Will dryer in slightly damp basement cause mold?
Blueredred
I am planning to put a washer/dryer hookup in an old stone-walled
and brick-floored cellar. The dryer will vent to outside, naturally.
But I will have to put the washer and dryer on a platform I think to
offer a level surface. Occasionally, the cellar has flooded about an 1 1/2
over 3/4 of the floor, including the area where i want to put the washer/dryer.
I hope to fix this problem, however, the possibility will still exist, and,
being an old cellar, the place may always have a bit of moisture in the air.
Will the humidity caused by the washer and dryer be of concern
or negligible in regards to mold?
Would it be best to raise the area of the washer and with cement walkway
stones, perhaps with sand between them and the brick floor where
leveling is needed?
Or should I just build a wood platform with treated
lumber placed right on the bricks? (This one seems easiest, but
I worried about what a great place the spaces created between
the joists underneath the platform might be for mice, crickets, mold, etc.)
And by the way, mold isn't obvious downthere right now, though I'm
sure it must exist in that environment. Is there some maintanence
measure I should take to keep mold down? Mist the walls and floors
with a bleach solution?
Thanks,
Jeff
Bluer...@aol.com
BERNIEL1
Try using a dehumidifier to remove some of the dampness and this should
help control the mildew problem
John Bunting
>Would it be best to raise the area of the washer and with cement walkway
>stones, perhaps with sand between them and the brick floor where
>leveling is needed?
>
>Or should I just build a wood platform with treated
>lumber placed right on the bricks? (This one seems easiest, but
>I worried about what a great place the spaces created between
>the joists underneath the platform might be for mice, crickets, mold, etc.)
>
>And by the way, mold isn't obvious downthere right now, though I'm
>sure it must exist in that environment. Is there some maintanence
>measure I should take to keep mold down? Mist the walls and floors
>with a bleach solution?
>
>Thanks,
>Jeff
>Bluer...@aol.com
In central Illinois, I run a dehumidifier in my unfinished basement.
My tools don't rust anymore and no mildew problems since doing that.
To avoid bending down to put clothes in/ remove clothes from the
dryer, I set 8x8x8 (half size concrete blocks) in a bed of
mortar(sp?). Then I put a piece of 2x8 on top spanning the blocks.
This levels the dryer and raises it 9.5 inches. Much easier on the
back! I didn't do this on the washer, because it is top-loading. I
would be a little leary of raising the washer like this, because they
tend to WALK from vibration more and might FALL OFF the blocks!
To email me, please remove nspam. My correct address is:
John Bunting bun...@bcl.net Quincy, IL
Blueredred
nspamb...@bcl.net (John Bunting) wrote:
I have to raise the washer as well because my
basement has an old brick floor that is uneven
and dirty. But very good point about the washer
walking! I'll remember to screw some strips
of wood around it to keep it within it's boundaries.
as far as a dehumidifier goes, where is the best
place to buy these? my cellar is about 15'x18'.
do i need a very big one, and how often
do I need to remember to empty the water?
jeff,
bluer...@aol.com
Michael Baugh
Got central A/C? If so, look at it as a big dehumidifier, and send air
in, get air out of the basement.
And make sure you are discharging to the outside with that dryer. When
the discharge pipe gets disconnected, the air that is being drawn in is
warm, moist air that has just been discharged. So it takes a lot longer
to dry clothes, and the motor is not being kept as cool as it would have
been, since it is being 'cooled' by warm, moist air.
danh...@millcomm.com
In <199806190355...@ladder03.news.aol.com>, bluer...@aol.com (Blueredred) writes:
>I am planning to put a washer/dryer hookup in an old stone-walled
>and brick-floored cellar. The dryer will vent to outside, naturally.
>But I will have to put the washer and dryer on a platform I think to
>offer a level surface. Occasionally, the cellar has flooded about an 1 1/2
>over 3/4 of the floor, including the area where i want to put the washer/dryer.
>I hope to fix this problem, however, the possibility will still exist, and,
>being an old cellar, the place may always have a bit of moisture in the air.
>
>Will the humidity caused by the washer and dryer be of concern
>or negligible in regards to mold?
No, a properly-maintained W/D should actually improve the humidity
situation, since the dryer will exhaust air to the outside, drawing more
air into the basement.
Make sure the platform you build is sufficiently anchored so that it won't
"walk" across the floor when the load is unbalanced.
Dan Hicks
Hey!! My advice is free -- take it for what it's worth!
http://www.millcomm.com/~danhicks