Running a dehumidifier continuously

[Josh Kalish]

All,

My basement is always a bit musty and I pretty much need to run the dehumidifier all the time. The problem is that I hate changing the tank.

I've seen some models that come with a hose that you can attach to your drain. We do happen to have a bathroom down there, but the hose from the humidifier to the bathroom would have to run for about 10 feet or so.

Is there any problem doing so? I would have the hose come into the drain pipe under the sink in a Y, like dishwashers' drain hoses do. Is there a better way to do this?

Thanks,

Josh

[Art]

You might consider using a condensate pump normally used for heating/ac systems below grade. About $50 at Home Depot.

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[ransley]

10ft is not a problem, it could just drain into the sink to make it easy, why pay to run a pump

[aemeijers]

Dehumidifier won't pump the drain water uphill. I have seen people build a shelf 4 feet off the floor, and set the dehumidifier on that, so it could drain into the laundry sink. Since my basement floor drains are non-functional (rusted collapsed lines), I've been looking for a solution myself.

aem sends...

[terry]

As long as it slopes towards the drain? So you may have to raise the dehumifidier up on something above drain height. Also will there be any chance of smells coming back up the drainage pipe? Because there will not an S trap etc. in the drainage pipe? AFIK Dishwashers 'pump' out their water? But also leave some water in the bottom of the machine which acts as a trap.

[Steve Barker LT]

I just sit mine next to the floor drain and don't even need a hose. Just let it drip out of where the hose would screw on.

s

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[Joseph Meehan]

"Josh Kalish" wrote in message news:47099a42$0$15367$ [e-mail]...

No problems as long as it slops down hill all the way. You can eve drain it into the sump pump sump. That will give the sump pump a little exercise.

[William.Deans]

Greetings Josh,

There is a better way than what you are considering. You are going to purchase a new humidifier because there is no hose attachment. Instead, take a drill and make a hole in the side of the tank. Stick your tube through the side and seal it with silicone.

If you don't feel confident making your own seal garden supply stores sell a special plastic part to make it for you (it is used in hydroponic systems). It comes in two halves that screw together with the tank in the middle. There is a rubber washer which makes the seal against the tank on both sides and a male projection that you plug your hose into on the outside of the tank.

Finally there is a $5 pump from harbor freight that you could stick down into the tank and run on a timer once per day for 10 minutes. This costs an extra $10 or so but you won't have to worry about a making a seal.

Hope this helps, William

[aemeijers]

Rueful chuckle. I'd love to. But my sump pit is just a 20 gallon oil drum sunk in the basement slab, with no pump and no exit holes. Bone dry, to boot. Also no good route to drain to, other than demolishing deck long enough to run a line to a deep drywell. Washer and condensate lines for HE furnace and softener run into the overcrowded collector pipe for the septic tank. Old collector for washer only connects to the non-functional floor drains. DHMHIKT. I can't even use the laundry sink- it just drains onto the floor. I keep meaning to buy one of those plastic boxes with a trash pump, and put that under the sink. I'd still have to replumb the collector for the septic, to add a funnel to the end so more hoses can fit in there. Maybe I could drain the washer into the box? Wash cycles take forever, with that extended drain hose to get to the septic collector.I'd use the sump pit for all this, but it is 15 feet away, which means annoying and cumbersome drain lines, or replumb everything down there to rationalize it. (Nobody planned this basement, it obviously just happened.)

[Mark]

Actually Dishwasher generally attach to the sink drain above the sink's trap so there should be minimal odor coming out of the DW from the drain. Attach the dehumidifier in the same manner and you would get the same (probably less since the water from the dehumidifier would basically be distilled water and contain no soil such as a DW would have.

[Josh Kalish]

Thanks all for the advice. Two inexpensive solutions as mentioned below would be either the condensate pump or adding a hose onto the tank. But, I'm not sure if I should get a new dehumidifier or not. Mine is really loud, which makes me think it must be very old and inefficient.

I don't know what brand it is, all I can find on the unit is a sticker saying "HB-60 Rev-L".

I'm not quite sure what to do.

Also, the way the basement is laid out we have a sump-pump that brings water up from the basement into the main sewer (since the basement is below the sewer line). Would it be an easy thing to just attach the dehumidifier (or the line from the condensate pump) into the pump tank? I can see the top of it but don't know how to go about it...

Thanks,

Josh