Draining a basement humidifier (houses, to buy, inspection)
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(Sorry, I mis-typed the title... it should be DEhumidifier, of course!)
Okay, so it seems we need a dehumidifier in the unfinished approx-1200 sq ft basement. I am sick (literally) of having the musty basement smell rising up into the kitchen which is just above the apparantly-worst area. Just had a mold inspection done (nothing visible) and an air quality test (which did show elevated levels of Aspergillus; not crazy high but higher than normal, so will be having a remediation done anyway.)
I hate the idea of a dehumidifier because I've known several people whose units (a) died after only a year, (b) dramatically increased their electric bill, (c) flooded their basement because the shutoff failed, or (d) flooded their basement because either the drain hose leaked or the built-in pump failed. Going down there (exterior entrance only) several times a day to haul up a bucket and carry it out into the yard for dumping is NOT an option.
No floor drain or plumbing fixtures in the basement. The waste line is about 4 ft off the floor, so my plan is to get one of those 2-shelf steel shelving units, put a dehumidifier on the upper shelf, a Little Giant condensate pump on the lower shelf, and then run the condensate line to ... where?
Some people mistakenly connect it directly to their waste line which is a Bad Idea and not code either. Even when trapped and vented, it still has to be indirect which means an open air gap in the waste line. Not something I'm comfortable with. So it will have to be run directly up and then to the outside through the exterior wall. Then the problem is bringing THAT water far enough away from the house. And having a piece of vinyl tubing sticking out of the foundation will look ridiculous.
Has anyone set up their dehumidifier drain line directly to the outside but terminating there as a frost-free hose bib instead of just a piece of vinyl tubing? If done that way, a length of garden hose could run from there into a flower bed that's about 9 feet away. Far enough from the house foundation and also providing irrigation as well. In the winter the hose would be removed and a cheap bucket put under the open spigot instead; theoretically the dehumidifier shouldn't be running much during the winter months anyhow.
I've looked for examples of this setup online but found none. Everyone seems to drain their dehumidifier either into a floor drain, an adjacent sink, or runs the exit tubing out a window (no thanks.) Anyone else use the spigot-exit method for their drain line? And if so, any problems with it?
If your unit drains directly into your basement waste line, do you have any problems with sewer/cesspool smell as a result? Seems to me that open spot would deliver some pretty smelly air into the basement any time a toilet gets flushed....
We just used a dehumidifier from Sears that last all 13 years we lived in our house, auto shutoff when full and then we removed the bucket and dumped the water in the laundry room sink. Sure you don't want to go that route? Ours did have a thing where you could run it into a sink or outside I believe. Whatever, it WILL help your basement mustiness problem, so it's worth it. Good luck.
I have a dehumidifier with built in condensate pump. It is 4-5 years old. No issues, and nothing fancy. It pumps into a P-trap cut into the vertical waste line near the ceiling, which the water softener also empties into. There is no need for a dehumidifier outside the May-September months in our climate. Even in May and early June, it is needed rarely.
The only issue with the open trap is that it may dry out in the winter months when not in use if nothing else empties into it. Either have a cap installed on the end to close it during the winter, or (a) you may need to occasionally add water, or (b) pour some trap primer in the trap at the end of the season.
I know for sure I won't want to go trudging into that basement several times a day to empty the bucket. The only access to the basement is down a fairly steep flight of steps, which would mean trudging back UP said steps carrying a heavy bucket of water in order to dump it into the yard a decent distance away from the house. And in rainy weather, which is when the bucket would fill up fastest, who really wants to do that? Not me.
There is a drain in front of the basement door but dumping the bucket there would make zero sense: We'd just be putting that water back where it originally came from (beneath the basement foundation.) It'd be one step forward/one step back.
I hate going into that basement even under normal conditions. Long story, but even being down there freaks me out somewhat. So the fewer times I have enter that space, the better.
LOL my IL's basement steps are like that. Our basement was finished....but the laundry sink was down there....we usually didn't have to empty more than every two days. As pp said, you'll only need it over the summer. Good luck, hope you find a solution you like!
I have a dehumidifier with built in condensate pump. It is 4-5 years old. No issues, and nothing fancy. It pumps into a P-trap cut into the vertical waste line near the ceiling, which the water softener also empties into. There is no need for a dehumidifier outside the May-September months in our climate. Even in May and early June, it is needed rarely.
The only issue with the open trap is that it may dry out in the winter months when not in use if nothing else empties into it. Either have a cap installed on the end to close it during the winter, or (a) you may need to occasionally add water, or (b) pour some trap primer in the trap at the end of the season.
I thought about the drying-out factor too, though I forgot to mention it in my post. So you don't get any "toilet smell" at all through the open trap/air gap?
If your dehumidifier doesn't run at all from, say, October through April, I'd probably just cap a P-trap closed. I was assuming that a unit here would need to run all year, because we still get "basement smell" coming up into the kitchen during the winter months.
The worst is that two of the lower kitchen cabinets really smell of it. Oddly enough, neither of them are the one you expect (undersink.) The worst one is the deep corner cabinet next to the stove, and also the cabinet next to it. I've lived in two LI houses that had basements (one finished, one unfinished) plus one with a 4 foot high crawlspace that was REALLY damp, and none of them had the basement odor coming up into kitchen cabinets or even into the kitchen itself. I'm super sensitive to odors and fragrances and so this situation is making me a little nuts, lol
Tried tubs of Damp-Rid inside the cabinets; absolutely no help for the smell although it does draw some moisture out of that air. Bowls of baking soda do nothing either. It's this "lovely" smell of musty basement with a slight undertone of heating oil. What a "bouquet", eh?
The intensity of the musty smell does vary a bit but is always there, even in winter. I can't afford to replace the kitchen cabinetry, and there's no evidence of water damage inside the cabinets or on the subfloor when viewed from the basement, so it's a total mystery. But I can smell "basement" as soon as I walk into the kitchen most days. The heating system and oil tank are directly under that room too, so you'd think it'd be the warmest section of the basement and therefore the driest (as these things go.) I'd definitely put the dehumidifier in that same area.
Last edited by BBCjunkie; 08-13-2018 at 09:24 AM..
Do you have a window in the basement? Maybe connect the water line from the dehumidifier to an Automatic Condensate Removal Pump and have it pump water to the outside from the window.
Since you are worried about the dehumidifier failing after only a year, I can recommend this one we bought over 8 years ago: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frigidaire-...ifier/50299673 You can buy a smaller version if draining-out We use its spigot to a hose that leads into an adjacent sink so can't help further. I'd imagine if you ask a HD or Lowes guy in that dept., they may have advice.
Many homes out here need dehumidifiers. You simply buy one (see post above) and have it tied into the drain line. You may have to buy($50) a condensate drain pump. I set mine to 60% in the summer and it pretty much runs on its on.
A separate condensate pump is better than splurging for a dehumidifier with one built in. I used to have it pump into my basement slop sink.
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