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Humidity Removal

Question
I have a family room a little below grade, and have an instrument to keep track of the humidity. How can I keep that room's humidity low enough to prevent the growth of mold?

Answer
Make sure the instrument you have is a hygrometer; and an expensive one, too, because less expensive ones are notoriously inaccurate. If you plan to keep the humidity to 30%, that's as good as it gets. To get the humidity to that level, ventilate on dry days (May, June, September and October). In July and August when it's humid, use a dehumidifier. Air conditioning also will dehumidify. You should not have to worry about the winter because cold air holds less moisture. If any mold develops, clean it with a solution of bleach and three parts water. As always please wear skin an eye protection when working with bleach.

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Question
Four years ago we had our wood house strapped and sided with vinyl, and all windows replaced. Since then, the inside consistently has high humidity, typically 80%. A dehumidifier just isn't enough. Would putting in an air-to-air exchanger help? How much does it cost?

Answer
The siding and windows made the house too tight, which is good for saving on heating fuel but a semi-disaster for humidity: Water vapor builds until it saturates the air and condenses into water, causing more problems. An air-to-air exchanger is your only hope, and it will work. It exhausts that humid house air and takes in outside air, transferring the heat of the outgoing air to the incoming air, so that little heat is lost. They became popular during the first energy crisis in the 70's when houses were tightened and new houses were very tight (too tight). I don't know how much this will cost, but if you have a hot-air system with air ducts, it should not be that expensive. If you have to put air ducts, it will be somewhat more.

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