Dehumidifier

[millay]

Dear Plumbing Experts,
My basement has a lot of mold. Since I'm allergic to mold, I want to do everything possible to eliminate it. I do not have a drain or sink in the basement. I have been told that since the washing machine pump is tenuous at best, (the septic tank is old), I cannot attach a dehumidifier hose to it. Because of a physical problem, I cannot lug heavy dehumidifier buckets upstairs. Do you think I should have a drain installed in the basement floor? Do you think it's possible for me to put a sink in the basement? I don't even go down to the basement anymore because the mold aggravates my allergies so much. Thanks for your help!

[LazyPup]

A floor drain or sink can always be put in, the question is, would it be cost effective to do so?

The primary considering factor is what is the elevation at which your building “Main Drain” exits the structure. If the main drain exits at an elevation which is below the basement floor where you can achieve gravity flow it would not be a big problem to install a sink or floor drain. However, generally speaking if this was the case they would have installed a floor drain when they built the house.

If the main drain exits through the side wall at some point higher than the floor but lower than the bottom of a sink it might be possible to install a sink and still achieve gravity flow, but to install a floor drain it would require installing a vessel below the floor to collect the discharge from the floor drain and a pump to lift that discharge up to the main drain.

The plumbing code is very strict in regards to installing such a pump. It would require that you install an approved “Sewage Ejection Pump” which is in a sense a super sized sump pump in a sealed vessel. In order to meet all the code requirements a ‘Sewage Ejection” pump would typically cost about $3 to $5K which might seem practical if you were finishing the basement and adding a complete bathroom group, but it would be outrageous to expect you to install that type of equipment merely to drain the discharge from a dehumidifier. Fortunately there are other alternatives.

A floor drain, a sink or even a bathroom grouping in the basement would be classified as permanent plumbing fixtures therefore the code would require a permanent “Sewage Ejection Pump” to lift the discharge up to the gravity flow drain. On the other hand, a dehumidifier is classified as a portable appliance and we can use a non-permanent method to discharge the water from the dehumidifier unit.

Generally speaking, even though your basement may have an 8’ ceiling the actual basement itself is seldom more than about 6’ below grade. In this case it may be possible to install your dehumidifier on a high shelf or suspended from the ceiling where you could still achieve a gravity flow discharge line through the basement wall slightly above grade.

If that is not practical they make a small condensate pump tank with a pump and float control switch for Air Conditioning units. The line from your dehumidifier would discharge into the condensate tank, then as the tank fills the internal float switch would turn on a small pump and the water would be pumped out via a small 3/8” or ½” plastic hose through the foundation wall and discharge outside the structure. The condensate pumps are self contained plastic units that only require being set in place and plugged into a nearby 110v electrical outlet, then running the plastic line to the nearest wall and out through a small hole.

You can find the “Condensate Pumps” at any local HVAC supply house and they are relatively inexpensive and require no special skills to install.

Little Giant brand condensate pumps start at about $75 and go up depending upon the size of unit you select.

[millay]

Thank you so much!

Dear sir,

It was so kind of you to reply to my question in such detail! There are other sites on the web that charge for this advice. I would have written sooner, but I have been sick with pneumonia for quite some time. It is for health reasons that I must try to rid my basement of as much mold as possible. I cannot even go down there to do my laundry. Although I have consulted several plumbers and home repairmen, no one has ever been able to solve my dilemma.

[Robbie245]

A dehumidifier is going to help a lot and it can be set up to epmty the water automatically. A sump well and pump is a good fix to empty the water from a dehumidifier. If that's too expensive, call an HVAC contractor to have a CONDENSATE PUMP installed. It can pump the water from your dehumidifier outside. Look on Basement Dehumidifiers and other Dampness Remedies for some other good advice.

[tudor]

How about a bathroom exhaust fan? Am I missing something here?