Keeping basement air dry

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Q. We must run a dehumidifier constantly in our basement from about June through October, depending on the humidity and temperature. This necessitates emptying the pail sometimes twice a day. We’ve never had a smell in our basement, but if we neglect to do this, it gets musty within a day. When we vacation, we have one of our children come in each day to empty the dehumidifier to avoid any problem. As we are getting older, this is becoming a chore. We looked into an air ventilation system, but that only seemed to be a fan that would run to the outside and not remove the moisture. Is it possible to “hang” the dehumidifier over a sink or the waste pipe to allow it to drain directly into the sewer? Or is there another solution to this problem? We’re in an area where there are many older people, and most of them have just let it get musty! Nothing in their basements can ever be used because it smells moldy. What can we do?

A. Your dehumidification problem is shared by almost everyone with a basement, and it’s a real nuisance, starting with basic common sense being ignored during construction. Rarely do the foundation walls and floor slab have a continuous waterproofing membrane, completely impermeable, surrounding the lowest level (in the ground) to form a watertight system. Just the other day, another builder described how concrete was poured thicker for “extra waterproofing.” Concrete is a sponge, not a waterproof material. So that’s your first problem.

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