Subject: Re: Nees suggestions for high humidity in winter

From: [email-masked] (Steve Chalmers)
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 1995 23:59:32 GMT

Due to mold allergies by various family members, I have the problem
you described year-round...here in (presumably sunny) California.

The "emergency measures" I take are: 

   (1) Mold zappers (contraptions with a heating coil in the middle which
       heat the air in the room a bit at a time to hot enough to stunt
       the mold spores) in each bedroom.

   (2) Chemical dehumidifiers anyplace that seems damp.

   (3) Chlorine bleach on any surface appearing moldy (knowing that it is
       the highest pareto pesticide-exposure reason for emergency room
       visits), even if it means frequent repainting.

For a while in our old house, we would wheel a dehumidifier into the
bathroom after all showers were done to pull the moisture back out of the
air.

My dream, though, is a knob on the wall which I can turn to "45%", the
lights dim, and a few hours later the relative humidity is down 10 or 15%
>from  the 55-60 we normally see.  Without the noise of having a bunch of
dehumidifiers running around the house -- or the risk that my 2 year old
will decide they're fun.  Anyone know how to build the system behind my
dream knob?

Steve
[email-masked]
(on my own, of course)

---

From: [email-masked] (Marshall Jose)
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 1995 20:35:44 GMT

Greetings!

I own a house near the Mason-Dixon Line, north of Baltimore, MD. Not new
when I bought it, it was constructed to be very weathertight (R-30 walls,
Andersen windows, weatherstripping on everything). Heat and A/C are
provided by a heat pump. The bathroom and master bedroom adjoin the
northwest wall. Four occupants regularly take showers.

The problem: Moisture accumulates in the house. In summer, the A/C removes
much of the moisture from the air and keeps the ground level at about 55%
RH.

In winter, average RH in the house runs between 65 - 80%. The bathroom
becomes a swamp: exterior walls, ceiling, and toilet tank sweat profusely.
Running the exhaust fan reduces the sweating by about half, which is still
quite objectionable. The bathroom window is a total loss, having been
completely colonized by mildew. On very cold and windy days the ceilings,
near the exterior wall, of the bathroom and master bedroom become cold
enough to sweat continuously regardless of activity in the house. In
spring and fall, RH can get as high as 90% due to inactivity of the heat
pump.

I asked a HVAC person to look at the problem and he suggested a heat
recovery ventilator with the moisture recoverer deactivated, at about
$2,500 to install. Given the price and the fact that he had never dealt
with this problem before, I didn't go through with it.

I'm currently thinking about making a contraption which draws outside air
at 5-10 CFM and heats it to 70 degF. This might also help reduce radon
levels in the basement, but that's another matter.

Are there any suggestions from any of you? The whole family would
appreciate it because we're starting to suffer from the mold spores.
-- 
Marshall Jose, WA3VPZ
[email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked] (David C Daye)
Date: 2 Jun 1995 15:29:52 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Marshall Jose <[email-masked]> wrote:
>
>The problem: Moisture accumulates in the house.
> [....]
>In winter, average RH in the house runs between 65 - 80%.

"To everything there is a season."

Only a half-facetious suggestion here. See if you can find a buyer who,
like me, actually *needs* such a house. Woodwind, early music, plant/
gardeners, there must be plenty of others.

My lovely panelled finished basement is so dusty-dry after 2 months of
rain, that the first person to see the house bought it. Meanwhile my
notoriously cranky reeds and I are buying into a civilized leaky basement
where I can make music all year round.

Your mileage may vary!
-- 
David Daye          http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/~bdaye/bagpipes.htm
scot & uilleann     Pipe & reed modification diagrams, sound files of
Columbus Ohio USA   GHB-A440, UP trad & silly, beginner finger tricks,
[email-masked]      and Sounds of Extra Terrier - estrial Intelligence.