June 23, 2025 • 14 mins
Ready to tackle the critical but often overlooked step in crawl space renovation? In week three of our Crawl Space Repair Challenge, we're diving deep into the proper installation of dehumidifiers and condensate pumps—essential components for creating a dry, healthy environment beneath your home.
Moisture control is the cornerstone of crawl space remediation, and this comprehensive guide walks you through everything from selecting the right commercial-grade equipment to determining optimal placement for maximum efficiency. I'm sharing professional insights on humidity targets (aim for 45-55%), wood moisture levels (9-15% is ideal), and how to interpret often misleading dehumidifier specifications. You'll discover why you can't actually "oversize" a dehumidifier and how larger units can save you money through improved efficiency.
For homeowners with larger or compartmentalized crawl spaces, I explain effective air circulation strategies using supplemental fans. We also explore various water discharge options suitable for different climate conditions, from simple exterior drainage to specialized dry wells below the frost line. Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just want to understand what professionals should be doing in your crawl space, this episode provides the knowledge you need to make informed decisions about moisture control.
Check out Michael's book, "Crawl Space Repair Myths-Busted" now available on Amazon!
Schedule a consultation: https://buymeacoffee.com/csninja/extras
Need help: https://crawlspaceninja.com or https://diy.crawlspaceninja.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 0 (00:00):
Hey there, michael Church, crawl Space Ninja.
I want to welcome you to weekthree of our Crawl Space Repair
Challenge.
This is installing adehumidifier and a condensate
pump.
Got some great information toshare with you, so let's get
started.
What we're going to cover inthis video is we're going to
talk about the tools needed toinstall a dehumidifier and a
(00:20):
condensate pump.
Where to get those tools anditems, why this should be part
of the phase one process ofencapsulating your crawl space.
What is the best humiditysetting for the dehumidifier and
why can you oversize adehumidifier.
The best placement for maximumefficiency of that dehumidifier,
(00:40):
moving air in large and brokenup areas to assist in the
dehumidification process.
Some water discharge tips andas well as cold climate
considerations.
Items you're going to need andI've got links in the
description down below of thisvideo if you want to check these
out.
You're going to need adehumidifier.
We always recommend you get acommercial grade dehumidifier
(01:00):
that's designed for crawl spacesor harsh environments.
You may need a ducting kit anda fan, which we'll go into later
.
You're going to need blocks toput the dehumidifier on or at
least a hang kit.
Hang kits normally will beinstalled from the subfloor and
gets it off the floor, which isa nice feature, but sometimes
can be a little rattly in thesubfloor, so be mindful of that.
(01:23):
You're going to need some peagravel and a condensate pump.
We always recommend you use acondensate pump with a crawl
space dehumidifier, becausechances are it is the lowest
part of the house, unless you'rein a cold climate situation,
which we will talk about later.
You're going to need some nylonhose, barbs, some materials for
a dry well to put thecondensate outside the crawl
space and some concrete sealantand more.
(01:44):
Some of the tools, simple tools.
You're going to need drills,screwdriver, utility knife,
hacksaw, pipe cutter, a level tomake sure that dehumidifier and
condensate pump are level.
You're also going to need arotary hammer to get through
that block wall to run thatdischarge line, and a caulk gun
to fill in parts where youdrilled through your block wall
or your foundation wall.
You're going to need awheelbarrow, a shovel and a sled
(02:06):
, and also electrical.
If you don't have an outletdown there to run the
dehumidifier, you're going toneed to install that as well.
So why make this part of thephase one?
As you can see in this pictureright here, we got a lot of mold
present.
We got stalactiting of theinsulation.
All that is a sign of a seriousmoisture problem.
You should have already, by thetime you get to installing the
(02:27):
dehu, removed the insulation andsealed the vents.
Remember, part of the phase oneis to dry the crawl space and
there are different steps thatgo into the phase one, which is
removing the insulation, sealingthe vents and installing this
dehumidifier and condensate pump.
And you may want to make sureyou have plastic down on the
(02:47):
ground, even if it's just theold loose lay vapor barrier that
came with the house.
If you pull that outprematurely then the
dehumidifier is going to try todry the ground as well as the
wood.
We want to get that woodmoisture level low.
We want to get the humidity inthe crawl space low.
This is why you should makethis part of the phase one
process.
I want to mention, if youhaven't already checked out week
(03:08):
one and week two of this crawlspace repair challenge, then I
recommend you do that Also.
Let me know down in thecomments if you have watched
those other videos.
I'd love to hear from you andwhat you're thinking of this
series so far.
So what is the best humidity andwood moisture level of the
crawl space.
Well, basically, the ASHRAEfolks came up with this chart
(03:30):
many years ago and it shows ifyour house is too dry, if it's
too moist.
It gives you some indicationsof what can happen in those
scenarios and we can see that atoo dry house can have high
levels of bacteria, viruses,respiratory infections, allergic
rhinitis, asthma and ozoneproductions.
When a house that is too moistcan grow different types of
(03:52):
bacteria and viruses.
It can grow mold or what theycall fungi.
Huge dust mite populations growin moist houses and you can
still have asthma, allergicrhinitis and chemical
interactions.
Which is interesting, that's alot of the off-gassings of the
VOCs from your building suppliescan be seen in too moist of an
(04:12):
environment.
What we say at Crawl Space Ninjais the best humidity level.
Not the perfect humidity level,but the best humidity level is
between 45% and 55%.
So when you install thatdehumidifier in your crawl space
, I'm going to recommend you setit at a set point of 50 percent
.
That way it will keep that 45and 55 percent range, which we
(04:33):
feel is optimal, as well as dryout the wood.
Depending on the types of woodyou're looking at, you may go
between a 9 to 15 percentmoisture level of the wood,
typically your hard oaks will belower, your pines will be a
little higher.
So 9 to 15% moisture level ofthe wood Typically your hard
oaks will be lower, your pineswill be a little higher.
So 9 to 15% tends to be areally good level.
But if you keep that humiditysetting at 50%, it will reach
(04:55):
equilibrium in the wood and keepthe wood dry.
Plus, if you get a plumbingleak from above, it will start
to dry out that wood as it'sleaking and keep it from
spreading all across thesubfloor.
Is it possible to oversize adehumidifier?
According to the dehumidifiermanufacturers I've spoken to, it
is not possible to oversize adehumidifier because if you set
(05:17):
it on 50%, once it reaches thatlevel it's going to turn off.
Now why is this an advantage?
A larger dehumidifier not onlycovers more area but will dry
the area quicker and moreefficiently.
That way it gets to that setpoint faster.
The quicker it gets to that setpoint, the more efficient the
dehumidifier is, which meansit's using less energy to get to
(05:39):
that level and it's going tosave you money over time.
And of course, a largerdehumidifier capacity will cover
more square footage.
If you've got a 1500 squarefoot crawl space and a 1500
square foot living space, then alarger dehumidifier will help
keep both of those spaces drythrough the stack effect.
The other thing is isdehumidifier will help keep both
of those spaces dry through thestack effect?
The other thing is isdehumidifier sizing from the
(06:01):
manufacturers typically is basedon an eight foot ceiling.
So, for example, an AprilaireE70 currently is rated at 2,200
square feet, which is based onan eight foot ceiling.
Technically, you could get morecapacity out of that
dehumidifier if you put it in athree foot crawl space, so it
could do a larger square footage.
(06:22):
As long as that crawl space isnot broken up and has plenty of
air movement, you might be ableto do a 25, 2,800 square foot
crawl space with thatdehumidifier.
So let's talk about pints perday and claims that are made by
dehumidifiers.
As I mentioned before, theAprilaire E70 is a 70-pint
dehumidifier.
Well, you need to be mindful ifyou are buying dehumidifiers on
(06:45):
internet stores that the claimscan be misleading in the
headlines.
This is one example that Ipulled off of an online store
and it says that it covers120-pint of crawl space
dehumidifier.
It's very energy efficient.
It's giving you all the salesfeatures, but whenever you read
down in the small print, itactually says removes 55 pints
(07:07):
per day at AHAM rating and 120pints per day at saturation.
That is a misleading claim.
If you're comparing thisdehumidifier to the E70, which
is labeled as 70 pints per dayat AHAM, if we wanted to go the
saturation level technically,the E70 could do 150, 160 pints
(07:29):
per day.
So why is that significant?
Well, let's talk about what AHAMand all these ratings are.
There are basically threedifferent types of ratings that
I'm going to share with you.
There's the AHAM, the DOE andthe saturation.
So AHAM is from the Associationof Home Appliance Manufacturers
and it rates dehumidifiersbased on a test parameter of 80
degrees Fahrenheit and 60percent relative humidity.
(07:52):
The Department of Energy rating, the DOE rating, rates a
dehumidifier based on a testparameter of 65 degree and 60%
relative humidity.
Let's talk about those twodifferences.
80 degrees and 60% relativehumidity has more moisture in it
, more grains per pound ofmoisture in a pound of air than
(08:14):
65 degrees and 60% relativehumidity will hold.
So, for example, there's morewater to pull out of the air at
80 degrees than there is at 65degrees.
So let's talk about thatsaturation rating mentioned in
the previous slide, with thedehumidifier that said 120 pints
per day If it's rated at asaturation level.
(08:35):
According to AHAM, saturationlevel is 90% relative humidity
and 90 degrees, which meansthere is a ton of water in the
air to pull from, which is whyany dehumidifier that is in an
environment that's 90% humidityand 90 degrees will pull more
air.
But according to the AHAM folks, most dehumidifiers will never
(08:58):
face these conditions.
This testing aims to determinethe maximum amount of moisture
that can be removed from the air.
So if you're buying adehumidifier on an online store
that is trying to mislead youbecause it pulls 120 pints per
day saturation level, there's areally good chance your home
will never be at that saturationlevel that it's claiming.
So it your home will never beat that saturation level that
it's claiming, so it's morelikely going to only pull 55
(09:21):
pints per day AHAM rating.
So now let's cover bestplacement for the dehumidifier.
As you can see right here,we've got the dehumidifier set
sort of close to the foundationwall, and the reason why we do
that is because we want to putit in a place that's convenient
for you to get to, becausedehumidifiers do require
maintenance, and if you put itway over on the other side of
the crawl space and you got tocrawl under a bunch of ducks or
(09:42):
go through different ways to getthere, you're going to not want
to go down there andmaintenance it, and it should be
maintenance about every sixmonths.
What you want to do is you wantto put the dehumidifier in a
spot that's fairly easy to getto and then blow the dry air
towards the open space or thelarger area of the crawl space.
That is one of the best ways toensure you're maximizing its
(10:04):
drying capability for placement.
Now let's talk about moving airto assist with drying.
Basically, there's two schoolsof thought here that I want to
share with you.
There is moving internal air ofthe crawl space, and then there
is moving air from the crawlspace to outside the crawl space
through exhaust fans.
So what I'm going to mentionhere is using this whisper fan
(10:26):
on the bottom left side tocirculate air through the crawl
space.
This is great if you have areally large crawl space or a
broken up crawl space, forexample, if you got foundation
walls or your home was built insections.
Let's say it was built in 1960and then you had a couple of
add-ons.
Well, chances are you've gotbroken up crawl spaces down
there and it would be nice tohave some type of fan
(10:48):
circulating that dry air allthroughout the crawl space.
So I wanna take the dry air soI would install this fan near
the dehumidifier and then blowthe air to the furthest reaches
of the crawl space where the wetair is, so that way it'll begin
to dry it out.
So the whole point ofventilating the air throughout
the crawl space is to keep thehumidity levels, even in those
(11:10):
larger crawl spaces.
If you have a small crawl spaceprobably less than 1,000, 1,500
square feet you may not need toventilate.
But if you got a large crawlspace 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 square
feet adding fans to ventilatewould be a good idea.
And of course, exhaust fans,which we're going to cover later
in this series, are designed toremove soil gases, not
necessarily to ventilate crawlspaces, but you can use them to
(11:32):
help move air or dry air as well.
And one last thing I want tomention we do have a new whisper
fan available on our DIY store.
Here's some of the specs on itVery quiet, smooth operation,
used in bathrooms, basements andattics as well.
It's got a five-year warranty,135 cubic feet per minute, it's
got a four-inch intake andoutput and it's energy star
rating.
The funny thing about this fanis you can take it apart and
(11:53):
leave all of the collars hookedup.
If you get a chance, check outthis fan.
If it goes bad.
You don't have to unhook all ofyour ducting.
You just take out the centerpart and get that repaired and
then hook it right back up.
It's a really, really cool fanthat we're listing on our DIY
store.
Okay, so where do you dischargethat water?
I recommend you put it outsideif you can.
If you got a sump pump locatedin the crawl space, you can
(12:14):
discharge that condensation fromthe dehu right into that sump
pump and let it take it out.
If you don't have a sump pumpjust like this gentleman here
has these downspout extensionsyou can drill through the
foundation wall.
You can plug that condensateline right into that downspout
extension if you want to, that'san easy way to do it.
If you want to, that's an easyway to do it.
(12:35):
Or you can build what's calleda dry well on the far right.
That's a cool dry well rightthere.
So we would typically perforatethat dry well.
They come pre-made.
Nds, for example, makes these.
You can get these all over theplace.
I'll put a link to one downbelow.
You can run that sump pump lineor that discharge line into that
dry well and cover it withgravel and fill the dirt on top
of it so that way you never haveto worry about the condensation
(12:56):
.
That would work in a cold orwarm climate.
If you got a frost line thatyou're dealing with, you put
that dry well down below thefrost line.
If you don't want to do that,some of our homeowners up in
those Minnesota, wisconsin,canada climates, I have heard of
them doing a dry well under theplastic of the crawl space
itself.
I'm not a big fan of that.
I'd rather you do the dry wellon the right.
(13:17):
But if you're limited ongetting the moisture out of the
crawl space, then I would dosomething like this inside the
crawl space.
That way you could drain thatwater and get it out of the
crawl space.
Here are some recommended videosI encourage you to check out
that are in line with this topic.
We've got our six places toinstall a dehumidifier.
Did you know there's probablysix places in your house?
You need to control humidity.
(13:37):
You got discharge line set up.
I got a video about that and wealso got dehus and
multi-section crawlspaces.
That would be one of thosecrawlspaces that have a broken
up foundation or add-ons orthings like that.
If you get a chance to checkout these videos, I highly
recommend it.
Again, thanks for watching thisvideo.
If you haven't checked out mybook, crawl Space Repair
Misbusted it's on Amazoncom.
(13:58):
If you want to get that book, Ihope you like and subscribe to
our channel and please commentbelow what you think about this
series.
Is this helpful to you all?
And if you'd like to do aone-on-one consultation with me?
We've also got some otherthings like an autographed copy
of our book and different thingson the Buy Me A Coffee page.
I've got that in thedescription down below, but it's
real easy BuyMeACoffeecom.
(14:19):
Forward.
Slash CSNinja.
I am Michael Church with CrawlSpace Ninja.
I hope you make it a happy andblessed day and I'll see you
later.
Hey there, michael Church, crawl Space Ninja.
I want to welcome you to weekthree of our Crawl Space Repair
Challenge.
This is installing adehumidifier and a condensate
pump.
Got some great information toshare with you, so let's get
started.
What we're going to cover inthis video is we're going to
talk about the tools needed toinstall a dehumidifier and a
(00:20):
condensate pump.
Where to get those tools anditems, why this should be part
of the phase one process ofencapsulating your crawl space.
What is the best humiditysetting for the dehumidifier and
why can you oversize adehumidifier.
The best placement for maximumefficiency of that dehumidifier,
(00:40):
moving air in large and brokenup areas to assist in the
dehumidification process.
Some water discharge tips andas well as cold climate
considerations.
Items you're going to need andI've got links in the
description down below of thisvideo if you want to check these
out.
You're going to need adehumidifier.
We always recommend you get acommercial grade dehumidifier
(01:00):
that's designed for crawl spacesor harsh environments.
You may need a ducting kit anda fan, which we'll go into later
.
You're going to need blocks toput the dehumidifier on or at
least a hang kit.
Hang kits normally will beinstalled from the subfloor and
gets it off the floor, which isa nice feature, but sometimes
can be a little rattly in thesubfloor, so be mindful of that.
(01:23):
You're going to need some peagravel and a condensate pump.
We always recommend you use acondensate pump with a crawl
space dehumidifier, becausechances are it is the lowest
part of the house, unless you'rein a cold climate situation,
which we will talk about later.
You're going to need some nylonhose, barbs, some materials for
a dry well to put thecondensate outside the crawl
space and some concrete sealantand more.
(01:44):
Some of the tools, simple tools.
You're going to need drills,screwdriver, utility knife,
hacksaw, pipe cutter, a level tomake sure that dehumidifier and
condensate pump are level.
You're also going to need arotary hammer to get through
that block wall to run thatdischarge line, and a caulk gun
to fill in parts where youdrilled through your block wall
or your foundation wall.
You're going to need awheelbarrow, a shovel and a sled
(02:06):
, and also electrical.
If you don't have an outletdown there to run the
dehumidifier, you're going toneed to install that as well.
So why make this part of thephase one?
As you can see in this pictureright here, we got a lot of mold
present.
We got stalactiting of theinsulation.
All that is a sign of a seriousmoisture problem.
You should have already, by thetime you get to installing the
(02:27):
dehu, removed the insulation andsealed the vents.
Remember, part of the phase oneis to dry the crawl space and
there are different steps thatgo into the phase one, which is
removing the insulation, sealingthe vents and installing this
dehumidifier and condensate pump.
And you may want to make sureyou have plastic down on the
(02:47):
ground, even if it's just theold loose lay vapor barrier that
came with the house.
If you pull that outprematurely then the
dehumidifier is going to try todry the ground as well as the
wood.
We want to get that woodmoisture level low.
We want to get the humidity inthe crawl space low.
This is why you should makethis part of the phase one
process.
I want to mention, if youhaven't already checked out week
(03:08):
one and week two of this crawlspace repair challenge, then I
recommend you do that Also.
Let me know down in thecomments if you have watched
those other videos.
I'd love to hear from you andwhat you're thinking of this
series so far.
So what is the best humidity andwood moisture level of the
crawl space.
Well, basically, the ASHRAEfolks came up with this chart
(03:30):
many years ago and it shows ifyour house is too dry, if it's
too moist.
It gives you some indicationsof what can happen in those
scenarios and we can see that atoo dry house can have high
levels of bacteria, viruses,respiratory infections, allergic
rhinitis, asthma and ozoneproductions.
When a house that is too moistcan grow different types of
(03:52):
bacteria and viruses.
It can grow mold or what theycall fungi.
Huge dust mite populations growin moist houses and you can
still have asthma, allergicrhinitis and chemical
interactions.
Which is interesting, that's alot of the off-gassings of the
VOCs from your building suppliescan be seen in too moist of an
(04:12):
environment.
What we say at Crawl Space Ninjais the best humidity level.
Not the perfect humidity level,but the best humidity level is
between 45% and 55%.
So when you install thatdehumidifier in your crawl space
, I'm going to recommend you setit at a set point of 50 percent
.
That way it will keep that 45and 55 percent range, which we
(04:33):
feel is optimal, as well as dryout the wood.
Depending on the types of woodyou're looking at, you may go
between a 9 to 15 percentmoisture level of the wood,
typically your hard oaks will belower, your pines will be a
little higher.
So 9 to 15% moisture level ofthe wood Typically your hard
oaks will be lower, your pineswill be a little higher.
So 9 to 15% tends to be areally good level.
But if you keep that humiditysetting at 50%, it will reach
(04:55):
equilibrium in the wood and keepthe wood dry.
Plus, if you get a plumbingleak from above, it will start
to dry out that wood as it'sleaking and keep it from
spreading all across thesubfloor.
Is it possible to oversize adehumidifier?
According to the dehumidifiermanufacturers I've spoken to, it
is not possible to oversize adehumidifier because if you set
(05:17):
it on 50%, once it reaches thatlevel it's going to turn off.
Now why is this an advantage?
A larger dehumidifier not onlycovers more area but will dry
the area quicker and moreefficiently.
That way it gets to that setpoint faster.
The quicker it gets to that setpoint, the more efficient the
dehumidifier is, which meansit's using less energy to get to
(05:39):
that level and it's going tosave you money over time.
And of course, a largerdehumidifier capacity will cover
more square footage.
If you've got a 1500 squarefoot crawl space and a 1500
square foot living space, then alarger dehumidifier will help
keep both of those spaces drythrough the stack effect.
The other thing is isdehumidifier will help keep both
of those spaces dry through thestack effect?
The other thing is isdehumidifier sizing from the
(06:01):
manufacturers typically is basedon an eight foot ceiling.
So, for example, an AprilaireE70 currently is rated at 2,200
square feet, which is based onan eight foot ceiling.
Technically, you could get morecapacity out of that
dehumidifier if you put it in athree foot crawl space, so it
could do a larger square footage.
(06:22):
As long as that crawl space isnot broken up and has plenty of
air movement, you might be ableto do a 25, 2,800 square foot
crawl space with thatdehumidifier.
So let's talk about pints perday and claims that are made by
dehumidifiers.
As I mentioned before, theAprilaire E70 is a 70-pint
dehumidifier.
Well, you need to be mindful ifyou are buying dehumidifiers on
(06:45):
internet stores that the claimscan be misleading in the
headlines.
This is one example that Ipulled off of an online store
and it says that it covers120-pint of crawl space
dehumidifier.
It's very energy efficient.
It's giving you all the salesfeatures, but whenever you read
down in the small print, itactually says removes 55 pints
(07:07):
per day at AHAM rating and 120pints per day at saturation.
That is a misleading claim.
If you're comparing thisdehumidifier to the E70, which
is labeled as 70 pints per dayat AHAM, if we wanted to go the
saturation level technically,the E70 could do 150, 160 pints
(07:29):
per day.
So why is that significant?
Well, let's talk about what AHAMand all these ratings are.
There are basically threedifferent types of ratings that
I'm going to share with you.
There's the AHAM, the DOE andthe saturation.
So AHAM is from the Associationof Home Appliance Manufacturers
and it rates dehumidifiersbased on a test parameter of 80
degrees Fahrenheit and 60percent relative humidity.
(07:52):
The Department of Energy rating, the DOE rating, rates a
dehumidifier based on a testparameter of 65 degree and 60%
relative humidity.
Let's talk about those twodifferences.
80 degrees and 60% relativehumidity has more moisture in it
, more grains per pound ofmoisture in a pound of air than
(08:14):
65 degrees and 60% relativehumidity will hold.
So, for example, there's morewater to pull out of the air at
80 degrees than there is at 65degrees.
So let's talk about thatsaturation rating mentioned in
the previous slide, with thedehumidifier that said 120 pints
per day If it's rated at asaturation level.
(08:35):
According to AHAM, saturationlevel is 90% relative humidity
and 90 degrees, which meansthere is a ton of water in the
air to pull from, which is whyany dehumidifier that is in an
environment that's 90% humidityand 90 degrees will pull more
air.
But according to the AHAM folks, most dehumidifiers will never
(08:58):
face these conditions.
This testing aims to determinethe maximum amount of moisture
that can be removed from the air.
So if you're buying adehumidifier on an online store
that is trying to mislead youbecause it pulls 120 pints per
day saturation level, there's areally good chance your home
will never be at that saturationlevel that it's claiming.
So it your home will never beat that saturation level that
it's claiming, so it's morelikely going to only pull 55
(09:21):
pints per day AHAM rating.
So now let's cover bestplacement for the dehumidifier.
As you can see right here,we've got the dehumidifier set
sort of close to the foundationwall, and the reason why we do
that is because we want to putit in a place that's convenient
for you to get to, becausedehumidifiers do require
maintenance, and if you put itway over on the other side of
the crawl space and you got tocrawl under a bunch of ducks or
(09:42):
go through different ways to getthere, you're going to not want
to go down there andmaintenance it, and it should be
maintenance about every sixmonths.
What you want to do is you wantto put the dehumidifier in a
spot that's fairly easy to getto and then blow the dry air
towards the open space or thelarger area of the crawl space.
That is one of the best ways toensure you're maximizing its
(10:04):
drying capability for placement.
Now let's talk about moving airto assist with drying.
Basically, there's two schoolsof thought here that I want to
share with you.
There is moving internal air ofthe crawl space, and then there
is moving air from the crawlspace to outside the crawl space
through exhaust fans.
So what I'm going to mentionhere is using this whisper fan
(10:26):
on the bottom left side tocirculate air through the crawl
space.
This is great if you have areally large crawl space or a
broken up crawl space, forexample, if you got foundation
walls or your home was built insections.
Let's say it was built in 1960and then you had a couple of
add-ons.
Well, chances are you've gotbroken up crawl spaces down
there and it would be nice tohave some type of fan
(10:48):
circulating that dry air allthroughout the crawl space.
So I wanna take the dry air soI would install this fan near
the dehumidifier and then blowthe air to the furthest reaches
of the crawl space where the wetair is, so that way it'll begin
to dry it out.
So the whole point ofventilating the air throughout
the crawl space is to keep thehumidity levels, even in those
(11:10):
larger crawl spaces.
If you have a small crawl spaceprobably less than 1,000, 1,500
square feet you may not need toventilate.
But if you got a large crawlspace 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 square
feet adding fans to ventilatewould be a good idea.
And of course, exhaust fans,which we're going to cover later
in this series, are designed toremove soil gases, not
necessarily to ventilate crawlspaces, but you can use them to
(11:32):
help move air or dry air as well.
And one last thing I want tomention we do have a new whisper
fan available on our DIY store.
Here's some of the specs on itVery quiet, smooth operation,
used in bathrooms, basements andattics as well.
It's got a five-year warranty,135 cubic feet per minute, it's
got a four-inch intake andoutput and it's energy star
rating.
The funny thing about this fanis you can take it apart and
(11:53):
leave all of the collars hookedup.
If you get a chance, check outthis fan.
If it goes bad.
You don't have to unhook all ofyour ducting.
You just take out the centerpart and get that repaired and
then hook it right back up.
It's a really, really cool fanthat we're listing on our DIY
store.
Okay, so where do you dischargethat water?
I recommend you put it outsideif you can.
If you got a sump pump locatedin the crawl space, you can
(12:14):
discharge that condensation fromthe dehu right into that sump
pump and let it take it out.
If you don't have a sump pumpjust like this gentleman here
has these downspout extensionsyou can drill through the
foundation wall.
You can plug that condensateline right into that downspout
extension if you want to, that'san easy way to do it.
If you want to, that's an easyway to do it.
(12:35):
Or you can build what's calleda dry well on the far right.
That's a cool dry well rightthere.
So we would typically perforatethat dry well.
They come pre-made.
Nds, for example, makes these.
You can get these all over theplace.
I'll put a link to one downbelow.
You can run that sump pump lineor that discharge line into that
dry well and cover it withgravel and fill the dirt on top
of it so that way you never haveto worry about the condensation
(12:56):
.
That would work in a cold orwarm climate.
If you got a frost line thatyou're dealing with, you put
that dry well down below thefrost line.
If you don't want to do that,some of our homeowners up in
those Minnesota, wisconsin,canada climates, I have heard of
them doing a dry well under theplastic of the crawl space
itself.
I'm not a big fan of that.
I'd rather you do the dry wellon the right.
(13:17):
But if you're limited ongetting the moisture out of the
crawl space, then I would dosomething like this inside the
crawl space.
That way you could drain thatwater and get it out of the
crawl space.
Here are some recommended videosI encourage you to check out
that are in line with this topic.
We've got our six places toinstall a dehumidifier.
Did you know there's probablysix places in your house?
You need to control humidity.
(13:37):
You got discharge line set up.
I got a video about that and wealso got dehus and
multi-section crawlspaces.
That would be one of thosecrawlspaces that have a broken
up foundation or add-ons orthings like that.
If you get a chance to checkout these videos, I highly
recommend it.
Again, thanks for watching thisvideo.
If you haven't checked out mybook, crawl Space Repair
Misbusted it's on Amazoncom.
(13:58):
If you want to get that book, Ihope you like and subscribe to
our channel and please commentbelow what you think about this
series.
Is this helpful to you all?
And if you'd like to do aone-on-one consultation with me?
We've also got some otherthings like an autographed copy
of our book and different thingson the Buy Me A Coffee page.
I've got that in thedescription down below, but it's
real easy BuyMeACoffeecom.
(14:19):
Forward.
Slash CSNinja.
I am Michael Church with CrawlSpace Ninja.
I hope you make it a happy andblessed day and I'll see you
later.
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