Humidity

[gradejunky]

The problem with dehumidifiers is the heat they generate. I live in Florida and own a nice unit, but I only run it when necessary to keep the humidity below 60%. I have seen no real negative effects from constant storage at 55% to 60% relative humidity. Also, don't forget that mylar bags are like 90% more resistant to moisture penatration than normal bags. I keep some of my books in them and the staples always stay nice.

 

My worst problem with temp/humidity adversly affecting staples was when I lived in NH. Having window A/C units in the place I stayed were not ample enough to keep the humidity and temp down even with a dehumidifier running constantly. I had many books develop slight discoloration on the staples from that situation. Even so, some of those same books I've had graded by CGC with slight staple tarnishing, and they still came back 9.8's.

 

Those DampRid units are definitely more ideal for Fl living as they don't produce heat. I have one that I need to get refills for and put in my comic room. 2 or 3 of those is better than running a unit constantly and having to crank the A/C to compensate for the heat coming off the unit. 'Nuff said....

[loadstone]

So I've decided to give a dehumidifier a try. I encountered a bit of higher-than-normal relative humidity in my man cave (600 sqft) recently due to the heat wave we've been experiencing. My digital humidity gauge reported 66% relative humidity. Even my 2 damprid buckets got full but weren't making much of a dent. So as I take my collection seriously I felt a couple $$$ was a worthy investment to protect my comics. After a day of reading online reviews I settled on a GE 70 pint dehumidifier from my local home depot and set it to work.

GE 70-pint dehumidifier

 

It has a few neat features:

1. bucket full auto shut-off

2. Desired humidity level is reached

3. Digital display for detected relative humidity

4. bucket-full warning light

5. Drain hose connection feature (hose sold separately) for continuous running.

6. 3 settings: high/med/low, however, when I ran it on low, it (intelligently) decided that would take forever and auto cranked itself up to medium/high.

 

Drawbacks/FYI:

1. May have to be run constantly as the humidity will likely return in a few hours to the previous levels

2. pumps out warmer air so it may require you to run your AC more or at a lower temp

3. Hoping I don't die of shock when I see my electric bill.

4. keep room door closed to maintain/speed up dehimidification as it'll try to dehumidify the whole house if you leave it open.

5. Noisy so you have to shut it off if you want to listen to any music or enjoy TV.

6. Humidity LED reads only in 5% increments

 

One of my concerns with this unit is that like most dehumidifiers, it'll probably break down within a month or 2 of the 1 year warranty expiring so I may go back to home depot (within 30 days) and purchase the 2-3 year extended warranty as I see needing to run it constantly.

 

After 6 hours of continuous running it stopped by itself registering bucket full reading 60% humidity. My humidity gauge read a decent 57% humidity. I was amazed to see the bucket so full having sucked so much water from the air in such a short time. I emptied it and ran it again over night and again another bucket full, registered 55%, humidity guage 51%. So much water I should purify it and save on bottled water!

I also noticed a difference when I was breathing in the room the air felt crisp and easier to breathe. ahhh. I'm aiming for a constant 50% but wondering if there's any benefit/danger to a dryer 45% humidity level? I also worry that drastic humidity changes may be worse than constant higher levels of humidity so not sure if I should be aiming for humidity that is so much lower than the surrounding environment. Any thoughts?

[gradejunky]

50-55% is considered perfect for most paper ephemera I believe. Too dry and you risk premature brittleness to said items.

[FormerReader]

Living in Florida humidity is a big problem even for a home that has air conditioning running often (if not all day).

 

I use Damp Rid small buckets in my comic room and after a month or two, they are filled with water. It amazes me how much water comes out of the air even when we keep the house at 73-75 all day.

 

 

I'm also in Florida and use Damp Rid. I get about a month out of them before having to empty them.

[DiceX]

So I've decided to give a dehumidifier a try. I encountered a bit of higher-than-normal relative humidity in my man cave (600 sqft) recently due to the heat wave we've been experiencing. My digital humidity gauge reported 66% relative humidity. Even my 2 damprid buckets got full but weren't making much of a dent. So as I take my collection seriously I felt a couple $$$ was a worthy investment to protect my comics. After a day of reading online reviews I settled on a GE 70 pint dehumidifier from my local home depot and set it to work.

GE 70-pint dehumidifier

 

It has a few neat features:

1. bucket full auto shut-off

2. Desired humidity level is reached

3. Digital display for detected relative humidity

4. bucket-full warning light

5. Drain hose connection feature (hose sold separately) for continuous running.

6. 3 settings: high/med/low, however, when I ran it on low, it (intelligently) decided that would take forever and auto cranked itself up to medium/high.

 

Drawbacks/FYI:

1. May have to be run constantly as the humidity will likely return in a few hours to the previous levels

2. pumps out warmer air so it may require you to run your AC more or at a lower temp

3. Hoping I don't die of shock when I see my electric bill.

4. keep room door closed to maintain/speed up dehimidification as it'll try to dehumidify the whole house if you leave it open.

5. Noisy so you have to shut it off if you want to listen to any music or enjoy TV.

6. Humidity LED reads only in 5% increments

 

One of my concerns with this unit is that like most dehumidifiers, it'll probably break down within a month or 2 of the 1 year warranty expiring so I may go back to home depot (within 30 days) and purchase the 2-3 year extended warranty as I see needing to run it constantly.

 

After 6 hours of continuous running it stopped by itself registering bucket full reading 60% humidity. My humidity gauge read a decent 57% humidity. I was amazed to see the bucket so full having sucked so much water from the air in such a short time. I emptied it and ran it again over night and again another bucket full, registered 55%, humidity guage 51%. So much water I should purify it and save on bottled water!

I also noticed a difference when I was breathing in the room the air felt crisp and easier to breathe. ahhh. I'm aiming for a constant 50% but wondering if there's any benefit/danger to a dryer 45% humidity level? I also worry that drastic humidity changes may be worse than constant higher levels of humidity so not sure if I should be aiming for humidity that is so much lower than the surrounding environment. Any thoughts?

 

Yes, those large room dehumidifiers are absolutely incredible.

 

 

[DR.X]

So I've decided to give a dehumidifier a try. I encountered a bit of higher-than-normal relative humidity in my man cave (600 sqft) recently due to the heat wave we've been experiencing. My digital humidity gauge reported 66% relative humidity. Even my 2 damprid buckets got full but weren't making much of a dent. So as I take my collection seriously I felt a couple $$$ was a worthy investment to protect my comics. After a day of reading online reviews I settled on a GE 70 pint dehumidifier from my local home depot and set it to work.

GE 70-pint dehumidifier

 

It has a few neat features:

1. bucket full auto shut-off

2. Desired humidity level is reached

3. Digital display for detected relative humidity

4. bucket-full warning light

5. Drain hose connection feature (hose sold separately) for continuous running.

6. 3 settings: high/med/low, however, when I ran it on low, it (intelligently) decided that would take forever and auto cranked itself up to medium/high.

 

Drawbacks/FYI:

1. May have to be run constantly as the humidity will likely return in a few hours to the previous levels

2. pumps out warmer air so it may require you to run your AC more or at a lower temp

3. Hoping I don't die of shock when I see my electric bill.

4. keep room door closed to maintain/speed up dehimidification as it'll try to dehumidify the whole house if you leave it open.

5. Noisy so you have to shut it off if you want to listen to any music or enjoy TV.

6. Humidity LED reads only in 5% increments

 

One of my concerns with this unit is that like most dehumidifiers, it'll probably break down within a month or 2 of the 1 year warranty expiring so I may go back to home depot (within 30 days) and purchase the 2-3 year extended warranty as I see needing to run it constantly.

 

After 6 hours of continuous running it stopped by itself registering bucket full reading 60% humidity. My humidity gauge read a decent 57% humidity. I was amazed to see the bucket so full having sucked so much water from the air in such a short time. I emptied it and ran it again over night and again another bucket full, registered 55%, humidity guage 51%. So much water I should purify it and save on bottled water!

I also noticed a difference when I was breathing in the room the air felt crisp and easier to breathe. ahhh. I'm aiming for a constant 50% but wondering if there's any benefit/danger to a dryer 45% humidity level? I also worry that drastic humidity changes may be worse than constant higher levels of humidity so not sure if I should be aiming for humidity that is so much lower than the surrounding environment. Any thoughts?

 

Yes, those large room dehumidifiers are absolutely incredible.

 

 

[Buzzetta]

So I've decided to give a dehumidifier a try. I encountered a bit of higher-than-normal relative humidity in my man cave (600 sqft) recently due to the heat wave we've been experiencing. My digital humidity gauge reported 66% relative humidity. Even my 2 damprid buckets got full but weren't making much of a dent. So as I take my collection seriously I felt a couple $$$ was a worthy investment to protect my comics. After a day of reading online reviews I settled on a GE 70 pint dehumidifier from my local home depot and set it to work.

GE 70-pint dehumidifier

 

It has a few neat features:

1. bucket full auto shut-off

2. Desired humidity level is reached

3. Digital display for detected relative humidity

4. bucket-full warning light

5. Drain hose connection feature (hose sold separately) for continuous running.

6. 3 settings: high/med/low, however, when I ran it on low, it (intelligently) decided that would take forever and auto cranked itself up to medium/high.

 

Drawbacks/FYI:

1. May have to be run constantly as the humidity will likely return in a few hours to the previous levels

2. pumps out warmer air so it may require you to run your AC more or at a lower temp

3. Hoping I don't die of shock when I see my electric bill.

4. keep room door closed to maintain/speed up dehimidification as it'll try to dehumidify the whole house if you leave it open.

5. Noisy so you have to shut it off if you want to listen to any music or enjoy TV.

6. Humidity LED reads only in 5% increments

 

One of my concerns with this unit is that like most dehumidifiers, it'll probably break down within a month or 2 of the 1 year warranty expiring so I may go back to home depot (within 30 days) and purchase the 2-3 year extended warranty as I see needing to run it constantly.

 

After 6 hours of continuous running it stopped by itself registering bucket full reading 60% humidity. My humidity gauge read a decent 57% humidity. I was amazed to see the bucket so full having sucked so much water from the air in such a short time. I emptied it and ran it again over night and again another bucket full, registered 55%, humidity guage 51%. So much water I should purify it and save on bottled water!

I also noticed a difference when I was breathing in the room the air felt crisp and easier to breathe. ahhh. I'm aiming for a constant 50% but wondering if there's any benefit/danger to a dryer 45% humidity level? I also worry that drastic humidity changes may be worse than constant higher levels of humidity so not sure if I should be aiming for humidity that is so much lower than the surrounding environment. Any thoughts?

 

I bought the 30 Pint version a few weeks ago and it works like a charm. Combined with the air conditioning... I heart it.

[DR.X]

I have the drain on mine direct plummed into the floor drain. Saves emptying the bucket everyday.

[DiceX]

I have the drain on mine direct plummed into the floor drain. Saves emptying the bucket everyday.

 

Same. After emptying the bucket for a few years.

I didn't realize how easy this would be. Now you don't ever have to pay it any attention.

 

 

[DR.X]

I have the drain on mine direct plummed into the floor drain. Saves emptying the bucket everyday.

 

Now you don't ever have to pay it any attention.

 

 

Except when it needs a bit of servicing.

[DiceX]

I have the drain on mine direct plummed into the floor drain. Saves emptying the bucket everyday.

 

Now you don't ever have to pay it any attention.

 

 

Except when it needs a bit of servicing.

 

What kind of servicing?

 

 

[DR.X]

I have the drain on mine direct plummed into the floor drain. Saves emptying the bucket everyday.

 

Now you don't ever have to pay it any attention.

 

 

Except when it needs a bit of servicing.

 

What kind of servicing?

 

 

[loadstone]

Sounds good to me. I think I'll try and keep it at 50% or thereabouts to be safe. I'll also likely rig up the drain hose soon. Just can't help but feel like I should be doing something useful with all that water. Someday we may kill for the stuff and here I am pouring it down the drain. Maybe I'll run it out to the garden and water some plants. Thanks!

[JohnFranklin]

Library of Congress - ideal humidity for paper storage 35%

National Park Service - 40%

 

I spoke to a document preservationist in MA who felt 30 to 50% would

fine as many in this thread have said.