The answer to, “Do I need a dehumidifier in my basement?” is almost always yes. In our mold removal industry, we recommend it 100% of the time when in unfinished basements, and also recommend it in some finished basements and main levels of homes.
If you’re someone who doesn’t run your HVAC very often, then you may need a dehumidifier in your home to keep the humidity down. Your HVAC works as a giant dehumidifier when it’s ran often, but some people don’t run theirs as much as others. In those cases, you want to keep the humidity down to avoid potential mold growth. You want to keep your home’s humidity levels between 35-55%. Once it gets over that 55% mark, you are asking for trouble. If your humidity levels in your home, or basement, are staying at 55% or above, you’re going to have too much moisture in the air leading to conditions for mold growth.
This is why homes that are vacant for a period of time, with no HVAC running, get mold growth.
High Humidity = High Moisture
High Moisture = Mold Growth
What’s the solution? Simple, get a dehumidifier. If you aren’t sure if you need one, you can get a hygrometer to read the humidity levels inside your home and make sure they are where they need to be. You’ll need to check it more than once to make sure you are getting accurate readings, especially when the weather changes. Dehumidifiers are not too costly, so go ahead and get one if you think you may need one. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
When it comes to storing things in an unfinished basement, or garage, make sure your items are off of the concrete floor. Put cardboard boxes, paper items, books, etc. on shelves instead of on the floor. Concrete is porous and moisture can creep up quite often. When that happens, any items on the floor, or against the walls can start growing mold. Paper, cardboard, drywall, are all like mold food. Add in the moisture from concrete floors or walls, or high humidity in a basement and you are feeding mold all it needs to start growing.
Take it from a mold remediator in Springfield Missouri, keep it safe. Throw a dehumidifier in your basement, set the humidity to 45-50% and walk away. You can even get a dehumidifier that has a drain line that you can run to a drain in the basement, so you never have to empty the condensation pan. Turn it on and let it run.
If you aren’t sure if your basement has mold growth already, or has high humidity, call Dog Gone Mold and we can help you out. Whether it’s checking the humidity, inspecting for mold, or taking air samples to check your air quality, an expert mold remediator from Dog Gone Mold can get you the information you need.