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Basement Dehumidifier Installation in New Jersey
Is your basement damp?
What it does
What does a basement dehumidifier do?
The musty smell you notice rides on water vapor, and a basement dehumidifier pulls that vapor out once the water coming in has been stopped. Vapor comes through poured concrete and block alike, and more of it comes off a wall that takes water after rain. The unit's job is to get it back out faster than it shows up. Sized to the basement, it cycles on and off and holds the reading. The water it pulls out drains to a sump pump or to a condensate pump that pipes it outside, so it leaves the basement on its own. The store unit with a bucket needs you to carry that water up the stairs.
If your unit runs without a break, water is still arriving somewhere faster than it can be pulled out. The wall that is still letting water through needs handling before the unit can catch up.
When we recommend one
When do we recommend a basement dehumidifier?
When the relative humidity is still reading high after the water has been dealt with. Most of the basement units we hang go into one of two places. An unfinished basement with a poured or block wall that shows water marks or mineral deposits after a rain is one. A finished basement that still smells musty with a French drain and sump already in is the other. The drainage took the water off the floor. Nothing in that work dries the air.
Either way the Basement Evaluation starts with the meter rather than the smell. We read relative humidity at several points and look for Mold-Like Substance on the framing or the back of the finish. The Holmdel basement below had been taking water through one wall in heavy rain, something we had noted on an earlier visit.
Which units
Which dehumidifiers does Jersey Shore Crawlspace install in a basement?
The unit that ends up in your basement is an AprilAire E-series, and we keep servicing the Santa Fe Compact units that are already in place. The basement units are the E070, the E080W and the E100, with the W model carrying Wi-Fi reporting. We are certified AprilAire installers.
The warranty on the dehumidifier itself comes from the manufacturer. Vapor barrier, French drains, drainage matting, insulation and Mold Treatment carry our 10-year transferable warranty. The dehumidifier does not.
Which AprilAire unit fits your basement?
AprilAire E050
For a small crawlspace, or one that is cut into sections. Short enough to carry through a tight access door and hang where a bigger unit will not fit.
Fair Haven: two E050 units with 15 feet of duct between them, in a three-foot crawlspace that read 61 percent with store-bought dehumidifiers running in the house above.
AprilAire E070
The unit most shore crawlspaces get. Hung from the joists near the middle of the space, it holds a typical crawlspace at or below 55 percent on its own.
Middle Township: one E070 with 35 feet of insulated duct, hung after a clean-out and a 12-mil vapor barrier.
AprilAire E080W
Same footprint as the E100 with a little less capacity. The W model sends the reading and any fault code to your phone, which matters when the unit is under a house you never go into.
Margate City: an E080W hung over a new vapor barrier after the crawlspace read 70 percent with condensation on the framing.
AprilAire E100
For a long crawlspace, a basement, or a space one smaller unit cannot reach the end of. Moves the most air of the four, which is what lets it feed a long duct run.
Wildwood Crest: one E100 with 65 feet of duct to reach the whole crawlspace. Holmdel: an E100 cable-hung beside the basement window, draining to the sump.
The Wi-Fi models, and what the app does
Every E-series size comes in a W version, and we install all four: the E050W, E070W, E080W and E100W. The W adds Wi-Fi and the AprilAire Healthy Air App on your phone, iPhone or Android, which matters most when the unit is under a house you never go into.
Install types
How is a basement dehumidifier installed?
Hung from the floor joists on cable hangers, above whatever you keep on the basement floor.
The condensate goes to the sump when there is one. A 3/8-inch drain line runs from the unit down the wall and into the basin, the unit empties by gravity and there is no pump to fail. Without a sump, the unit gets a condensate pump. A 3/4-inch line feeds the pump. From the pump, 3/8-inch clear tubing carries the water to the wall, where it usually changes over to 3/4-inch PVC for the run outside.
Most basement installs have no duct at all. Walls and doors can keep the unit from seeing the whole basement, and a finished basement cut into rooms is the usual reason for running some. An owner with a long basement who wants one unit to reach the far end without buying a second is the other. Insulated flex duct carries the dry air from the unit into the far rooms. Square footage on its own does not decide it.
What the install looks like
What does a basement dehumidifier install look like?
The Holmdel owner's first clue was the sump running on a dry day. The pump was running whether it had rained or not. They lifted the lid and found the discharge pipe had come apart inside the basin, and the pump had spent about two months sending the same water up and back down. That basement needed humidity control and a new pump. Our crew hung an AprilAire E100 from the floor joists on cable hangers beside the window. That spot was picked for the way this basement is laid out, so the dry air coming off the unit reaches as much of it as possible. The condensate line runs down the wall into the sump. The old pump came out and a 1/2 HP Zoeller went into the same basin, with the lid sealed around the discharge pipe and the drain line.
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What it works with
What does a basement dehumidifier work with?
Water coming through the wall is a drainage job, and the dehumidifier is not built for it. The unit works with the drainage that takes the water out and the sump the condensate drains to. Where water comes through the wall or the floor, French drains catch it and carry it to the sump. The dehumidifier goes in once that work is done. Have a crawlspace instead? See crawl space dehumidifiers.
Before you buy one
Thinking of buying a basement dehumidifier yourself?
The portable unit at the store will run in your basement. What it will not do is bring the reading down while the wall is still letting water in, and a unit sitting on the slab with a bucket under it will run from morning to night. A fan moves the damp air to a different corner and leaves the vapor in it. A Basement Evaluation puts the readings and a written recommendation in your hands before you spend a dollar on a unit.
Keeping it running
What keeps a basement dehumidifier running?
The upkeep is a filter and, where there is one, a condensate pump. The Annual Evaluation Program puts the crew in your basement three times a year. Each visit the reading gets logged and the pump gets checked, and filter cleaning or replacement can be added as a paid add-on. Stay on the program and the warranties on your French drain, drainage matting and the rest of the basement work run longer than they otherwise would.
Who does the work
Who installs a basement dehumidifier, and what do you get on paper?
Jersey Shore Crawlspace Enhancement works out of Farmingdale and has covered 13 New Jersey counties since 2010. The licenses on the paperwork you get are NJ Home Improvement Contractor 13VH06460100 and NJ DEP 90211B. Whatever the basement needs, it starts with the Basement Evaluation. The report carries photographs and the humidity readings, names the unit if one is called for and usually reaches you within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Is a dehumidifier worth it in a basement?
Yes, when the readings stay high after the water has been stopped. A unit sized to your basement and drained to a sump or pump holds the reading at or below 55 percent and cycles off once it gets there. A Basement Evaluation tells you which side of that line your readings fall on.
What humidity should a basement be kept at?
At or below 55 percent relative humidity. That is the setting we leave on every AprilAire unit we hang, and the number the crew logs at each program visit. Above it your basement smells musty and Mold-Like Substance starts on the framing and finish. A unit sized to the basement holds the number without running around the clock.
Where does a basement dehumidifier drain?
Into the sump where there is one, through a 3/8-inch line that runs by gravity from the unit into the basin, with no pump to maintain. Where there is no sump, a condensate pump below the unit pushes the water out through clear tubing, usually stepped up to PVC on the way outside. Either way the unit empties itself.
Which dehumidifiers does Jersey Shore Crawlspace install in a basement?
AprilAire E-series units, the E070, the E080W and the E100, with the W model carrying Wi-Fi reporting. We are certified AprilAire installers, and Santa Fe Compact units get serviced on the same program. The unit itself is warranted by AprilAire. Our 10-year transferable warranty covers the vapor barrier, French drains, drainage matting, insulation and Mold Treatment around it.
Why does my basement still smell musty after a French drain and sump went in?
Because a French drain and sump move liquid water, and the vapor in the air is a different problem. The drainage keeps your floor dry. The concrete and the air above it stay damp until a dehumidifier takes the vapor out, and readings still above 55 percent after drainage are the usual reason we hang one.
What maintenance does a basement dehumidifier need?
The filter cleaned or replaced three times a year, and the condensate pump checked on the units that have one. Program visits log the reading and check the pump, and filter service can be added to them as a paid add-on. If you have a W model, it reports the reading and any fault code to your phone between visits.
Jersey Shore Crawlspace Enhancement, 1775 Route 34, Building D, Unit 14, Farmingdale, NJ 07727. Call 888-499-6847 or email Sales@JerseyShoreCrawlspace.com to schedule a Basement Evaluation. NJ HIC 13VH06460100 and NJ DEP 90211B.
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