jillaine

Tink's Mom, my husband uses the dehumidifier water in the iron when ironing his clothes. (Yes, I'm married to a man who irons his own shirts!!!! woo hoo).

maryfrang

In Missouri we are going through some heavy rains. My sewing room in the basement have been really damp. I run a dehumidifier that helps, but I still have a musty smell. My daughter suggested I try white vinegar. It worked. I put several bowls with about 1 inch in them. Also the basement opens into the garage and I open the doors when I am down there. That really helps. Good luck

junipergal

I know it's not funny to you all in humid areas of the country - but - here in Colorado we have to humidify!! : )

ube quilting

Run that dehumidifier all the time. Try to keep the moisture level at 50%. The bigger problem is light. High humidity and low light is the combination you want to avoid at all costs. I keep lights on all the time in my walkout basement which has big windows too. It still gets that damp feel in summer and if I don't keep on top of the humidity level I will get musty smell. The cost of running the dehumidifier and lights is way less than the loss of the fabric stash from mildew.

My basement is finished but it was done before the practice of moisture barriers on the cement floor and walls. Cement and cinder block always moves moisture even though I have a dry basement.

Good luck.
peace

Air flow is another helpful tool. Keep the fans running in summer.

Marni

I keep a fan going 24/7- no musty smells at all

Snooze2978

My sewing room is in the basement and not a walk-out style. When it rains outside too much the water starts to seep up from the floor. This is an old house built in 1900 so back before they knew to add a water protective layer before the cement was poored. I painted the floors when I 1st moved in but since then the paint has progressively been peeling along with crumbling cement. I found a spray-on water sealer so when I get a spot that's showing signs of wetness, I dry it as best I can..........sometimes it takes days, then I spray the water sealer on the area. Seems to be working and its only in one area of the basement that this is happening................of course its the room with all the machines in it. I also have a dehumidifier on during the summer months. Right now the humidity is under 20% so now I have to add humidity so I don't get zapped when I touch my machines so I just fill a dishpan full of hot water in the sink nearby and that seems to do the trick. So far my fabrics have not shown signs of problems and I've even had a pipe break over one cabinet full of dress fabrics. Lost all my notebooks filled with projects but I call that lucky. Also had the quilt machine down at one end of the frame as otherwise it would have gotten wet.

Geri B

Before we moved here because I knew I'd be working in the basement...unfinished section, we had it checked for radon. It was higher than acceptable, so before we bought, the owner had to have radon protection installed. Have no problem with high humidity....but if I did, dehumidifier would work