Dehumidifiers for Basements & Crawl Spaces in NC & SC
Permanent Basement & Dehumidifiers
Smart moisture control in your basement and crawl space involves a combination of strategies. In addition to basement waterproofing, a crawl space vapor barrier, or crawl space encapsulation, your Carolina Foundation Solutions technician may recommend installing a dehumidifier. Waterproofing will prevent water from leaking into your basement or crawl space, but the air in these spaces can still be saturated with moisture.
North and South Carolina experience extremely humid weather, which wreaks havoc on your basement and crawl space. As the Carolinas’ Waterproofing Specialist, Carolina Foundation Solutions is your resource for combating the humidity commonly found in the Carolinas’ basements and crawl spaces.
Trust Carolina Foundation Solutions to provide expert moisture control for a basement dehumidifier or crawl space dehumidifier. Call (877) 770-7050 for a free quote on a dehumidifier.
Moisture Problems in Basements
If you have a basement, you know from experience that they are prone to challenges with moisture. Over 60% of homes in the U.S. with basements suffer from problems caused by water and excess moisture. Even if you don’t have water leaking into your basement, high air humidity levels can affect your wood floors, carpet, walls, and belongings. Moisture in the air also promotes mold and mildew growth, which poses a health hazard for your household.
To keep your basement in good condition and your indoor air quality clean, it’s necessary to reduce the moisture in the air actively. Fortunately, this can be easily achieved using a dehumidifier.
Basement Dehumidifiers
Dehumidifiers work by extracting moisture from the air around them. They do this by pulling in air, forcing it over extremely cold coils, extracting the resulting moisture, and then pushing the drier air back into the environment. In your basement, a dehumidifier can significantly lower humidity levels. Once you set a target humidity level, the dehumidifier will circulate until it reaches that level. When more moisture enters the air, it will activate once more to reduce humidity levels and keep them at the target.
Most people feel comfortable indoors when the humidity is between 30% and 50%. It would be best to keep your basement at 50% humidity or lower since mold grows when the humidity level is 60% or higher.
Does your NC or SC home’s basement need a permanent dehumidifier? Call us at (877) 770-7050 or contact us online.
Crawl Space Dehumidifiers
Crawl spaces are another home area that often suffers from excess moisture. Consistently high humidity levels in your crawl space can cause mold, pests, rust, wood rot, and structural damage. Along with a vapor barrier or crawl space encapsulation, a dehumidifier is a smart option to control moisture in your crawl space and protect your home.
Reasons You Need a Dehumidifier in Your Crawl Space
A dehumidifier can be vital for your crawl space if you have any moisture or high humidity issues below your home. You might need to:
- Prevent water damage: Even without flooding, high humidity, and moisture accumulation can cause damage to structures under your home and the floors above.
- Discourage pests: Moisture in your crawl space can create a prime breeding ground for pests.
- Improve home air quality: A dehumidifier in your crawl space can prevent humidity levels from rising, mold spores from breeding beneath your floor, and more.
- Lower energy bills: A damp crawl space can waste energy as it becomes harder to warm the rooms above it.
- Avoid mud and erosion: Damp, muddy crawl spaces can be frustrating to deal with if you ever need to go below your home, but erosion can also cause severe issues for your home.
- Unpleasant floors: Damp air accumulating in your crawl space can lead to cold or warm floors above or, in severe cases, even lead to damp floors.
Request a quote for a crawl space dehumidifier by calling Carolina Foundation Solutions at (877) 770-7050.
Ideal Humidity Levels for Your Basement & Crawl Space
The ideal humidity for a home in North Carolina or South Carolina is between 30% and 60%, depending on who you ask and the temperature, and your basements and crawl spaces should similarly fall into this range. More precisely, it’s generally recommended to keep these spaces in a narrower range, closer to 50%, because excessively damp or dry crawl spaces can lead to severe problems in the home above that won’t be detected as quickly as they might be elsewhere. Low humidity can damage floors by causing specific structures to contract, while high humidity can lead to mold, rot, and water damage.
Do you need a dehumidifier for your crawl space or basement? Call Carolina Foundation Solutions at (877) 770-7050 today to request a quote or schedule service.
Considerations for Dehumidifiers
Installing a permanent basement dehumidifier is not as simple as placing a standard home dehumidifier in your basement. Basement dehumidifier systems are designed to tackle the unique challenges of a cool, damp environment. Here are some considerations to consider when purchasing a basement dehumidifier:
- Temperature limits: Typical home dehumidifiers are only effective at temperatures above 65 degrees. Basements are often cooler than that, so a basement dehumidifier is specially designed to work in lower temperatures.
- Automatic draining: When a regular home dehumidifier becomes full of water, it stops running and alerts you that it needs to be emptied. It often does this using beeps or flashing indicator lights. However, most people don’t spend much time in their basements and don’t enjoy the constant need to check and empty their dehumidifier. Many permanent basement dehumidifiers can be set up to drain automatically into your sump pump, a floor drain, or by pumping the water to a sink drain.
- Capacity: A dehumidifier’s capacity is rated by how many pints of water it will remove from the air over 24 hours. This is reflected in “PPD,” or pints per day. A dehumidifier intended for use in a regular room in your house might be rated at 25 to 30 PPD. Basement dehumidifiers must have high capacity to combat the extreme humidity levels in basements. Ideally, this means a rating of 50 to 95 PPD.
Ready to add a dehumidifier to your home? Call us at (877) 770-7050 to schedule a consultation today!
Choose Carolina Foundation Solutions for Moisture Control in Your Charlotte, NC Home!
Carolina Foundation Solutions provides the highest customer service and professionalism within the basement and crawl space repair and waterproofing industry. We use only the most reliable systems and products available, which are installed by dedicated and trained professionals.
Our technicians will expertly install your new dehumidifier, then set it up to run smoothly and keep the area dry and free of mold and mildew. Call today to transform your basement from a damp, musty hazard into a pleasant space or safe to store belongings.
Call (877) 770-7050 for a free quote on a basement dehumidifier system or a crawl space dehumidifier for your home in NC or SC.