A damp basement can be the worst nightmare for a homeowner that can hamper the integrity of the house. According to FEMA, mildew and mold can start to appear within 24-48 hours after a cause happens.
Therefore, it’s highly important to have a very good anti-humidity action plan in prior, especially for humid areas. Even though getting a basement dehumidifier does great, that’s an expensive investment, let alone the hassle of setting it up.
The only option left is knowing how to get rid of humidity in basement without dehumidifier. That’s the riddle we’re solving today to avoid a hefty investment and stick with a DIY method to fight humidity.
What Are The sign to identify if your home is humid?
Understanding whether or not you have a humidity level above the normal range is crucial before taking steps. You have an ideal humidity level if it’s anywhere between 30% to 50% where you have nothing to worry about.
However, if you have it more than 70%, it’s time when dust mites, mildews and other pathogens start to grow. You might have difficulties sleeping if it exceeds the normal level of 4-% to 60%, even in breathing, especially if you have asthma.
The question is, what’s the visible indicator to know if you have high humidity in your basement? The best way to measure the exact humidity is getting a humidistat that gives you live data about humidity.
Apart from that, here are some visible signs you can look for to determine high humidity levels: Moisture on the windows
- Stains of water: If you find dried out stains of water in the basement, especially in the corners.
- Health issues: You might get physical issues from excessive humidity levels in the basement.
- Sleeping issues (as mentioned earlier, you need 40%-60% for good sleep)
- Allergies (mold mold growth, spores, and dust mites cause it)
- Headaches (humid air can cause severe headaches)
- Cough (can be chronic if you have asthma)
- Difficulty breathing (mostly common in asthma patients)
- Mold spores and mildews: If you hae visible mold spores and mildews around the floor, the basement might be too humid.
- Stuffy and nasty odor: You may get nasty odor around the house and stuffy feeling from a humid basement with rotten things.
How To Get Rid Of Humidity In Basement Without Dehumidifier
Getting a wall mounted dehumidifier for basement can be the best solution to any level of humidity. But since we’re going DIY today, let’s see how to get rid of humidity in basement without dehumidifier at all. Here are what you can try today to breathe fresh air with a controlled humidity level in the basement:
Have Your Air Conditioner Turned On
It’s no secret that air conditioners reduce humidity in a closed room like a basement. If you run air conditioning in the basement, it will take excess humidity down to the normal level. However, it will dry out the air and have your bills up, so be sure to run it not for too long. The air conditioner can be your go-to option to remove humidity from the basement.
Install a Sump Pump
If you have excessive water drainage or leakage in the basement, installing a sump pump can be your way out. A sump pump with a well-thought drainage system will help you keep the basement free from overflowing water and moisture. That’s the proper drainage process if you want to know how to remove moisture issues from the basement.
Leave a Few Fans Running
This one can be a pretty good solution when you have excessive moisture in the basement. All you have to do is gather a few ventilation fans in the basement, and run them at high speed. It will dry the basement floor, walls, and other crawl spaces, and help you with humidity.
Dry Your Clothes Outdoors (in the Sun)
You have to eliminate the reasons that’s causing excessive humidity, one of which is drying your clothes indoors. When you dry clothes inside, they spread moisture, which can have a vast contribution to the increasing humidity. Therefore, you must take them outside to dry under the sun to avoid getting moisture in the house or basement.
Improve the Basement Ventilation
Increasing the ventilation in the basement can help you avoid getting the humidity high. There are a few ways to do that, such as having cross air circulation in the basement with basement fans. Cut a basement window facing one against another to achieve that. Or you can use exhaust fans alongside keeping your basement clean to get the moist air out.
Replace damp Rug and Carpet
If you have damp rug or carpet on the basement floor, you must get rid of them or dry them off. Damp rug, cloth, especially carpet cause high humidity and help molds and pathogens to grow. You can take them outside, dry and reinstall them, or replace them for good. But be sure to dry the floor before reinstalling the dry or new set of carpet and rug.
Repair the Walls and Floor
Damp walls and floors are the major reason why you might have high humidity in the basement. You have to get them repaired and keep them dry to resolve the humidity issue. Humidity is the main reason to get your property damaged, and the only way out is getting them fixed. Repair the damp plaster off the basement walls with proper insulation to get rid of basement humidity.
Use Silica Gel Sachets
Silica Gel Sachets are great substances to fight against humidity as they chemically are good dehumidifiers. Apply silica gel packets around the floor of the basement to get rid of humidity, effortlessly. Thus, measure the humidity level and apply silica gels accordingly to have a proper solution against high humidity.
Use Charcoal Desiccant
Charcoal briquettes are natural dehumidifiers with a hygroscopic substance as a great drying agent to control excess moisture levels. If you have excess moisture and humidity, apply some fresh charcoal in the affected areas. It doesn’t only give you a good solution to humidity, but also helps you get rid of the stuffy smell. Great thing is, they don’t cost you much, but have great benefits.
No More Steam Shower
Alongside a faucet water leaks, bathtub, or other plumbing, steam is also a major reason for high humidity in the house. When you take steam baths, that can cause humidity as the steam can make its way into the crawl spaces. Steam will help molds and mildews grow fast when you can avoid that by taking cold or fast hot showers.
What causes high humidity?
There are loads of reasons that can cause a high humid or damp basement, ceiling, or narrow spaces. Here are a few of the most common reasons why you might end up getting a humid basement:
- Leaky pipe, crawl space, overflown sink, even humidifiers or steam cooking can raise the humidity level in the basement.
- If you’re living in an area with humid weather, the basement can develop excessive humidity with less space to balance.
- The same thing can happen if you have the under surface water level shallow, or you live near a lake.
- A faulty plumbing fixture that comes through the basement can slowly dampen the area and eventually cause excessive humidity.
- If you don’t have air circulation in the basement with no moisture management system, humidity will go high.
- Organic things like vegetables, wet wood rot, damp food or other perishable things can cause a high humidity level as well.
- If your area had a flood in the recent times, you should have an inspection in the basement for humidity.
High humidity can be a result of too many things, and moisture management is the key to a controlled humidity level. That’s a good way to get humidity out of basement without a dehumidifier.
Conclusion
Taking care of your house is not an easy task unless you think the odds and take prior action. Thus, before the basement develops a high humidity, you must have proper ventilation to avoid such issues. Even if you end up with a humid basement, now you know how to get rid of humidity in basement without dehumidifier.
These tips will help you DIY the hectic job at ease alongside saving you big time on money. A whole house and basement dehumidifier can cost you several hundreds if not thousands. Avoid unnecessary investments and take precautions when renovating your basement in the first place.
