Humidity

You need to do several of the previously mentioned things,
1) Get a larger dehumidifier. They are rated by the quarts per day that they can theoretically remove. Mine is a 70qt and works well in a 1500sqft basement.
2) one fan on opposite side of the basement from dehumidifier aimed across the space to move the air. Low to medium speed is fine. Just slowly mixes the air and removes the dead spots.
3)Make sure the dehumidifier is piped into the sump and runs 24/7 at whatever setting you choose. I sat mine at 40%. When you first start, it is going to run day and night for several days to weeks but eventually, it will slow down when the dehumidifier gets caught up. You’re pulling humidity out of every object in the basement so it will take a while.
4) And if possible, Drylock the cement walls and floor to decrease the ingress of moisture from below the pad and the soil against the foundation.
Best of luck!
 
maha said:
not bad at all you are getting into the ball park. you are moderately high and if you get below 60 you are fine.

you do need to run the hose out side or in a sink. as the bucket thing will overflow and make a mess the first time you forget to empty it.
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Maha,
The dehumidifier shuts off once the storage tank is full.

Anyway, here we are about 3-4 hours later. I left the dehumidifier running and just now checked. Here is the result:

Humidity - 56%
 
great ive used them for years at a house i have and sooner or later the bucket system thing fails.

and you dont want it to shut off as it then takes way more time to get it back than it does to maintain the humidity.

you must have a sink or floor drain or something to put a hose to it or in it to drain it running full time.
 
straightline said:
Wouldn't waterlogged rubber go dead? I would think the cushions speeding up is a function of the cloth slide diminishing.
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Not really sure what constitutes rubber being 'waterlogged', but mere high atmospheric humidity speeds up the rails by firming them up as the water fills up the pores in aged cushions. The grip of the cloth wouldn't make a straight on hit rebound faster than usual, which is exactly what happens in the humid summers where I'm at. The rails, in Earl's words, get more 'boingy'.
 
WobblyStroke said:
Not really sure what constitutes rubber being 'waterlogged', but mere high atmospheric humidity speeds up the rails by firming them up as the water fills up the pores in aged cushions. The grip of the cloth wouldn't make a straight on hit rebound faster than usual, which is exactly what happens in the humid summers where I'm at. The rails, in Earl's words, get more 'boingy'.
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Yes it would and does. It's the sliding that causes the ball to die on the cushions. In wet conditions the ball is in the grips of everything it hits. It's hooked up to the cloth. When it hits a cushion it hooks up to the nose of the cushion and has proper topspin coming back out. It might even hop a little.
 
straightline said:
Yes it would and does. It's the sliding that causes the ball to die on the cushions. In wet conditions the ball is in the grips of everything it hits. It's hooked up to the cloth. When it hits a cushion it hooks up to the nose of the cushion and has proper topspin coming back out. It might even hop a little.
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I stand corrected.

But the cushions do firm up as pores fill. With regular humidity, pores fill and old cushions play faster...even with new slick cloth on em. As you get more excessive prolonged humidity, cushions will actually swell and the bounce gets reduced compared to normal. Then they deform from the inconsistent swelling. Then they die entirely.
 
WobblyStroke said:
I stand corrected.

But the cushions do firm up as pores fill. With regular humidity, pores fill and old cushions play faster...even with new slick cloth on em. As you get more excessive prolonged humidity, cushions will actually swell and the bounce gets reduced compared to normal. Then they deform from the inconsistent swelling. Then they die entirely.
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Must say cushion swelling is new to me. Take your word for it. One thing about the rubber. I have this image of rubber being waterproof so waterlogged cushions would never occur to me.
Also surprised you backed off. My contention is theoretical; the only explanation that makes sense to me.
 
straightline said:
Must say cushion swelling is new to me. Take your word for it. One thing about the rubber. I have this image of rubber being waterproof so waterlogged cushions would never occur to me.
Also surprised you backed off. My contention is theoretical; the only explanation that makes sense to me.
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I trust your theoretical insights. What you wrote makes perfect sense and Dr. Dave agrees with the cloth as primary factor. Not backing off would be asinine lol.

As for cushions swelling, you can google it. It's a thing, tho it would really have to be extreme/prolonged humidity to get past the initial filled pores firmer phase. Who knows, maybe the rubber pores theory was no more than an old wives tale like small tips/soft tips spin the ball more, which I picked up along the way from a room owner. But there is a grain of truth in it as swelling and eventual cushion death is def a thing.
 
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DrCue'sProtege said:
I got my thermometer/hygrometer earlier today at Lowes in Vincennes. I've had it downstairs near the table for nearly four hours now. And I've had the dehumidifier running for the same amount of time.

The result so far:

Humidity - currently reads 66%
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30%-60% is a good range. 66 is a tad high in some places but pretty good overall. here in tulsa it ranges from mid 40's winter to 70's+ summer.
 
I haven't checked it yet this morning. I'll do that momentarily.

And I did NOT leave the dehumidifier on all night. Don't like to leave things on overnight. Not since we had the fire here in the old house back in 2012 and my 94 year old dear old dad lost his life in it.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
I haven't checked it yet this morning. I'll do that momentarily.

And I did NOT leave the dehumidifier on all night. Don't like to leave things on overnight. Not since we had the fire here in the old house back in 2012 and my 94 year old dear old dad lost his life in it.
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you unplug everything every night? leaving a de-humid on won't hurt anything.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
No, not everything. Just things that I typically don't use. Such as a dehumidifier.
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I understand your hesitation to do so, but a dehumidifier is basically something like a refrigerator, freezer or microwave. They are an appliance that is meant to run on it's own built in moisture meter with minimal maintenance for years. It really does make a lot of difference using a hose and drain. I used to empty mine once or twice daily but in the morning it would always need dumped. My basement isn't wet by any means but letting it do it's thing rather than manually dumping it really made a difference on how the table plays.
 
I went downstairs about noon today and the humidity read 69%.

I've got the dehumidifier running now and it will run for the next several hours.

Hopefully it will be down in the 50% range before I can head to the table later today.
 
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