Humidity increase in home because of evaporation

[TonyNPS]

HI All,

In May we setup a 40G display tank and 20 gallon sump. I noticed the homes humidity increased quite a bit.
The air conditioning was keeping humidity down in the 40% range ( according to my humidifier meter on the furnace).
Now that we are nearing the winter ... with no a/c .. humidity has jumped to 60% which i feel is much too high.
The humidifier on the furnace is OFF... I purchased a standalone dehumidifier and ran it for 24 hours...and its not budging from the 60% reading.


Adding nearly one gallon a day for evaporation.
Temperature of water is 78degrees

I am concerned the humidity will be too high for the winter ( normally should be at 35% ).

I have a Nyos2 that has water running out the reactor cylinder.
Could this be causing part of my problem?
Just wonder if anyone has had to tackle this situation?
Thoughts on how to bring the homes humidity down?

Thank you in advance.

Tony

 

[blaxsun]

I got a dehumidifer, but I have to empty it every few days in the winter. It does keep it <35% though.

 

[TonyNPS]

I got a dehumidifer, but I have to empty it every few days in the winter. It does keep it <35% though.

Thank you ... what size dehumidifer did you purchase?

 

[leepink23]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hisense-50-Pint-2-Speed-Dehumidifier-ENERGY-STAR-For-Rooms-3001-sq-ft/5001595143

I covered my sump which reduced my evaporation. I can keep my humidity in home anywhere I like with this dehumidifier. I have to empty every few days. Sometimes more frequently depending on Mississippi weather!

 

[Tavero]

50- 60% is actually the desired target for a healthy room atmosphere. Tank or no tank. Anything less and mucous membranes and skin start to dry out faster. Particularly in winter when we don't sweat much to moisten it.

 

[TonyNPS]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hisense-50-Pint-2-Speed-Dehumidifier-ENERGY-STAR-For-Rooms-3001-sq-ft/5001595143

I covered my sump which reduced my evaporation. I can keep my humidity in home anywhere I like with this dehumidifier. I have to empty every few days. Sometimes more frequently depending on Mississippi weather!

Thankyou... great idea! never thought of that

 

[Floyd-]

Being in Humid FL ive never even thought about it. 80% humidity is fairly common here. In the house maybe 60% and ive never worried about it. At the 35% you were suggesting I would dry out in no time, thats way too dry.

 

[TonyNPS]

Being in Humid FL ive never even thought about it. 80% humidity is fairly common here. In the house maybe 60% and ive never worried about it. At the 35% you were suggesting I would dry out in no time, thats way too dry.

true for warmer climates... when the temperature is at 0 degrees Fahrenheit humidity levels need to be lower to avoid damage. Thank you for your input

 

[rtparty]

I believe your climate is somewhat similar to mine and anything over 50% is a serious problem for mold. Not to mention other damage being done in the home. I fight this year round with my 250g tank. I installed an ERV (which helped but not nearly enough) and also run a room dehumidifier 24/7 to keep the home below 50%. It sucks TBH

 

[exnisstech]

3 tanks on the first floor living quarters (only floor). Footprints one 72x24, one 36x24, and one 24x20 inches. All open top and humidity stays around 60 - 65 % when the house is closed up. Been here almost 30yrs and to be honest I've never even thought about trying to lower it. No fancy stuff just a wood burner in the basement as main source of heat with a forced air furnace as back up. Window's ac units. I do run a dehumidifier in the basement but keep it set to 55% My sinuses are whacked and seep blood if I don't use neosporin in them daily so I figure lower humidity would probably make that worse. No mold issues here

 

[Tavero]

true for warmer climates... when the temperature is at 0 degrees Fahrenheit humidity levels need to be lower to avoid damage. Thank you for your input

Below 35% humidity will actually destroy wooden furniture and instruments long term. The woods starts to dry out and get cracks, splits.

 

[FishTruck]

With tight houses this is a real issue. I have a hood over my display and vent that air outside. In my fish room, I cover my two frag tanks and run a DH in the fish room. Backed up this with a whole house dehumidifier. Run the fish tank hotter 75 degrees to help hold the humidity. I can't believe I was stupid enough to buy a humidifier for the house.

My old drafty house had none of these problems. The cold air crept in, got heated up and became dry as heck.

 

[Digimes]

Being in Humid FL ive never even thought about it. 80% humidity is fairly common here. In the house maybe 60% and ive never worried about it. At the 35% you were suggesting I would dry out in no time, thats way too dry.

Agree with this ^^^^^^

 

[FishTruck]

50- 60% is actually the desired target for a healthy room atmosphere. Tank or no tank. Anything less and mucous membranes and skin start to dry out faster. Particularly in winter when we don't sweat much to moisten it.

In the winter, you will get wet dripping windows at this humidity (cold glass). It is counter intuitive, but higher humidity is okay in hotter weather, more of a risk in cold weather.

Here is a table of desirable indoor humidity based on outdoor temp.

 

[blaxsun]

Thank you ... what size dehumidifer did you purchase?

35 pints. This is the one I went with.

General PDP Template

www.canadiantire.ca

 

[Tavero]

In the winter, you will get wet dripping windows at this humidity (cold glass). It is counter intuitive, but higher humidity is okay in hotter weather, more of a risk in cold weather.

Here is a table of desirable indoor humidity based on outdoor temp.

Badly isolated windows will always produce water droplets as soon as you get below freezing point. That's an issue with these windows not with the humidity.
I that case you need to air out the rooms more often (Stosslüften, as we Germans call it) not reduce humidity.
Low humidity leads to several issues
- dry mucous membranes dry skin and
increase of infectious diseases because of that
- reduced oxygen intake
- cracks in wood- furniture instruments and wooden floors.
- microcracks in concrete
- high dust concentration in air

Source: a German health website.
But this is common sense for us, therefore all of our radiators had water reservoirs attached to them in our older homes which were inadequately isolated.

 

[DCReef]

I purchased a dehumidifier from Costco that was on discount. It was a Hisense 50 pint (maybe?) and includes an automated pump that I drain into the same place my RO/DI water station drains into. When I didn't have the pump hooked up I was emptying it at least every other day.

When I initially setup my Prostar 150 in my basement, I didn't have a lid on it and it was October in Maryland. The humidity it created over the next couple of days shorted out one of the Phillips Hue Lights I had in the ceiling near it. (The light itself still works, but the "Smart" part shorted out.) Now, I have a lid on the tank and the dehumidifier in the other room keeping things at about 50% year-round. In reality, the humidity hovers between 40% and 60%, but is no longer affecting any electronics. There is no condensation anywhere either.

Since everything is in the basement, the ecosystem is fairly contained since we can have the door to the basement open or closed. Our thermostat is near the top of the stairs and will notify me if the humidity in the house exceeds 70%.

 

[Potatohead]

My house will get into the high 60's in the shoulder seasons when the furnace and ac aren't running much. However in winter/summer when they both come on a fair bit the humidity is more like 50-55% on average. I also have about 300 gallons of water in the basement too though.

 

[FishTruck]

Badly isolated windows will always produce water droplets as soon as you get below freezing point. That's an issue with these windows not with the humidity.
I that case you need to air out the rooms more often (Stosslüften, as we Germans call it) not reduce humidity.
Low humidity leads to several issues
- dry mucous membranes dry skin and
increase of infectious diseases because of that
- reduced oxygen intake
- cracks in wood- furniture instruments and wooden floors.
- microcracks in concrete
- high dust concentration in air

Source: a German health website.
But this is common sense for us, therefore all of our radiators had water reservoirs attached to them in our older homes which were inadequately isolated.

Yep!

In my earlier post, I did qualify that we were talking about new, tightly sealed houses that do not take in much fresh air and are well insulated.

Totally agree that older drafty houses are very different, and often require humidification in the winter, and certainly if you have air circulating next to your window, you will have less drips on the glass.

In my new house - the windows get wet unless I keep the humidity down to about 40% in very cold weather. It is a fine line between keeping the glass dry and not getting nosebleeds! I have old farmers in my practice who talk about the old drafty houses being better. They have a point. Especially, with a reef tank.

I do intentionally bring fresh outside air into the sump room and I have no problems in the basement with wet windows. It's primarily in the 3 floor bedrooms where the windows get wet. No fresh air intakes up there. Perhaps, this is what you mean by "badly isolated windows". True true.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

most dehumidifiers now have a garden hose attachment for a continuous drain to the basement sump.