My parents’ house was basically built on reclaimed swampland. They not only have a sump pump, but an auxiliary sump pump as well, if that tells you anything. They’d have mold in their basement for sure if they didn’t have a large dehumidifier running at all times. It doesn’t get all the way full in 24 hours, but it’s easiest for them to just make emptying it once a day part of their normal daily routine.

Anonymous wrote:I never use a humidifier or a dehumidifier except the hvac. You don’t need to optimize humidity. It’s okay.

You do if you get mold in your basement

Anonymous wrote:I never use a humidifier or a dehumidifier except the hvac. You don’t need to optimize humidity. It’s okay.

It really depends on the house. Every house is different, they're like snowflakes.

What's kind of ironic is that what makes a house dry in the winter is air infiltration from outside. But in the summer a leaky house will have the AC run more and will get more dehumidification from the AC. A tight, well-insulated house will often need extra dehumidification.

We have a finished basement, house is about 20 years old. When I go in the basement it’s starting to smell musty. What kind of dehumidifier should I get, and will it remove the smell?

We use one with a pump previous and now it drains through the sump pump.

Anonymous wrote:I never use a humidifier or a dehumidifier except the hvac. You don’t need to optimize humidity. It’s okay.

You do if you get nose bleeds and dry skin.

I never use a humidifier or a dehumidifier except the hvac. You don’t need to optimize humidity. It’s okay.

The above post is very good advice.

We have a small dehumidifier in our basement with a hose that runs and drains into the floor drain.

A few gallons a day is normal. Dehumidifiers are rated by how much water they can extract from the air stated as, PPD or pints per day. Most of your hardware store dehumidifiers are rated around 36 ppd which isn't adequate for your average basement. You are better off with a unit rated at least 100 ppd.

that said, you shouldn't have to empty the bucket at ll. If you look at your dehu, it probably has a little door on the side that allows you to access the threaded drain that empties into the bucket. It's a standard hose thread. As long as you have some kind of drain in your basement, floor drain, sink, etc you can attach a short length of hose to the dehumidifier and let it empty into the drain instead of the bucket. Then you never need to empty the bucket.

Also, be sure to rinse out the air filter. I go into homes every day and when someone has a dehumidifier I ask if they clean the filter.

More than half of them have never cleaned the filter, and/or don't know where the filter is located. So I pull it out for them and show them. Most of the time the filter is totally packed and the dehumidifier is barely breathing. Run some water through the filter and tap it to remove the stubborn stuff.

I have a basement unit with a pump and a hose which empties into a floor drain, so it never has to be emptied. In my MBR, with no convenient drain location, I have a unit which I empty each morning. Sometimes it's full, sometimes hardly at all - depends on the weather, the temperature, the humidity outdoors, and how much the AC is running.

How old is the house and it sounds like you should get a whole house dehumidifier

How often do people empty their dehumidifier?

My bathroom one every five days

But in our new home 2500 sq ft, I’m emptying the one in the basement every 36 hours.

New home to us, not a new build. No one has run a dehumidifier here for months until 10 days ago.

House doesn’t feel humid, no leaks