Dehumidifiers
 

Have the need to control some dampness in a semi-finished basement and the home is not a fulltime residence so attending to and emptying buckets of water isn't an option. Are there any other options that maybe some folks are using? I know I can either run a hose outside or to a sink however is there anything else that would run on its own that could be placed in the middle of a room? Where I'd like to place one will be a distance from walls and not close to a bathroom. I'd consider a larger "full basement" system if the price was reasonable (less than say 2-K) I'm just not sure what's even out there.

Dehumidifiers
 

Several companies make portable dehumidifiers with built-in pumps meant to empty the water to a sink or basement window. I’ve seen them for less than $300 online. One that I looked at was rated to lift the discharge more than 16’ vertically.

there are also a variety of condensation pumps available that can be easily adapted to work along with.

one example

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Little-G...4425/204481225

Thanks two good ideas I'm thinking pumping outside won't work cause in freezing temps it'll become a block of ice the minute it hits the outside air.

Basement temperature
 

Suggest you also keep in mind that if your basement temp drops below a certain level the dehumidifier will be ineffective. Off the top of my head not sure what that temperature is.... but I'm sure the info is available somewhere on line.

Isn't the winter dry enough that they are not needed? That's the case in my basement anyway

Hawley
 

Do you have a washing machine drain in the basement? If you do you can always pump the condensate into the drain. The person is correct about the winter months.

Mine is manual, so I agree with others that you shouldn't need it except for a couple of summer months. I believe some of the more sophisticated machines would have a humidity sensor and shut down hen not needed. My temptation is to get a cheap machine, put it on a shelf, and gravity feed into an existing drain.

Another thought on draining condensate is to mount the dehumidifier high enough on the wall so as to drain to an existing place for it, such as the aforementioned washing machine drain pipe. A pump also would work, and you wouldn't worry about a pump not working during a power outage, because the dehumidifier wouldn't run either.

You might think about the source of the basement dampness. I'd expect that to be from foundation walls and slab, in contact with damp soil. There are products (eg. DRYLOK) that can be painted on the surface of concrete for waterproofing. If there is, from time to time, liquid water, indicating intrusion of water through cracks, address that first. The surface of the soil around the foundation should slope away, so surface runoff doesn't find its way to the footings as easily. There are plenty of sources of information on addressing water intrusion.

If it's just a matter of diffusion of water vapor through the concrete, which is considerably porous, then it might be prudent to cover exposed basement walls with rigid foam board (eg. type II EPS), covered with sheetrock for fire protection (a code issue). The sheetrock could be applied over 2x4s installed flat-wise, to create a space for wiring and shallow electrical boxes. If the "semi-finished" space is insulated with fiberglass batts installed between studs, tear that out and replace with rigid foam boards and sheetrock. Fiberglass batts have no business being placed against a concrete basement wall. Yeah, I know, plenty of basements are insulated that way, but it's flat out wrong, counter to sound building science. Once you've insulated the basement walls the right way, you've retarded the inflow of ground moisture to a huge extent, reducing the load on a dehumifier and making the basement more comfortable and less musty smelling.

We have a higher end Frigidaire unit in our basement and it works pretty well. It can be set to either a certain humidity level and/or on a timer. We only use it in the summer and have a hose hooked up into the back of it that drains into our sump pump well. Works for us.

When I try to use my dehumidifier during the cooler months, even now, it errors out and stops because it is too cold to run effectively. During the summer I use a condensate pump and pump it out to water the flower garden next to the house. The more heat and humidity, the more the flowers get watered. Around May I start it up emptying into a bucket. If it works without errors, I put in the condensate pump and hose and forget about it until the fall.

We have a couple buckets of DampRid during the winter to pull the little water there is out of the air.

the new dehumidifiers come with a very small drain hose if you buy the unit with built in pump. that small hose will fit in with the drain hose for the washer machine if that option is available. as far as temperature change simply set the
unit for your desired climate and leave it alone. good luck

Do yourself a favor and don't buy the junk in the stores. I purchased one of these and it has worked great. It might cost a little more but it is something that works well. While it doesn't have a built in pump, it can be located next to a floor drain or sump or installed where it can drain conveniently over a sink, etc. or into a condensate pump.
https://www.aprilaire.com/whole-hous...s/dehumidifier

Basement averages maybe 50's gets a little better those months but still could use something. I'll look into it Really don't want to be running hoses everywhere as it is a finished area where I want it. Thanks all.

We have a dehumidifier in the basement which discharges into the pump to the furnace and humidifier which discharges outdoors. This unit runs every day and has for the past 5 years even in the winter. No problems. Keeps the humidity around 40-45%.

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dehumidifier
 

I have a Santa Fe, it drains into a condensate pump and there is a hose that goes through the sill and pumps outside. There is a sensor that you can set so it turns on and off when the desired humidity is reached. Its not cheap like would find in box store but they are much more efficient and should save electricity in the long run. I shut it off in the winter. Its plenty dry in the winter, no need to run it.

Yeah I've got the same pump in Mass don't have one in NH suppose buying one's an option...