Dehumidifier

Broke out the dehumidifier today for the basement. I love it, but it feels like it does waste some energy with the heat output that the a/c has to suck out of the house. But, my basement gets musty otherwise. Electric bill is a couple hundred for the whole summer either way. We're not home enough and don't go crazy with the a/c. My parents keep their house like an ice box. While I like that, I'm too cheap.

 

I had to use one last week because of the rain. I don't need A/C so have to run it at night if I have the windows open during the day.

 

I use a dehumidifier In my basement. I'd rather have it dry and spend a few bucks for it.

 

+1... Mine is in the basement and set for 50% year round... I'd rather pay a little for the electricity than a lot mold mitigation should the humidity get too high and condensation happen down there.. there was actually mold in the water collection pan of the dehumidifier which I was easily able to clean out. To me that was proof that mold spores were present and just waiting for a place to grow..

Next step is to set it up so it drains into a pipe so we don't have to routinely empty it..

 

I hold off running our for as long as I can. I prefer to run the the exhaust fans until they dont do the trick. My electric bill jumps big time when I run AC or the dehumidifier. I've pulled the rugs out and that seems to help.

 

The back wall in my basement is above the grade so I took out one of the windows and fitted in an AC unit. Basement stays dry and cool. Much better than running a dehumidifier.

 

Me too. I just run it in the summer months when its humid out. Without it, I could potentially have a mold problem and that's a big problem these days.

 

my basement is finished. I am only in the ground 3 ft on three sides, the 4th is above grade. wood walls on cement knee wall, regular windows. Hadn't considered AC as an option to dehumidifier. Some units are set up to do both. Do you think AC would be about the same cost to run/

 

My wood stove is in the basement so it keeps it dry in the winter. But April thru October the dehumidifier runs pretty much nonstop. Costs about $1 a day to run it.

 

I used one of those kill-a-watt things to check and found the AC to be less. It will depend on the heat load that the AC has and how hard you were running the dehumidifier. Also take into account that the AC will need some heat to run against. If your basement is naturally cool the AC might not have enough heat to work against in order to dry your basement.

 

Just lowered my dehumidifier setting last week. The water table has lowered and the moisture in the basement has also come down. Now the big question will be when the heat shows up. We have central A/C but.....huge BUT, I am ok with the heat, my wife is not. The A/C season starts when she has her first bead of sweat rolling off her brow.

 

You need to keep the RH below 60% above that will allow mold to grow. I set mine to 55%.

 

Ours is set-up with a hose from the drip to a floor drain. Set it and forget it.

We have central a/c, but that doesn't dry the basement out enough.

 

Everybody's basement and needs are a little different. My dehumidifier is a 50 pint and it uses about 500 watts when it's running. A dehumidifier will remove a little more moisture from the air than an air conditioner. It also expels the heat it produces back in the room where the air conditioner exits the heat to the outside. So a dehumidifier actually warms the room slightly while reducing the humidity. If your room needs a little cooling then an air conditioner will be a good choice. If its a basement in the summer and its cold down there, then a dehumidifier might be a better option.

We like our dehumidifier in the basement, because it warms the basement a little bit (summer only) and we use that room for our TV etc....

 

Have always used a dehumidifier. Removes a lot of water out of the basement (at least a gallon every 2 days during the summer) that would be absorbed by the boxes and walls / floor, etc. It's worth it for sure.

 

And there's that musty smell. The nice thing with a basement being cooler is that when humidity is low, it feels very comfortable.

 

That is how my whole house maintains humidity. The bathrooms have a humidistat and there is a vent in the hall that leads to the attic. Fan kicks on if too humid, draws drier air from outside.

I usually keep it around 30% in winter and 50% in summer. (over 30% and my windows sweat and ice up badly when it's cold out)

 

I'd love to be able to use outside air. It's so warm and humid that I would die this week.

 

I wouldn't mind some warm temps. It has barely touched 60* in the last week or two. I've been making fires in the stove every few nights.

 

"It has barely touched 60* in the last week or two." ... box that up and send it to me, I'll gladly re-pack anything above 75 and send it back...