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ddkg_gw

Humidity levels

ddkg
9 years ago

I have a 80% finished basement in my house and its a walk-out basement. FYI, this is in Virginia.

There are 2 small 10x10 rooms that aren't finished which is perfect for storage. These rooms are to the front of the house so they are below ground level.

The problem started when one of the rooms smelt weird (water dampness sort of smell). I read that dehumidifiers could help. So I got a Frigidaire 70-Pint Dehumidifier and ran it for 3 days. When it started it showed me a humidity levels of 70.

It runs non stop and brings down the humidity to the set value of 50. But as soon as the tank is full and it auto shuts off, the level is back to 70. Is it because the A/C is on too?

The smell is 90% gone.

Is this normal? Any thoughts on what else I should be doing?

Thanks much!

This post was edited by ddkg on Mon, Jul 14, 14 at 17:13

Comments (6)

  • bus_driver
    9 years ago

    My preference is for the relative humidity level to be 50%. Not sure how or where your humidity is being measured nor how much moisture intrusion may occur in your basement. After my house was constructed, it took about 2 years for the humidity level to be easy to control. Now one of my dehumidifiers requires emptying only about every two months. The other runs a bit more but drains automatically.

  • ddkg
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The reading I see is on the dehumidifier that is placed inside the room in the basement.

    I am guessing the humidity levels in other rooms should be far better.

    My concern is this thing is running non stop 24x7 and the bucket is full in 18-20 hours everyday.

    The wood etc in the room seem dry.

    Any help is appreciated.

    thanks.

  • bus_driver
    9 years ago

    How much help do you need? The present equipment is not adequate. What other conclusion can be reached from the facts as you present them? Put a dehumidifier in each room until things get to the level you desire. And it may be that the amount of water collected will always seem to be large.

  • ddkg
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    LOL. I promise I am not looking for free dehumidifiers just looking for some knowledge sharing from others too :) :).

    7 rooms, 7 dehumidifiers might be a little too. I'll try a few things and see how it goes. If others have experience with this, please pitch in.

    Thanks.

  • bus_driver
    9 years ago

    My reasoning says that the facts you have presented show that one dehumidifier has not, to this point, accomplished what you need-- assuming that you accept the 50% relative humidity as the goal.
    And the intrusion of moisture in your basement may be such that one unit will never bring the relative humidity down to 50% and hold it there. 20 units might not do it. But adding units one at a time probably will help indicate if the humidity can be kept reasonably near the desired level.
    Or one could just not try to control the humidity.

  • andrelaplume2
    9 years ago

    is it running for the whole basement or just the one room? Is the room closed off from the rest of the basement? I have a similar situation. Basement is 2/3 finished. I noticed hummidity in summer approaching 70% at times. I too have a 70 pint dehumidifer. Mine empties into a drain. It ran for a few weeks pretty much non stop before it started cycling on and off at 55%. I set it on 55% again this year and it cycles on and off so far...though its never off very long.