Dehumidifier

[gto65goat]

Have Ravcher style hone with a basement.
Basement ceiling height is 8.5 feet.
Basement walls are cinder block.
We are the original owners.
It is 46 years old.
Recently, had a "French Drain" constructed to alleviate water problems in foundation. (It is certainly doing its job)
However, with no significant rain the past 2 weeks here in Maryland, I can not understand why my dehumidifier is filling up the bucket every 14 hours with 1.8 gallons of water.
Inside the basement is dry where the walls meet the floor.
Basement is Finished.
My water usage is the same as its been for years and years per my billing statements.
Where can all this dehumidifier water be coming from?
Any suggestions?
Thank you.
John

 

[larry4406]

I'm in northern VA, so our weather is about the same. I also have a ranch style home. The dehumidifier in my basement generates similar amounts of water. I have a concrete poured foundation with perimeter drains.

Make sure your hvac system is conditioning the basement as well and that you have adequate returns down there.

Nature of the beast with our humid weather. My house is 29 years old with decent construction methods but far from today's standards. I think yours is sealed less well at 46 years of age.

 

[Al Bundy]

Seems normal to me, my house is the same way. It doesn't have to rain to be humid.

 

[RWorth]

same here, I have 2 in my cellar and both fill daily.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

Might want to do some investigative work with a moisture meter on the walls/floors. Does your basement have heat/AC ductwork in it ? If so, is it insulated ?

 

[lazer50]

Humidity has been high this year longer.

 

[steve185]

Normal for a basement in Summer. I ran a hose from mine to the drain so I no longer need to empty the bucket.

 

[jimgood]

Unless your block walls are painted with waterproofing paint, they are going to allow moisture in. Even then, the basement is where all the humidity in the house is going to settle. I don't think it's unusual that you're emptying the bucket every day.

 

[finn]

The warm outside ambient air has high relative humidity. You basement air is much lower temperature, much closer to the dew point, so the relative humidity is even higher than the outside air.

Simply put, the cool basement air is damp. You don't need standing water to have damp air.You dehumidifier is basically a refrigerated coil and a fan. The already saturated air is chilled and the moisture drops out and collects in the pan.

High school science is your friend.

 

[matt_i]

I think this is normal. Finn makes excellent points about the cooler air being more highly saturated, percentage-wise, with water. Thus lower-hanging-fruit to give an analogy.

I feel like my basement is well water proofed but the dehumidifier pulls out a lot of moisture.

 

[captain14]

That's about normal. I live in the College Park area of Md and my new dehumidifier from last year pulls that in on a daily basis. I even run this one during the winter and it pulls moisture out of the air.

My last one ran all Summer And pulled moisture out but not as much as the new one.

 

[Kev442]

Heh. Try a 120 year old rubblestone basement sometime. About 10 gallons a day everyday in the summer.

 

[Daves69]

Insulating the walls will help. The moisture is condensing on the walls much like moisture on an ice filled glass on a humid day.
Humidity on the east coast has been terrible this year.

 

[gto65goat]

Thank to all who replied.
I really appreciate it.
I should have mentioned, the basement walls were prepped with Sta-Dry prior to Insulation.
Again, "thank you."

 

[wssix99]

I grew up in Northern Virginia in a similar house with a similar problem. I was enlisted as child labor to fix it.

We had a crack in the block foundation. Once I dug everything up and sealed things from the outside, the problem went away. (We had a driveway that crept down a hill, hit a concrete stoop, pressed it in to the wall, and cracked the foundation.)

Recently, had a "French Drain" constructed to alleviate water problems in foundation. (It is certainly doing its job)

What kind of issues did you have before? Did you have water coming in before? Did you have our foundation sealed as a part of this project?

 

[PeterT]

I get the same amount in my dehumidifier in the summer,, 1-2 gal per day,, its been a humid summer here in NW Ohio,, emptying the bucket is better than circulating the humidity through my house