How often to run a dehumidifier in the basement? The golden rule is to run your dehumidifier for at least 12 hours daily. But you can run it as frequently as possible in order to maintain some good humidity levels in your basement or crawl space.
It is okay if you do not stick to this daily, yet you should be aware that more of your family run this appliance in your basement, the cleaner and fresher the air will be.
Basements are an essential part of households. Most use their basement to set up a home laundry, some to store their goods every day, and for others, it’s more than just a family room.
The whole point is that regardless of how you use your basement, it must be kept maintained and clean always.
When it comes to maintaining household basements, the level of humidity is a factor.
While a bit of humidity can be beneficial, increased humidity concentrations can be a bit damaging to the walls and paint of your basement and may result in mold growth.
However, you may lessen the condensation amount once you try looking for places it’s likely to form and get rid of the causes.
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Importance of Running a Dehumidifier in Your Basement
Damp and Muggy Basements
Dampness may damage your basement. If your basement looks and smells damp and wet, rather than waiting around for miracles, you should get dehumidifiers to avoid condensation.
Take note that humidity may cause metal pipes as well as some metallic appliances to damage and rust quickly.
If you have set your basement as your family room, dampness may destroy your rugs and carpeting and may smudge your wall paint.
High humidity levels may even affect the wood that causes it to weaken and swell and it may also cause the walls of the basement to deteriorate.
If there aren’t any windows in the basement, what you could do is getting a feel of the walls.
Once your hand gets wet or little moist, it’s time to get dehumidifiers and be in control of the situation.
In drastic situations where problems start to creep in the walls of your basement, you will need to get a new dehumidifier.
Choose the one that is compact, portable, and could work smoothly without making noise.
If there are windows in your basement, condensation on the glass can be proof that your basement is actually damp.
Get Rid of Humidity Level
The primary thing to combat condensation and humidity is a dehumidifier and it really comes in handy once you have different rooms in your own basement.
Having a dehumidifier in your basement will control the humidity to an ideal level, which can save you money on repairs.
Take note that there are some problems that you might encounter if you have a humid basement and how good dehumidifiers can help eliminate it.
Some of the common causes why your basement gets damp are as follows:
- Humid air that comes from your home’s exterior and into the basement that causes condensation.
- Unvented clothes dryers as well as heat from your kitchen
- Liquid from rainwater or ground
Avoid Mold Spores
Too much moisture in your basement basically causes mold spores on the walls and surfaces to grow.
The right humidity levels may combat mold spores effectively and may minimize their growth.
Once you have noticed mold spores developing on your walls and some surfaces, you must act quickly or the spores would multiply, which means that you will need to spend more in the damages.
Spores aren’t only damaging to the surface and walls of your basement, but also they are bad for your health.
The best way to prevent molds from forming is by keeping the levels of humidity in your home below fifty percent and around thirty-five percent and only dehumidifiers will help you achieve it.
Prevent Bad Odors in Your Basement
The basement’s dampness due to severe condensation frequently results in strong stench in basements.
Lack of good ventilation may also cause bad odors, yet dehumidifiers may help keep the things maintained and toned down.
Other dehumidifiers are made with carbon and HEPA filters that significantly help in eliminating bad stench and keeps basement free of dust.
They may also come in handy if the basement is used for smoking, drinking or gaming frequently.
How Dehumidifiers for Basement Work?
Dehumidifiers are made to suck out an increased moisture level in the air.
Majority of them are made with a compressor fan that sucks in the air once it passes over 2 sets of the refrigerant filled coils.
All condensation and moisture the dehumidifier sucks in goes into the water tank that you need to empty after the device has reached a particular limit.
Sizing Capacity for Basement
While choosing a dehumidifier, it’s essential to get one that could handle the humidity level in your basement.
Once you have a huge basement, consider purchasing big dehumidifiers. The reason behind it is that once you purchase a small one, it will not function as efficiently as it should be.
You may size your dehumidifier when it comes to pints of moisture you like to eliminate.
The amount of moisture that must be eliminated depends on the basement’s overall size and wetness.
The ratings of 40, 30 or 50 refer to the overall pints of water that dehumidifiers can eliminate in a day.
If you like to determine the humidity level in an accurate manner, it’s best to get yourself a hygrometer for the basement.
The hygrometer is a device that is used for measuring the level of humidity in a surrounding atmosphere.
An essential use for hygrometers is monitoring the levels of humidity in the storage places, laboratories, industrial plants, and so on.
You should get one for you to know the humidity level in your basement.
If you like a fresh smelling basement, it’s imperative that you invest in great dehumidifiers.
In addition to that, this help cleanses dusty particles and condensation that is dangerous for those who have allergies.
So, run your dehumidifier as frequent as possible in your basement and enjoy a fresher environment.
