Dehumidifier and Sump Pump

[Benign Vanilla]

Our sump pump is in the basement laundry room. There is always just a little bit of water in it. We also keep a dehumidifier in the basement. It doesn't get wet down there, but in the summer you can smell the moisture. Right now the dehumidifier is in the kids playroom, where I have to empty it from time to time. I was thinking of putting the unit in the laundry room, and just letting the output run to the sump, which when there is enough water, the sump will send it out of the house.

My concern is this, if I place the dehumidifier in that room, will it simply be sucking the moisture from the air due to the sump being there and sit in a viscious circle, or will it still dehumidify the whole basement?

BV.

[m Ransley]

It will dehumidify the basement, covers are also sold for sumps

[Joe Bobst]

Not likely. Laws of physics apply here. Evaporative area of the sump is only about 3 square feet or so. Moisture transmitted through walls and floors is probably much larger. For a 1200 square foot basement, you'd have about 2000 square feet of evaporative area. A civil engineer could weigh in here and give figures for possible moisture transmission through various foundation materials, but if your sump has a cover like most do, you would have to have its water boiling to equal the floor and wall contribution. HTH

Joe

[John Hines]

It works fine. The dehumidifier generates enough water, that the pump goes off enough.

As others have pointed out, the sump pit can be covered. It doesn't need to be sealed real tight.

As to room vs whole basement, that depends on the air circulation between them. Is the door open? Louvered? etc.

[Bob_M]

FWIW - we did just the same thing for years and years. We sat our dehumidifier so that the drain hole was positioned over the corner of the sump and it would simply drip into there. We ran it 24 hrs for years and it did a respecible job of keeping the basement's air dry. It did NOT create just a vicious circle as you state.

B

[Benign Vanilla]

Thanks.