Hello everyone,
Our ventilation system has finally been up and running since the weekend.
The air quality in all rooms is noticeably much better than before. So far, I’m really impressed!
Our ventilation installer mentioned that it’s possible to program the current setting from “1” to “2” during the day and then have it automatically switch back to setting “1” at night to keep the noise level low.
At the moment, I don’t find the air quality bad and don’t see a reason to increase the setting (but this shouldn’t cause any disadvantages, just stronger ventilation, right?). In my opinion, setting “2” is hardly audible either!
Do you usually ventilate bathrooms manually with windows after showering when you have a ventilation system, or can/should I generally avoid manual ventilation?
Our basement currently has a constant humidity level of 70%. We have no windows there since it’s purely a utility basement. The ventilation system is connected in this area as well.
A few weeks ago, we had serious mold problems because we stored a lot in the basement and the ventilation system wasn’t running yet.
Now my question:
Do I no longer need to worry about mold as long as the system is operating? Can mold develop even with continuous ventilation? I probably won’t be able to lower the 70% humidity quickly since we have a waterproof (WU) basement and it’s a new build that needs time to properly dry out.
Is drying laundry an issue at this stage? We have a separate laundry room in the basement that is also ventilated by the system.
Or:
Should I generally wait a few more months before using the basement as a storage space?
I look forward to your feedback 🙂
Our ventilation system has finally been up and running since the weekend.
The air quality in all rooms is noticeably much better than before. So far, I’m really impressed!
Our ventilation installer mentioned that it’s possible to program the current setting from “1” to “2” during the day and then have it automatically switch back to setting “1” at night to keep the noise level low.
At the moment, I don’t find the air quality bad and don’t see a reason to increase the setting (but this shouldn’t cause any disadvantages, just stronger ventilation, right?). In my opinion, setting “2” is hardly audible either!
Do you usually ventilate bathrooms manually with windows after showering when you have a ventilation system, or can/should I generally avoid manual ventilation?
Our basement currently has a constant humidity level of 70%. We have no windows there since it’s purely a utility basement. The ventilation system is connected in this area as well.
A few weeks ago, we had serious mold problems because we stored a lot in the basement and the ventilation system wasn’t running yet.
Now my question:
Do I no longer need to worry about mold as long as the system is operating? Can mold develop even with continuous ventilation? I probably won’t be able to lower the 70% humidity quickly since we have a waterproof (WU) basement and it’s a new build that needs time to properly dry out.
Is drying laundry an issue at this stage? We have a separate laundry room in the basement that is also ventilated by the system.
Or:
Should I generally wait a few more months before using the basement as a storage space?
I look forward to your feedback 🙂
guckuck2 schrieb:
It wasn’t entirely clear to me. Are the 70% humidity readings before or after the ventilation system started operating? What is the current humidity level at what temperature?
That’s all well and good, but who cares? What matters is the current condition, and in my opinion, it’s still not good enough.
You should be aware that in a concrete basement with insulation on the outside, without heating, nothing will dry at all. The only effective method is a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery to create air exchange and circulation. You are dependent on that. Unfortunately, you reject other measures. This type of drying will naturally take some time.
If the mechanical ventilation is running and the trend does not improve significantly, you clearly have a problem.
70% is better than 90%, but that’s about it. The 70% humidity level was already present just before the system started operating, as the drying was only completed about 1 1/2 weeks ago – so everything is still very “fresh.”
The basement temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius (68°F), and as mentioned, the humidity is at 70%. The ventilation system has been running for 4 days now.
So, I will probably wait a few more weeks to monitor the situation and see if the humidity steadily decreases. If it reaches around 60%, I will likely start using the basement as storage or as a laundry drying room.
Thanks for your help!
W
WilderSueden14 Jun 2022 09:34It is now summer. This means that relying solely on air exchange achieves little drying, as the temperature differences are too small. In the worst case, cooling can even increase the relative humidity of the incoming air. Adding moisture by drying laundry indoors should definitely be avoided. Outside in the sun, laundry also dries quickly.
WilderSueden schrieb:
It is summer now. This means that drying through air exchange alone is limited because the temperature differences are too small. In the worst case, cooling can actually increase the relative humidity of the incoming air. I would strongly advise against adding moisture by drying laundry indoors. Laundry dries quickly outside in the sun anyway.Yes, I currently have no problem with that during summer – you are right.
I will probably just wait and see how the humidity develops and then maybe start slowly using the space as storage. As I said, there is no pressure to do this immediately... However, you do want to use the room as you envision it 🙂
vonBYnachSH14 Jun 2022 09:45As others have already mentioned: allow the basement to dry out further, especially during the summer! A humidity level of 70% is too high. We have lived in several newly built houses, and in the first one, despite having basement windows and cross-ventilation, we still struggled with mold spots. Cardboard boxes and their contents began to mold.
Why is this not an option for you? Drying devices for home use are already available for around €100 (about $110) and work very well. If you also plan to do laundry there, in my opinion, it is essential at the beginning.
Furthermore, as already mentioned, all furniture should be placed about 10 cm (4 inches) away from the walls during the first few years. Do not store paper or leather items.
Why is this not an option for you? Drying devices for home use are already available for around €100 (about $110) and work very well. If you also plan to do laundry there, in my opinion, it is essential at the beginning.
Furthermore, as already mentioned, all furniture should be placed about 10 cm (4 inches) away from the walls during the first few years. Do not store paper or leather items.
vonBYnachSH schrieb:
As others have already mentioned: continue to dry out the basement, especially during the summer! 70% humidity is too high. We have already lived in several newly built houses, and in the first one—even though we had basement windows and could cross-ventilate—we struggled with mold spots. Cardboard boxes and their contents started to mold.
Why is that not an option for you? Drying devices for home use are available for around €100 and work very well. In my opinion, especially if you want to do laundry there, it is a must at the beginning.
Also, as has been mentioned, all furniture should be placed about 10cm (4 inches) away from the walls during the first years. Do not store paper or leather. Clearly, I think new buildings are very prone to mold, especially since nowadays, unfortunately, it still feels like almost everyone builds WITHOUT a ventilation system. The "recommended" five times cross-ventilation per day can only be done to a limited extent because with two full-time jobs, it’s simply not possible.
This way, we are certainly avoiding mold for now—provided, of course, that the indoor humidity is not generally too high and the building is dry.
As I said, I’ll keep an eye on it over the next few weeks. I might wait through the summer and then consider storing things in the basement in autumn/winter—and possibly dry laundry in the basement for the first time then.
W
WilderSueden14 Jun 2022 10:30Prager91 schrieb:
This way, we certainly avoid mold for now – provided, of course, that the overall humidity level is not too high and the building is dry. Actually, 70% is too high, and ventilation doesn’t help in summer. You end up cooling 30°C (86°F) warm air down to 20°C (68°F), resulting in a correspondingly higher relative humidity. Look for a humidity calculator online and experiment with the numbers to understand what I mean.
If you want to dry out basement walls in summer, you have to use artificial dehumidification, meaning a construction dryer. I don’t understand why you are so stubborn about this now. The outcome of waiting is completely predictable. You can do this in winter (when ventilation actually dehumidifies), but not in summer (when the opposite usually happens).
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