Sean wrote:
Hi all, I'm a bit inexperienced in home knowledge so am hoping for
some help from people who have had this problem.

We bought a 4 level split, with a cement crawlspace under the family
room. It's sealed except for a little wooden door which is always
closed. It's very musty smelling and the hygrometer I put in there
says the humidity level is 92%. The rest of the basement is about 70%
without a dehumidifier running.

I have a few questions.

(1) If I put a dehumidifier right in the crawlspace, will that help
lower the humidity in the rest of the basement, in addition to
lowering it in the actual crawlspace?

Yes, but it is likely to lower the humidity in the rest of the basement
only a little



(2) Is there another way to deal with the crawlspace humidity other
than with a dehumidifier?

(3) Is there a good way to get rid of the musty smell in there?

Same answer to both 2&3: First, if the crawlspace does not already have
a vapor barrier in place, then add heavy plastic from the sill at that top
of the walls all the way across the floor to the sill on the other side.
Overlap and tape seams. Next, ventilate. You need an air flow in and out
of there. Either heated open to the existing basement, or un-heated with
the floor above insulated and vented to the outside. Last make sure there
is nothing outside contributing to the problem. All gutters in good shape
and all water from the roof and hard surfaces like drives and patios is
directed away from your home and all dirt is graded away from your home for
at least 10 feet.

After that then you may consider dehumidifying equipment. That 70%
humidity may not be bad, especially if the tool you are using to measure it
is reading a little high. a 10% or greater error is not at all unusual and
60% humidity is considered fine for most situations.


Thanks for any tips!



--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit