rains water would come in under the basement door to the outside stairwell. He had decades earlier finished off part of the basement and in doing that had concealed a sump pump under a shelf in a closet. In dismantling that closet (we took that part of the basement down to the studs/bare floor) we discovered the sump pump that FIL had forgotten was even there! It clearly had not run for a very long time and the water entry problem promptly went away when we simply replaced the sump pump.

But the basement was still moist and musty from decades of being in high humidity. So we went to the big box orange store and bought two of the biggest dehumidifiers they had, and set them to running 24/7 with the water draining into the sump. IIRC, it took about four months of both of them running to get that basement dry again. After that one dehumidifier was sufficient to keep it that way.

Moral: If you have a sump pump, don't cover it up so you'll forget you even have one.

 

[folivier]

Yeah, we're lucky to see 50% with the air conditioner running 24/7 in the house! Gets kinda damp here in the Deep South.

 

[broadway]

Can't wait to see what the humidity gauge shows.


I bought the ThermoPro TP50 on eBay based on the reviews on Amazon.

 

[Spock]

Our summer humidity (before monsoon season) is 4-7%....

whats a DEhumidifier??

 

[Sunset]

we have a dehumidifier in the basement, plus the AC running in summer takes a lot of humidity out of the house.
I turned off the furnace humidifier years ago, as I'd prefer a dry winter and less humid at other times since I have tools in the basement.

 

[rsingh6675]

We have a 2 yr old Danby Premier Dehumidifier. It has stopped collecting water. It just ran out of warranty. I tried to clean its filter. The filter was not
dirty. Does anyone know if it can be fixed or I will have to buy new one.
Thanks

 

[jazz4cash]

I purchased two units to monitor the basement. They register “HIGH” for anything over 50%. The readings are usually 2% apart, so 64-66% in a basement with no dehumidifier and AC vents closed. We have no signs of humidity issues but believe it would be smart to get it down to 50%. The units are Acurite model 00613 purchased at Amazon for $12.

 

[ransil]

From my googling 60% is where mold starts growing, i keep my crawl space dehumidifier setting around 50-55%

 

[Which Roger]

Since we're talking about relative humidity, it depends on room temperature. 50% is about right for a 70 degree room. But equivalent relative humidity in a 55 degree room is 70-80%.

 

[aaronc879]

The humidity in basement right now is 64% with no dehumidifier running but the heat is on which lowers it a little. The humidity is 60-70% all summer with the help of the dehumidifier. No signs of mold or water marks or any other problem.

 

[Walt34]

whats a DEhumidifier??

A machine that reduces the humidity in an area. If too much moisture is in the air for long enough the walls will get mold growing on them.

It's basically a small refrigerator with the evaporator (cold coil) right in front of the condenser (warm coil). When moist air hits the evaporator water condenses on it the same way water condenses on a glass of iced tea on a humid summer day. The condensed water drains into a tank that has to be emptied (usually daily) or if you're lucky and have a drain nearby the water can drain into that. Or you can buy a condensate pump and pump the water outside.

 

[travelover]

We have a 2 yr old Danby Premier Dehumidifier. It has stopped collecting water. It just ran out of warranty. I tried to clean its filter. The filter was not
dirty. Does anyone know if it can be fixed or I will have to buy new one.
Thanks

As Walt explained elsewhere, it is basically just a little refrigerator with a cold and hot coil. If it runs and one coil does not get cold, it is shot. Did you possibly buy it with a credit card that extends the warranty?

 

[gauss]

We have a 2 yr old Danby Premier Dehumidifier. It has stopped collecting water. It just ran out of warranty. I tried to clean its filter. The filter was not
dirty. Does anyone know if it can be fixed or I will have to buy new one.
Thanks

Perhaps, if you are electrically inclined, try measuring the current while the dehumidifier is running. If the current is very low then your compressor and/or refrigeration circuit may have issues.

-gauss

 

[mancesnow]

50% it's ok.

 

[sengsational]

Mine has a condensate pump connected to a drain so I never have to empty it. It's set to 45%. It doesn't run much, even in the summer. Rainy weather will get it going. In the winter, it very rarely runs. I'd hope not...I've got a whole house humidifier on the furnace...makes it so much more comfortable in the winter with gas heat....my skin starts getting itchy with the furnace dried air. Here in NC, it's that week where you hope you can make it a little while longer without turning on the heat. The house is at 65 this morning, lol!

 

[Ronstar]

Mine is 53% now but can get into the mid 60's in the summer. We have a lake in our backyard and its common for outdoor humidity to be above 90% for weeks.

 

[Walt34]

Mine has a condensate pump connected to a drain so I never have to empty it.

The one I have came with a pump too. The pump died about three days after the warranty expired. So now the dehumidifier drains to the A/C condensate pump.

 

[omni550]

Back in the 90s/early 2000s,I used to run a dehumidifier in my basement during the humid Michigan summers, back when I didn't run my whole-house A/C all summer. I recall seeing a noticeable uptick in my electric bill due to the dehumidifier... something like $30-$40/mo.

A decade or so ago, I started running my whole-house A/C all summer long. At the same time, I would open the basement return air vent on the duct to the furnace/A/C. I noticed that by running the A/C full-time with the basement return air vent opened, the basement humidity was lowered, so I quit using the dehumidifier. I also noticed that running the full-time A/C alone also bumped my electric bill about $30-45/mo.

It appears that for my house running the whole-house A/C full-time costs about the same as running just the basement dehumidifier. Since the A/C provides much more comfort (cool AND drier throughout the house), I have never used the dehumidifier since.

One question. I'm curious, are today's dehumidifiers somehow more efficient than those of the 90s? I wouldn't think so, but thought I'd ask.

omni

 

[ransil]

Back in the 90s/early 2000s,I used to run a dehumidifier in my basement during the humid Michigan summers, back when I didn't run my whole-house A/C all summer. I recall seeing a noticeable uptick in my electric bill due to the dehumidifier... something like $30-$40/mo.

A decade or so ago, I started running my whole-house A/C all summer long. At the same time, I would open the basement return air vent on the duct to the furnace/A/C. I noticed that by running the A/C full-time with the basement return air vent opened, the basement humidity was lowered, so I quit using the dehumidifier. I also noticed that running the full-time A/C alone also bumped my electric bill about $30-45/mo.

It appears that for my house running the whole-house A/C full-time costs about the same as running just the basement dehumidifier. Since the A/C provides much more comfort (cool AND drier throughout the house), I have never used the dehumidifier since.

One question. I'm curious, are today's dehumidifiers somehow more efficient than those of the 90s? I wouldn't think so, but thought I'd ask.

omni

Not according to my electric bill, i still need to put my meter on it to check it.
Mine is in my crawl space, the output was blowing back on itself so i made a baffle for the exhaust to move air away from the unit, gotta wait a month to see if it makes a difference, i think it was short cycling.

 

[gauss]

Back in the 90s/early 2000s,I used to run a dehumidifier in my basement during the humid Michigan summers, back when I didn't run my whole-house A/C all summer. I recall seeing a noticeable uptick in my electric bill due to the dehumidifier... something like $30-$40/mo.

A decade or so ago, I started running my whole-house A/C all summer long. At the same time, I would open the basement return air vent on the duct to the furnace/A/C. I noticed that by running the A/C full-time with the basement return air vent opened, the basement humidity was lowered, so I quit using the dehumidifier. I also noticed that running the full-time A/C alone also bumped my electric bill about $30-45/mo.

It appears that for my house running the whole-house A/C full-time costs about the same as running just the basement dehumidifier. Since the A/C provides much more comfort (cool AND drier throughout the house), I have never used the dehumidifier since.

One question. I'm curious, are today's dehumidifiers somehow more efficient than those of the 90s? I wouldn't think so, but thought I'd ask.

omni

Omni,

Does you AC unit have a separate utility meter for it to allow interruptable service and thus a lower $/kw rate for the AC vs the dehumidifier?

-gauss

 

[omni550]

Omni,

Does you AC unit have a separate utility meter for it to allow interruptable service and thus a lower $/kw rate for the AC vs the dehumidifier?

-gauss

Yes, it does. Another reason to use the A/C versus the dehumidifier.

BTW, I've only noticed the A/C interruption a few times in 10 years...on the absolutely hottest days of the summer.

omni