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Selecting crawl space dehumidifier for your home

You cannot control the amount of humidity outside your home but if this moisture able to find its way into your crawl space, there will be numerous problems.

Excess humidity in the crawl space causes:

  • The growth of mildew and mold – moist surfaces of the crawl space are the perfect place for mold and mildew to grow.
  • Dampness and odor in the crawl space - Most crawl spaces lack enough ventilation to allow good circulation of air, the air smells damp. If this air is not cleaned it could spread the odor into the house.
  • Structural damage – excess humidity in the crawl space affects the structural integrity of the crawl space’s walls and floor causing cracks. This can greatly decrease the value of your house.

The crawl space dehumidifier is the homeowner’s easiest and most effective option to deal with humidity in the crawl space. A crawl space dehumidifier is specially designed to operate optimally even at low temperatures in crawl space.

Do you need a crawl space dehumidifier?

To determine whether you need a crawl space dehumidifier, you can:

  1. Buy a hygrometer to measure the exact level of humidity in the crawl space. A hygrometer can be easily found at many retail outlets.
  2. If you cannot access a hygrometer, you can carry out a simple inspection of your crawl space.

The levels of humidity can be classified into:

  • Moderately damp – Feels damp and smells musty during the humid weather months.
  • Very damp – the crawl space feels damp and smells musty all year round.
  • Wet – visible water stains on the walls and floor of the crawl space.
  • Extremely wet – standing water can be seen all over the crawl space floor.

Note: it is important to determine the leading cause of humidity in the crawl space. Leaking water pipes and lack of proper drainage are some of the major cause of increased humidity. Fixing these problems can greatly lower the level of humidity in the crawl space.

Selecting crawl space dehumidifier

How to select a crawl space dehumidifier for your home?

Today there are so many brands of crawl space dehumidifiers in the market it can feel overwhelming for many homeowners to choose the right one.  Once you have determined the level of humidity in the crawl space you need to measure the size the crawl space (in cubic feet).

With this information, you can easily determine the capacity and air flow requirement the crawlspace dehumidifier should have.

  1. The air flow of a crawl space dehumidifier - This refers to the cubic feet of air the dehumidifier is dehumidified per minute.  The air change per hour (ACH) refers the number of times the air is cycled through the dehumidifier per hour. Crawl space with high humidity will require a dehumidifier with a higher ACH.

Humidity levels

Recommended ACH.

Moderately damp (60 – 70%)

3

Very damp (70 – 80%)

4

Wet (80 – 90%)

5

Extremely wet (90 – 100%)

6

Check the Dehumidifiers ACH before you buy.

 

  1. The capacity of crawl space dehumidifier – the capacity of the crawl space dehumidifier is the number of pints of water it extracts from the crawl space. The right capacity of dehumidifier is dependent on the level of humidity in the crawl space. Higher levels of humidity dictate you buy a crawl space dehumidifier with a higher capacity.

What other features should you consider?

  • The crawl space dehumidifier must be energy efficient.
  • Auto humidistat – the dehumidifier should be able to turn on and off depending on the humidity levels in the crawl space. This saves a lot of energy.
  • Self-draining dehumidifier – saves time and is convenient for the owner, because you don’t have to keep emptying the collection tray.
  • Air filtration – buy a crawl space dehumidifier that is able clean the odor and remove the mold spores in the crawl space.

Want To Learn More?

Control the humidity levels anywhere inside your home with BaseAire products.

Whether you're located in the Atlantic coastline states, the central states, or the Pacific coastline states, humidity remains an important factor in our daily lives.
The humidity levels change throughout the year depending on different seasons changing. You will never see the increase in humidity, but you will feel it.
Most warm regions, especially along the coastline, are known to have high moisture and humidity levels.
High humidity is not only the biggest threat to the structural integrity of your home, but it can also affect your household belongings and physical health.
At BaseAire, we show our dedication to helping you control the humidity level in your home and commercial workplace by offering a variety of dehumidifiers, different in:

- Capacity
- Size
- Airflow capabilities

Our specifically designed dehumidifiers will:

- Decrease the humidity level to below 50%
- Eradicate mold, mildew, and dust mite infestation
- Cleanse the indoor air of any mold spores, odor, and other impurities
- Reduce allergy triggers

The effects of high humidity:

i. High humidity levels in your home will make it feel warmer and stuffier.
ii. Increased humidity will make your home the perfect environment for mold, mildew, and dust mite growth! Known as some of the most common allergy triggers, this can cause health issues.
iii. Skin allergies.
iv. Wood warping – since wood can absorb some of the excess moisture, this makes the wood warp, causing wooden floors to feel uneven as well as wooden doors and windows not closing properly.
v. Appliance failure – in your home, if the excess moisture can condense inside the appliances, this can cause fluid damage to said appliances.
vi. Wallpaper and paint will peel within a space with excess humidity.
vii. Wood rot – wet wood provides the perfect place for fungi growth which causes the wood to rot at an accelerated rate.
Repairing the appliances or replacing the rotting wood can be expensive for many homeowners, hence the importance of a BaseAire dehumidifier.

Common signs of high humidity in the house:

You can easily determine the humidity levels of your home using a hygrometer. But if you do not have access to one, here are some of the signs that show the presence of high humidity in your home:

- Constant reoccurring condensation on window planes and glass doors, especially in the morning.
- Water spots on the walls and ceiling.
- Black mold growth on the walls or ceiling.

In heavily moisturized spaces, like the basement, you will see condensed water on the walls or floor.

How does a dehumidifier work?

Dehumidifiers are electric appliances that extract excess humidity from the air.
We designed our dehumidifiers to pull the air from the house into the unit where it then passes over a series of coolant coils that condense the excess moisture. This removes odor, mold spores, and other impurities from the air. The unit then collects condensed water in a collection tray or pumped out of the unit depending on the model of BaseAire dehumidifier you buy.
The air is then warmed up and pumped out of the dehumidifier back into the room. This process repeats until the relative humidity level of the space lowers below the set level.

Why should you invest in a BaseAire dehumidifier today?

We have a wide variety of dehumidifiers designed for residential and commercial use. Our engineers have gone a step further, designing need-specific dehumidifiers for the basement, crawlspace, garage, office, and storage room. BaseAire dehumidifiers will lower the humidity levels in your home, making it impossible for harmful allergens like mold, mildew, and dust mites to grow. So, if a customer needs a humidity issue in their home fixed, our dehumidifiers will exceed their expectations. Improve your indoor air quality today! Speak to us about your humidity issues and our water damage & restoration experts will help pick the right dehumidifier for you