What Does a Dehumidifier Do in a Basement

Whenever we talk about basement, what comes to the mind of people right away is the dirty damped place. Many would even ask what does a dehumidifier do in a basement because they have never think of drying it up before.

Basement has many advantages in the household like home laundry, storage of some belongings or even a place of fun for some people. Such a kind of important part of the house shouldn’t be left unkempt and damped.

A dehumidifier does the magic drying for many people. Therefore, in this article, I will be answering what exactly does a dehumidifier do in a basement.

This is why your basement is always damped

In order to establish what a dehumidifier does, it is highly important to know why you always find moisture in your basement.

From experience, you would notice that the common signs that there is excess humidity in your basement is the presence of water condensation on the floor and the wall, there may even be some molds and mildew lying waiting for you already.

Other things you might notice is the rotting and damage of properties in the basement and also the paint swollen up among many other features.

Moisture enters your basement via many sources which could be

Small leaks in the foundation of the building causing rainwater to leak into the basement;
Little cracks on the wall;
Leaking of your toilet pipe, water pipe, gas pipe, bathtub and even the shower;
Unnoticed gaps in the framing of your window;
Unvented cloth dryers;
Heat from the kitchen.

There are many others but those are the major ways by which the humidity level of your basement is raised. Usually, this water from the sources will evaporate and instead of escaping into the atmosphere, there is no outlet for them, hence the condense and attach to the walls, floors and even the roofing of the basement.

Why you need to act fast about the dampness of your basement

If you think those moistures will get away with time by themselves, you had better wake up from dream and get to work. In fact, the longer they stay, the more harm they cause to your belongings and your own health.

If you ae very sensitive, you would have noticed that whenever your basement gets so damped and you entered the place, it would be like a rain forest and then you would begin to sweat profusely. Apart from this, some other harm that are caused are:

Rusting: you will start to notice that your metallic properties are getting rust, why? Water has been found to speed up the rusting of irons especially in a condition whereby the ventilation is not much.
Mold and Mildew: do not be deceived, mold and mildew do not only damage your walls and floors, they also have adverse effect on your health.

In what way? The type of mold that is found in your basement is called the black mold and it contains a highly poisonous substance known as the mycotoxins. This thing can cause mental impairment, respiratory problems, hemorrhage, inflammation of the skin, fatigue, and suppression of the power of immune system.

Mold can grow in less than 24hrs and they can get into your system by forming mold spores that are air borne. But they only sustain themselves based on the amount of water found in your basement.

Decay: High level of humidity has a way of damaging your belongings. Dampness starts with destroying your carpeting and rug then it will find its way to the paint on the wall of the basement. It doesn’t stop there, it moves to the wooden structure and soak them wet till they are decayed.
Offensive Odors: By the time there is excess accumulated moisture in the basement, you start to smell this bad odor right away since there isn’t enough ventilation and there is no way out for the moisture to escape

By now, I know you would agree with me that you need a way to deal with this moisture of a thing. I can confidently tell you that the way forward is getting a dehumidifier. Then I know you would want to ask me what does a dehumidifier do in a basement?

Also Read: How to dry up a basement fast

You can dry up the water in your basement with a dehumidifier

Dehumidifiers are constructed in a way to remove the water in your basement. Dehumidifier can reduce the moisture content in a space by 50%.

For an average sized home basement, a dehumidifier that cost less than $200 can finish the work making it a cost effective product. Not only will it just dry up the basement, it is also beneficial to health by halting the growth of mold.

Also read: best dehumidifier for grow rooms

How does a dehumidifier work to remove moisture in your basement?

Dehumidifier often works just exactly like air conditioner. Since dehumidifier is to suck up the moisture in the basement, they all come with compressor fan which suck up air from the surrounding space. The air is then moved over 2 refrigerant cooled coil which then condense the moisture content in the air into water that is passed straight into the water tank.

This device has many adjustable features that allows you to control the rate at which it works. Some of it are:

Adjustable humidistat that controls the level of moisture that is been removed.
Hygrometers that allows you to read the condensation level (humidity level) in the basement;
Auto shut off that often shut down the dehumidifier itself whenever task is done completely;
Auto defrost: This helps the dehumidifier to automatically regulate itself to melt down the ice on the coils;
Auto drainage: This feature allows you not to bother yourself with the removal of water in the dehumidifier. What you only need to do is to connect a hose that serve as a channel to drain out the water immediately its full.

Now that you are thinking of getting a dehumidifier for your basement, it Is also important to consider the effectiveness. This is highly dependent on the size of your basement and the amount of humidity in your basement.

If you have a big basement, you might want to consider going for the big dehumidifier of at least 50 rating i.e., that can remove about 50 pint of water in a day. If you have a basement of the average size, you could go for the 30 or 40 rating dehumidifier.

Also Read : Best dehumidifier for drying clothes

Bottom line: what does a humidifier do in a basement?

The moisture content of your basement can determine how healthy you choose to live. If your basement is so damp and dirty, it does not only damage your belongings, you are prone to a numbers of ailments;
Dehumidifier can help you get rid of excess water to about 50%;
For the maximum effectiveness of a dehumidifier, choose according to the capacity and humidity level of your basement;
Dehumidifier can save you a lots of cost you would have been paying for allowing a damped basement.

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Fred Johnson