basement venting

[pordy]

Hello- we recently purchased a home that needs basement renovations. While we're doing that, we'd like to do what we should to keep it dry. Besides a dehumidifier, do you recommend an exhaust vent of some sort? Our current apartment basement has a bathroom-type vent that comes on whenever the the lights are turned on. Is something like that sufficient? It is about 600 square feet and has a history of dampness.

Thanks
patrick

[richard]

Patrick,

I do not recommend a vent. If you go to our Learning Center on dehumidification (http://www.basementsystems.com/learning_center/), you can read about the indoor environment and how relative humidity affects it. When you vent a basement, you are bringing unconditioned outside air into a cool environment. In the winter this would make no sense -- bringing cold air ito the house. In the summer, you wold be bringing in warm air with high relative humidity into a cool space... and this is no good either.

In the Learning Center, you'll find information on the SaniDry (http://www.basementsystems.com/dehumidifier/) basement air system. This unit is a dehumidifier (http://www.basementsystems.com/dehumidifier/) and air filtration machine, that will accomplish the result you are looking for in your nelwy renovated basement.

-Richard