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Looking for some help here. I am fixing up my house ready to move into - the house has an awesome cellar which comprises 3 rooms - one around 4.5m square, one 3x2 and another old coal store around 3x1. All are accessed via a hallway in the cellar which also has steps up to the ground floor of the house.
It isn't a true cellar really as the largest room has a well sealed UPVC door to the outside back garden, and the second room has a small window to the same elevation.
However it does feel and smell like a cellar! Musty, slightly damp in that it isn't dripping but cardboard items are going soft after a couple of weeks in there. I want to have my workshop down there.- I don't want to convert it like a normal room but wan to make sure it is dry and smell fresh.
Other details - there are airbricks serving the walls inside the cellar which ventilate the underfloor areas under the lounge. I have also installed a radiator down there to increase the temperature, this is connected to the main central heating of the house.
I've been looking at various ways to keep it dry and fresh. The radiator will help increase the heat but I want to remove the moisture. I have looked at dehumidifiers, heat recovery units etc but don't know what to go for.
A friend who is a very qualified yacht engineer said add heat (done!) and pull fresh air into the cellar with a simple bathroom fan. This will push the stale air out through the rest of the house and the existing vents/holes in the cellar. However I'm thinking this might just pull damp air in when it's damp outside - am I right? So I looked at a heat recovery fan - would that be a better bet?
And then I thought a dehumidifier would do the trick, but would dampness be pulled in as the air was dried and cancel the benefit out?
Any ventilation unit could be installed to work through an exterior stone wall.
As you can see i am confused!!
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Thanks, but I can't afford to have a company come in and install an expensive system. They seem to have mixed reviews anyway so I would steer clear!
I can fit anything myself so I don't need to pay anyone else to do it.
Get a dehumidifier in there - if it was summer you could use ventilation to
change/dry the area , but its winter and you will just make your house cold.
By using the dehumidifier you should be able to identify any damp/water ingress problems as the other parts should dry out.
I would suggest a dessicant dehumidifier as they are cheaper to run and work well when the temps are low + lighter and easy to move.
Try not to run it 24/7 - its too brutal for the fabric of the building ,
better to run it for 8 hours a day for a week - then see whats what with the
damp.
The dehumidifier is useful long term as you can run it periodically if you want to stop tools rusting etc.
change/dry the area , but its winter and you will just make your house cold.
Make sure it has a heater element or reciculation grille.
By using the dehumidifier you should be able to identify any damp/water ingress problems as the other parts should dry out.
This, find the source and address this.
Sounds a very similar set up to our cellar.
We went down the full proper conversion route getting it tanked etc, that is the only way you are really going to get it properly habitable
Air circulation is key, not just sticking a dehumidifier down there.
Air circulation is possible, either in or out, but not sure which way it should go.
Pumping air out of the cellar fear might pull dampness out of the walls which are underground.
Pushing air in makes sense to me, like one of those loft ventilation units, but pushing damp air in I would assume make things worse.
Looked as desiccant dehumidifiers - can get one for £120 ish locally.
Air circulation is key, not just sticking a dehumidifier down there.
Consider a dehumidifier as an interim rather than a solution - the space is either damp because its cold and therefore any humidity in the house is condensing there - or its damp because moisture is getting in or can't get out.
Having sorted heating then air movement/ventilation is your next step. But for a dehumidifier to work really you need to seal the room up - otherwise the machine is trying to dry out the whole environment, rather than the room.
So put your solutions in place - better heat, better ventilation. But then use a dehumidifier as a way of getting a head start... seal the room up as best you can so that you are drying the fabric of that room - the dry atmosphere the machine creates will pull moisture our of the walls/floor / furniture / damp contents of the cupboards etc. If the room is ventilated then more moist air will keep coming in instead. Once you've dried that all out then unless you've got a fundamental problem with moisture getting in heat and ventilation should keep the space dry.
However I'm thinking this might just pull damp air in when it's damp outside - am I right? So I looked at a heat recovery fan - would that be a better bet?
Location is an important aspect, there's no point replacing damp air with more damp air.
Is it condensation or damp that's causing the problem?
However it does feel and smell like a cellar! Musty, slightly damp in that it isn't dripping but cardboard items are going soft after a couple of weeks in there. I want to have my workshop down there.- I don't want to convert it like a normal room but wan to make sure it is dry and smell fresh.
If you're not going to use it as a 'normal' room don't keep 'normal things' in there - bare wood, fabric and carpet, upholstery, cardboard,books, paper etc - all big sponges for sucking up damp and holding it in the room. A workshop and the things you'd use in there will all be fine - they'll tolerate a bit of humidity and won't contribute to the problem
Sounds slightly cheap for a decent capacity machine at £120
I got a delonghi DNC65 dessicant dryer - second hand but they are available for
reassonable price ~170 new
The Dessicant machine will also act as a heater - as your friend said getting heat in there will help .
I think its a reasonable way to start tackling the problem without too much cost - depending on the source of moisture it could be all you need especially if that area never got much ventilation in the past - things like leaving the door open in the summer when you can will make a huge difference.
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However I'm thinking this might just pull damp air in when it's damp outside - am I right?
Sort of, but not really; if you pull in air at 7 degrees, 90% humidity but then warm it up to 18 degrees, the humidity falls to 45%. This is how the various heat exchanger fans work; the air leaving ends up cold and damp, but the air entering is warm(er) and dry.
We have a VentAxia single room heat exchanging fan in our utility room where we hang the washing if we can't dry it outside; it does a fantastic job compared with just opening the window like we used to, which just made the room really cold so the washing used to take ages to dry. It does the same thing as the Envirovent equivalent but was significantly cheaper, so in your situation I'd be tempted to try it.
I have seen those single room heat exchangers, they look ideal for my needs. Any more feedback on how much it works, where it's installed etc?