Humidity Question

[tex702]

I have a question about humidity.  I just bought a new de-humidifier for my basement where my layout is.  It is very damp down there and I had to constantly clean my track, i.e. rust dirt etc.  My question is what should I set my R.H. setting on?  The instruction manual really doesn't go into that.  Right now I have it set at 55%.  This machine will run from 35% R.H to 88% R.H.  It is a 65 pint machine. I have had it now for 24 hours and so far I have had to empty it twice (approx 4 gallons of water total).  The basement really does seem a lot different since I put this machine in there.  Thanks in advance.

[pbjwilson]

tex -

I just bought a new dehumidifier a couple weeks ago. Its been running constantly since I got it. My humidity level is 45% now and that seems comfortable. Took a couple weeks to get to this point. Think it also has to do with the temperature of the ground, been kinda cool in the Chicago area. But the dehumidifier makes a huge difference in making the basement a nice living area. Keep yours running and you will get the moisture level down.

Our old dehumidifier lasted 15 years, with almost constant running in the summer months. Wonder what I'll get out of the new one?

[tex702]

Thanks Paul.  Every time I go to the basement if I dont close the door behind me I notice the humidity will go up slightly.  I will go back down there and lower the humidity to 45% and see how it feels.  It really feels different now.  When I started to de-humidify the R.H was 80% and just in a couple of hours it fell to 55%.  Thanks Paul

[Birds]

tex,

40-50% humidity is a range that is often mentioned in terms of indoor air quality (Google "Indoor humidity level".  35%-45% is also used, but some areas may not be able to get that.  Piano tuners have told us 43-45% is good.

We keep our basement around 45-50% and I haven't had to battle rust on the tracks.  During our summers here in Virginia (with all the gaps and cracks our house has) we can't get it much lower than that.

We put a large dehumidifier in the basement and a slightly smaller one on our middle floor.  This way the basement dehumidifier isn't pulling humidity from the whole house.  Doing this allows the humidity to stay in the 45-50% range, and the humidifiers don't run all the time.

Many humidifiers have ability to run a drain hose from the unit to a floor drain, or sump pump collection tank, so you don't have to empty it all the time.

We use our collected water to water the plants outside during the summer months.

Air conditioning will also help lower the humidity levels.

Enjoy,

Chris 

[mackb4]

    All the above answers are good.

    I have a dehumidifier in my basement.It is in the laundry area that is located 3/4 the way down the big room (trainroom).The door from the big room to the laundry room is a vented slat style door.That way the dehumidifier still works with the door closed.Also the door going to my computer room located in the other end of the big room ,is vented.

  At first you will collect a lot of water since there's not been a dehumidifier in your basement.But in time (depends on the size of your basement) it will deminish some.

 And yes keep the door (s) from your downstairs to upstairs closed.It works the dehumidifier to death if you don't.

 Over time you may have a dust problem.I'm getting that way where I've not gotten the chance to run my little temp. layout.

 But I guess dust is better than rust,to some degree.