Damp Basement

So we moved a few months ago and have an unfinished basement that is serving as a makeshift playroom. It got very humid/damp down there this summer. We did have some mold in some places from leaks that have been fixed. There are a few small windows. Is buying a dehumidifier the only real solution? How badly does it affect your electric bill? We do have drains/pumps down there from after Sandy, so we could have one with an ongoing drain as opposed to needing to dump it. I bought those Damp Rid bags and they have definitely been working as far as collecting moisture from the air but it's not enough. Thoughts or recommendations for dehumidifiers?

Damp Basement

I would use dampraid and a dehumidifier. Dehumidifers don’t really affect your electric bill.
You also have to look at how much space vs. the size of the humidifier
We have this dehumidifier
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Danby-30-Pint-Dehumidifier-DDR030BDWDB/301014359?cm_mmc=%7CTHD%7C&mid=sxTI6Qz12%7Cdm_mtid_890389n25185_pcrid_247839744665_pkw__pmt__product_301014359_slid_&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz93cBRCrARIsAEFbWsiSmEgB0VwgLeRKL6FqG_P4tnOMyhpagvwX-TdH-zt2NOhMtJn2FAIaAqBHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKjmu4Xbs90CFQgEDAodywoEAw

Message edited 9/11/2018 3:45:13 PM.

Re: Damp Basement

We have a humidifier from pc Richards and it works well. My husband rigged it so tubing goes right into the slop sink down there. Earlier this summer, it seemed danker than usual down there and the tubing had to be changed after 3 summers, (collected dust, etc) just to prove it really does make a difference!

Re: Damp Basement

You need to keep a dehumidifier on at all times, connect it to your drains if you can. This is just part of having basement. It shouldn’t need effect your bill too much. You just have to go to Home Depot to get one knowing the square footage of the basement.

Damp Basement

I grew up with an unfinished basement with a humidifier and we played down there all summer long bc it was cool. Like a pp, it drained into a slop sink.

Damp Basement

We have a dehumidifier running 24/7 (it drains into the sump) and our electric bill is average.

Re: Damp Basement

Re: Damp Basement

We had a dehumidifier running in ours and holy the electric bill went up - we even purchased an energy efficient one - so I'll be checking out the ones listed above. We do have a LARGE basement so it is probably running non-stop.
ie: We weren't living in the house - electric bill w/out dehumidifier was average $25. With dehumidifier going over $100.

Recently I put damp-rid down and opened a window...the open window has been the best even with keeping the smell from coming upstairs.
I'm looking to purchase a window fan to draw the moist air out.

Re: Damp Basement

Damp Basement

we also have ours connected to sink. It totally helps. We are going to get central air this year which will help with humidity.