Dehumidifier settings for new vacuum room

[fantomfan]

Hi everyone,
I'm almost done turning the front part of my basement into my vacuum room. I'll finally have them ALL in one place. I scrubbed the floors twice, bleached the crevices, painted the walls, put in some glade refresheners and vacuumed/shampooed the carpets. Now, I have a brand new dehumidifier running. This is the first time in at least eight years that the moisture is being controlled. Knock on wood, we've NEVER had flooding but we've had some mildew problems. I have it set to go to 40 percent humidity by the end of tomorrow, coming from a very high 75 percent. I have it set on High and am about to dump out the tank for the second time. What is a good humidity setting for this area? There will be about 70 vacuums down there, and the whole basement is about 1000 square feet. The windows are closed. I really need and appreciate the advice!

 

[beekeyknee]

Most humans feel fairly well with humidity around 50% and a temperature of around 70-74 degrees. Vacuums will probably be fine around 40% humidity. But more importantly, I think you will find, is having a place for your dehumidifier to drain into, such as a floor drain. You're going to get very tired of emptying that tank.

 

[motojoejo]

I don't know if this will help

piano manufacturers recommend 45% humidity to keep the wood from drying and cracking but not too humid to cause the steel strings and pins to rust. In the real world, I tell people 40-50% . In my thinking, the same will apply to vacuum cleaners. The humidity will be enough to help vinyl and rubber from drying out with dry enough to prevent rust on steel parts.

 

[fantomfan]

Thanks for the help!

I have it down to 50 percent now. I'm going to get it to 45. I'll run it on high until it's been a week (Sunday), then I'll switch it to low.

 

[ohiovac]

I keep mine at 45% and it drains into the sump pump. Runs on high so it moves more air and doesnt change the electricity consumption that much.