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Just recently took a class on mold issues and one of the instructors (a mold professional) talked about that subject. His professional advice was not to go below 60% because it could start to draw moisture in through the walls - something to avoid. 60-65% supposedly was "ideal", with 70% the max.
Thanks, Elke! This is very helpful!
Thanks for the advice from others too.
I was thinking of maybe using vacuum bags for storage.
Certainly is easy for me to use plastic bins with cedar balls or other hygroscopic material.
Will have to explore more about the attic - I see some hatches from 2 closets, and the inspector went up there from the garage. But he was walking carefully.
I don't have much stuff, but it will be a shame to not be able to use all this nice space down in the basement. Will have to monitor it.
I think I have higher tolerance than normal to extreme temperatures and humidity - so I rather measure things.
I have mine currently at 55%. I may up it to 60% based on some comments here and considering I don't use the basement for much besides laundry and storage right now.
I've used the vacuum bags too - they work well and do save a ton of space!
I realize this is OT, sorry in advance, but I never used those. My SIL bought some and said they didn't fully evacuate when hooked to the vacuum. I don't know if it was her spazzing out, knock off bags, or what-have-you. Based on her experience I decided not to buy them. Is there a particular brand you found works well?
I realize this is OT, sorry in advance, but I never used those. My SIL bought some and said they didn't fully evacuate when hooked to the vacuum. I don't know if it was her spazzing out, knock off bags, or what-have-you. Based on her experience I decided not to buy them. Is there a particular brand you found works well?
I had some in the past but found they didnt hold their vacum very well. As a result, I'd have a ton of pillows and sh*t that i thought fit nicely under the bed, but I couldn't get it out when I wanted to use them!
I realize this is OT, sorry in advance, but I never used those. My SIL bought some and said they didn't fully evacuate when hooked to the vacuum. I don't know if it was her spazzing out, knock off bags, or what-have-you. Based on her experience I decided not to buy them. Is there a particular brand you found works well?
I used the "real thing"...got them at Bed Bath and Beyond. I didn't have any trouble getting the air out, but ...they don't do a great job of holding the vacuum seal. However, even with air getting into the bags, the stuff still stayed flat as pancakes. It was GREAT when we moved - I put all the comforters and pillows in those bags and was able to get so much more into a packing box.
Bought a hygrometer and went around the house to measure the humidity after work today.
Did not run the dehumidifier and did not run the AC for the last 12 hours.
The basement was nice - cooler and dryer - humidity at about 58%. The main floor - humidity was in the high 60%s.
Tested the CAC (it's new but not sure of its parameters) - very effortlessly drops temperature without running constantly - I guess - the benefits of a smaller single floor house...
I'm a big fan of Space Bags - you can pick them up on eBay for very little money.
They protect your clothing against moisture and bugs and are reusable.
Just recently took a class on mold issues and one of the instructors (a mold professional) talked about that subject. His professional advice was not to go below 60% because it could start to draw moisture in through the walls - something to avoid. 60-65% supposedly was "ideal", with 70% the max.
this is why i love internet forums - thx for the info.
As an aside, I got a 70pint dehumidifier but anything that you can drain out to a sink would give you an excuse to go smaller. Manual emptying would be too much work in my opinion. I had done that initially and it was filling within a day.
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