What is the best way to reduce humidity in a basement?
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What is the best way to reduce humidity in a basement?
我们住在华盛顿州贝灵汉，我们的地下室建于70年代。它的湿度很高(70-80%RH)，尽管我没有看到任何可见的潮湿。洗衣机/烘干机在下面——烘干机的通风口是完全密封的，地下室里除了通风口没有真正的通风。有一个水槽，有排水孔和火炉的热水箱，还有一个小窗户，自从我用双层泡沫条把它封起来以后，它就一直关着，不让黑寡妇蜘蛛进来!
So - as we want to use the space in the basement, what are the suggested steps to reduce the humidity? What should we put on the uninsulated floor as a covering that won't go moldy/smelly like the carpet has (and we're on a budget, and have next to no headroom.)
I appreciate there's no perfect solution - but I wondered whether we would be better getting a continuous drain dehumidifier, a HRV or ERV ventilator unit, or simply put a decent fan one side of the house and a vent or two with bug screens in on the other through the pony wall - bearing in mind our ambient external humidity is often quite high due to being near the coast?
Thanks for your help - Ecohome is a great source of tips and info for older home maintenance!
Thecheapest and more effectiveway toremove humidity from a basementis without a doubt, a continuously operatingdehumidifier. Select one that is sized to manage the amount of space you have, and try to keep it about40% RH. If you don’t already have aheat recovery ventilation system, you may want to look into that as well.
A house that old probably has nothing to protect thefoundationfrom moisture, so the source of the moisture is not something like a washing machine, it is the porous concrete floor and walls absorbing moisture, which then migrates inwards. Yourbasementis basically a damp box. Covering the floor (if it is currently bare concrete) will help somewhat.
Oneflooring option we really like, but that isn’t the cheapest unfortunately is marmoleum (see link below). We don’t often recommend vinyl as a building material, but given your limited budget and limited head room, we suspect you’re going to end up with something like that anyway so we would point you towards either Lowes or Home Depot since both those retailers have made a commitment to only stock vinyl flooring that contains no phthalates.
The brands to avoid are, unfortunately, those that show a ‘recycled content’ label, as they can contain post-consumer plastics from electronic equipment such as computers.Phthalates in vinyl flooring are toxic to both the planet and humans, particularly small humans that may crawl on the floor then stick their grimy little fingers in their adorable little mouths, or your mouth on occasion too J
With a bit of price shopping you should be able to find something in the $1.50 - $1.75 USD per square foot range in a click together style, there are also some that have an adhesive backing that will stick right to the floor. Below are some links to help choose products as well as how to finish your basement if you do decide to do some more work on it.
Why are Basements Moldy? How to Fix & Prevent Mold in Homes
Preventing mold when you insulate your basement
Marmoleum : A healthy and non-toxic green flooring product
The Difference Between an HRV and an ERV
Hi Frank, I would second the dehumidifier route, and as your climate isn't generally too cold I would recommend adding some cross ventilation too - preferably linked to a humidistat - this video I found explains it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOBSn-Jt074