Dehumidifying a basement?

Question

I recently moved into a basement apartment. It is damp and cool. Mold grows on the tiled closet floor if i put boxes in it , mold under bathroom sink, moisture seeping up from between floor tiles in kitchen, and if i put a matt down on the kitchen floor i can catch moisture under it. I have been running a dehumidifier for a week 24 hr. a day and it has filled and shut off at least 2x each day + i have emptied it partially full numerous times a day. Does any one know if it can be dried out?

Answer 1

Basement apartments can be cheaper, but you have to be concerned about your health as well.  Be careful of moldy environments.  

If you are in a position to point out the problem to your landlord you might enlist his help in resolving the excessive water problem.  The best way to dry out a basement is to keep it from getting wet.  You will need to make sure roof water is draining away from the house.  Gutters and downspouts have to be in good working order.  The house should not be in the bottom of a bowl with the ground sloping into it.  Cracked sidewalks around the house may need to be repaired.  Stairways may need to be covered.  

Once the outside is in order you can think about the inside.  Your one dehumidifier may not be enough.  You may need two.  All of them should be set to drain automatically.  You can use a condensate pump or set the dehumidifiers up high enough to gravity drain down into an existing drain.  For either of these options you may have to adapt the units with some additional piping to get to the drain.  (or short term stick it in the shower when you are not using it but be careful of the electricity)

Because your water is coming from below the floor (water below the kit mat)  a sump pump could be installed to take water from below the floor level and pump it to the outside.  

I am surprised that you are not getting water when it rains.

Answer 2

First thing to do is keep water from getting in...by the sound of it, there must be a source and if you can stop that, the basement will dry out. Running an window A/C unit will dry the air and not require continuous draining like dehumidifiers but those both are second to stopping the water from entering.

Answer 3

Buy a dehumidifier pump so you dont have to empty  ...

it can be piped into a soil pipe or thru the wall to the outside..

Answer 4

The best way to dehumidify a basement is by putting fans on the outside of the windows and doors and blowing the wet air out you also need to find out why your basement has so much humidity in it