Had to pick between a dehumidifier and a window AC for my basement last week - chose the dehumidifier and now my socks don't feel damp but I'm sweating to death down there, was that the wrong call for a space that gets musty opinions like 'just get both' when you're on a $200 budget?

The hot take I saw online said a dehumidifier fixes basement smell no matter what, but after three days of running this Frigidaire I think that person has never actually lived in a summer with 90% humidity has anyone else found that advice to be garbage?

3 comments

3 Comments

wood.uma8d ago

My buddy had the same problem and he ended up getting a used window unit off Facebook Marketplace for like 50 bucks, then just ran the dehumidifier on a timer during cooler hours. Turned out the AC actually pulled enough moisture out that the dehumidifier barely kicked on after the first week. Might be worth hunting for a deal on the AC and saving the dehumidifier for spring and fall when it's damp but not hot.

tessap738d ago

Ngl I think everyone's missing the real issue here which is that you're fighting two different problems at once and they're working against each other in your space. Honestly if you can drop like 15 bucks on a portable temperature and humidity meter you can actually figure out when the dehumidifier is making things worse by heating the room up too much. Tbh sometimes the best move is running the AC on a dehumidify setting overnight when it's cooler and letting the temp drop enough that the moisture level balances out naturally during the day.

val_ramirez8d ago

Did you try running the dehumidifier full blast with a fan pointed at you? I had a similar situation in my garage last year where I thought I was losing my mind because it felt like a swamp in there. My neighbor told me to just crack a window a little bit to let some of the hot air escape while the dehumidifier runs. It helped a little but honestly the real trick was putting a box fan on the floor to keep the air moving around since the dehumidifier just sits there pulling moisture but doesn't do anything about the temperature.