I need a dehumidifier

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I had occasion to go into the basement and was shocked at the mildew on books and other things. It has been an exceptionally warm and humid summer, but I never had this problem before. I looked at dehumidifiers on Lowe's and WalMart sites, but they look huge and too heavy for me to get into the basement.
 

I've kept a dehumidifier in our basement for years. This Spring, it quit working, so I bought a new one from Walmart....Midea 35pint, for about $200, and it works great....keeps the entire basement at about 40% humidity, and runs quiet. It weighs about 35 lbs. Every day I empty about 3 gallons of water into a big bucket, then empty the bucket onto the yard.

If you let the mold and mildew build up in the basement, you can create problems that could cost thousands to fix.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Can you open your basement windows to provide some ventilation?
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Opening windows is actually the worst thing you can do. Keep the windows closed and buy a dehumidifier. If the big ones are too heavy buy two smaller ones. Keep your windows closed. We had 7 basement windows in our last house. This house has 4 windows and a set of French doors for a walk out.
 
debodun said:
It's as long as the house - a full basement, but divided into two sections. One is finished and one is a smaller laundry room. There are two doors between them. Here is a rough sketch:

View attachment 359510
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Put one dehumidifier in the laundry room and one between the stairs and the bar. Research dehumidifiers first and look for a sale. Get two ā€˜goodā€™ ones as opposed to the cheapest ones.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Opening windows is actually the worst thing you can do. Keep the windows closed and buy a dehumidifier. If the big ones are too heavy buy two smaller ones. Keep your windows closed. We had 7 basement windows in our last house. This house has 4 windows and a set of French doors for a walk out.
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I though so too - it just lets in the heat and humidity. My old house had windows in the cellar with a hook and eye to keep them open, but if we got a heavy or prolonged rain, there was standing water in that cellar. That house had no sump. At least I don't have obvious liquid water, but when I go down there, it's musty smelling. I'm keeping the basement door open, however for whatever little air circulation it gives. I checked the sump and there's about an inch of water in the bottom.
 
debodun said:
I though so too - it just lets in the heat and humidity. My old house had windows in the cellar with a hook and eye to keep them open, but if we got a heavy or prolonged rain, there was standing water in that cellar. That house had no sump. At least I don't have obvious liquid water, but when I go down there, it's musty smelling. I'm keeping the basement door open, however for whatever little air circulation it gives. I checked the sump and there's about an inch of water in the bottom.
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You are absolutely right. Opening windows is letting the heat and humidity in. Itā€™s the worst thing you can do. Youā€™d be best off getting TWO good humidifiers and two fans. One to push air from the laundry room and the other one to push air up the stairs. These two things will make a huge difference.

One thing that you ā€˜mightā€™ even consider, is getting a Woodstove for your basement to dry it out but itā€™s not a necessity.
 
debodun said:
These are photos of the basement - be aware that these were taken when the previous owner was still living there.

the bar area - stools were removed.
View attachment 359544

finished area showing the two doors to the laundry room
View attachment 359547

the laundry and furnace room
View attachment 359548
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what I wouldn't give to have a basement like that..

I have electric dehumidifiers in the shed and the barn to keep damp out. Both of them are easily portable.. so you could carry them downstairs no problem, one needs an outlet for the hose, the other collects water in container which has to be emptied every few days...

They're capable of drawing in 1800ml per day... about 1 and a half pints
 
PeppermintPatty said:
You are absolutely right. Opening windows is letting the heat and humidity in. Itā€™s the worst thing you can do.
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I'm not even sure the windows open. There are only two basement windows - one in the laundry room and one behind the bar. They are so high I'd need to get a ladder to reach them and I never looked that closely at them. Both in the rear of the house - west facing.
 
debodun said:
I'm not even sure the windows open. There are only two basement windows - one in the laundry room and one behind the bar. They are so high I'd need to get a ladder to reach them and I never looked that closely at them. Both in the rear of the house - west facing.
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Best to leave them closed. You donā€™t want to be climbing ladders at your age anyway. Your instincts are spot on. Get a good dehumidifier or two. The big humidifiers are heavy to empty but you can get a good small one or two. A nice big fan can make the world of difference. Between these two things your basement will be much healthier

Note: an afterthought
All the stuff you put down in your basement might be adding to your problem. Air NEEDS to CIRCULATE. You are best off putting your stuff along the walls so air CAN circulate. This might be part reason why your basement is getting musty and mildewy. Clear space , get fans and leave basement door open.
 
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I think I would consider getting a dehumidifier with a drain hose long enough to run the condensate to your sump (which appears to be in your utility room). Lugging buckets of condensate water up the stairs quickly becomes a major hassle.

You could put a fan in one of the utility room doors to circulate the air between the rooms. Alternatively, if there's sink behind that bar, maybe get a second small dehumidifier to set on the bar top and run the drain hose to the sink.

Just my thoughts . . .
 
No sink anywhere in basement. When I moved in there was a pump in the sump, but the sump was full of water. Come to find out, the pump wasn't working. I hand bailed all the water out, and believe me, it was quite a job lugging 5 gallon buckets of water up the cellar stairs so I could dump it out. Since then it's maintained about 2 inches of water in the bottom and I leave the sump cover off (cover is that black circle in the right of the photo). I leave the cover off because I thought air should circulate where there's stagnant water. Could that be contributing to the atmospheric moisture down there?
sump.jpg
I looked around and the only thing that seems affected with mildew are the Compton's Encyclopedia and yearbooks on this shelf.
shelf in basement.jpg
comptons.jpg
 
Tommy said:
I think I would consider getting a dehumidifier with a drain hose long enough to run the condensate to your sump (which appears to be in your utility room). Lugging buckets of condensate water up the stairs quickly becomes a major hassle.

You could put a fan in one of the utility room doors to circulate the air between the rooms. Alternatively, if there's sink behind that bar, maybe get a second small dehumidifier to set on the bar top and run the drain hose to the sink.

Just my thoughts . . .
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Thatā€™s a good idea. I didnā€™t realize she has no sink downstairs. I thought the small freezer was a sink. We had our dehumidifier empty into our drain also.

You should get a contractor in to fix that plumbing problem you have. Getting a sink put in so you can drain the water is a good idea or at least get water drainage. What happens if you have a flood in your basement? Thereā€™s no place for the water to go.

You need to replace your sump pump. They are about $100 Canadian, so not very much. If you ever have a flood all your items downstairs will be ruined and your insurance wonā€™t cover it. You need a working sump pump in the black hole.

Note: hiring a contractor to put a sink in and add the sump pump would be your best idea. Climbing up and down the stairs isnā€™t a good idea, especially not at your age.
 
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The house is 30 years old and no evidence of it ever being flooded. If there were, I don't think the previous owner would have put carpeting there. I don't live in a flood prone area.
 
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"I looked around and the only thing that seems affected with mildew are the Compton's Encyclopedia and yearbooks on this shelf."

Seems obvious to me the cheapest fix would be to store those books upstairs.
 
debodun said:
The house is 30 years old and no evidence of it ever being flooded. If there were, I don't think the previous owner would have put carpeting there. I don't live in a flood prone area.
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Iā€™m just saying if there ever was a flood, your insurance wouldnā€™t cover it. Carrying all that water upstairs would be exhausting. Maybe you could pour the water in the washing machine and put the cycle on rinse and spin to empty it. Having a dehumidifier hooked up to the drain is a good idea, if you know how to do that.
 
Knight said:
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"I looked around and the only thing that seems affected with mildew are the Compton's Encyclopedia and yearbooks on this shelf."

Seems obvious to me the cheapest fix would be to store those books upstairs.
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The books are the least of her problems.
Her health isnā€™t going to be good with all that mould and mildew in the basement.
 
I don't even know what a sump is. That's ok, I live in an apartment. House so much work! Sorry I missed the experience of owning, though. My husband & I seriously looked for homes in Southern New Hampshire, but never panned out.
 
sump - a pit or hollow in which liquid collects, especially one in the floor of a mine or basement.

It's supposed to channel water away from the basement.
 

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