Basement Humidity Level

[George Bokros]

The old dehumidifier bit the dust. It was an old one, probably 12 yrs old or more. We originally bought it for my wives parents. After a while the mother-in-law would not run it, she said it ran continuously and we told her that is how they worked so she refused to use it. When they passed we took it and have been using it for five to eight years. Being that it was quite old it did not have a digital setting or level monitoring.

Now the new one I bought today has a digital setting for humidity level. I have lumber stored in the basement and my shop is in the basement. Let me say that I have to water leaking into the basement so water is not an issue. When I turned the new unit on it said the humidity level was 70%.

We do you guys keep the humidity level at in your basement? I am thinking 40 - 45% is good. Lowest the unit will take it is 35%

Thanks

George

[Judson Green]

My basement RH is about 74% right now. Unfortunately, my dehumidifier won't to anything on account of is still too cold in the basement (63°) and it frosts over on the coils. I know they've got colder running dehumidifiers now, but.... When it runs without icing I'm happy with about 50%, after all that about what it is above ground.

[Phil Thien]

I don't use a dehumidifier, I use an HVAC vent to circulate conditioned air into the basement. Humidity down there now is probably high (about 55 or 60%) because it is very humid here but cool, and I'm not running the furnace or air, just circulating the somewhat damp air.

[William Adams]

50% here too.

I'm hoping to convince the wife to get a heat pump for the water heater though --- figure I might as well put the energy to a second use.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Because my shop is in the basement I run a dehumidifier from May through September and sometimes into October. It is a programmable one and I keep a 2 unit Radio Shack RH and temp moniter in each room and check them each time I go into the basement. I strive to keep the level between 40-50% to keep tools from rusting and have been quite successful. During our NH winters I keep a pot of water on top of the wood stove and still have trouble getting the humidity up to 30%.

[George Bokros]

Thanks for the reply s. The new unit will dehumidify at temps of 43 degrees and it never gets that cold in the basement. I heat the basement a little in the winter so it is comfortable to work in the shop.

George

[Harry Hagan]

If you have multiple rooms, you’ll want to ensure there is adequate airflow in each room for proper drying.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I set mine for 50%

[Al Launier]

Same as above 40°-45°F. Dehumidifiers work best from 65°F upwards.