Bsement studio, humidity ?

daav

daav

Flailing up a storm.
OK, just bought my first house and moved in over the course of the last week or two. there is a good deal of fixer-upper to this place, but i love it. after about 2 weeks of not touching an instrument (let alone pulling out mics etc) I finally started setting up the studio space down there.

Basement is pretty dry, no leaks or seepage of water, and eventually i am going to seal up the whole damn thing and finish it, but that is far off and i want to make sure i am not damaging my gear. it is a little musty, but I have also fixed some plumbing issues and it may dry out a bit more as that works itself out. Today I bought a digital temp thing with a humidity reading and I have been pricing dehumidifiers, but i would rather spend $150 on a RNC than a dehumidifier if possible!

So what are the basics? My guitars will be loving the humidity, but i imainge my computer and mics and pre' and such won't. Anyone know some general guidelines on what would be considered ideal? Any sense of max/min tolerances for sensitive equipment like condensor mics and such?
Thanks,
Daav
 
Ok gonna try to add some additioanl info to see if anyone has any knowledge.
After putting my new thermometer/humidity meter in the basement at my mixing desk space, the humitiy ran between 55-60%. I'm going to say that this must be too high because it smells all musty and I am not pulling out a bunhc of sensitivemics and such in that mess.

Anyone know any generally accepted humidity tolerance levels for mics.preamps, etc? Once i get the dehumidifier in, iw ill run it noon and night until i hit the safety zone once i know it.

daav
 
55-60% doesn't seem excessively high. Perhaps the musty smell indicates a mildew problem, possibly from a leak or a past or present plumbing issue. Did you have the house inspected for dryrot and such before you bought it?

Running the dehumidifier to get your humidity between 42 and 55% might be best for your guitars. Here's a useful guide regarding this:

http://www.larrivee.com/flash/features/education/humidity/humidity.html

I doubt if 55-60% would be a problem at all for your electronics though.
 
daav said:
but i would rather spend $150 on a RNC than a dehumidifier if possible!
Click to expand...
RNC? You'd rather give $150 to the Republican National Committee than spend it on a dehumidifier? Where are your priorities, man?!

All kidding aside, I agree with Jeff. The kind of humidity you're talking about isn't likely to be of concern to anything other than wood instruments.

Two things to check out, though. First, start keeping records (or at least make mental notes) on what happens to the RH in your basement as the seasons change. Things may be very different down there at different times of the year. Second, take some RH readings in other parts of your house, especially upstairs, to see if they're pretty much in line with the readings you're getting in the basement. If not, that can provide clues about where the extra humidity is coming from.
 
Thanks for the responses.

The basement is *mostly* totally dry. It is a bit more humid than the rest of the house, but I agree that the musty smell (fairly slight) is most likely a result of some wet spots that were around when i first took possesion. Leaky sink upstairs with water coming down, bad washer/dryer hoses (I still have one to replace that has a slow drip) etc. The walls are good.
THanks for the advice i have heard so much about being careful with mics especially with humidity it had me a bit worried, i htink when the dehumidifier gets here, i will probably be in good shape until i get the place sealed up better with dry lock.

Thanks,
Daav
 
50-60% for electronics is nothing...infact, a little humidity will help keep static electricity build up down to a minimum. The only concern I would have would be for microhpones and if/when the humidity and/or temperature cycles wildly could cause condensation. Your best bet is to keep it stabilized at zome level and leave it there. Bottom line, if you're comfortable, the gear will be more than satisfied.

I would however, store the mics in reasonably air tight containers with cilica to remove excess moisture and call it good.

The odor is something else...if the air doesn't move, you could be getting a bit of mildew somewhere.
 
I think the main issue in any basement is lack of air circulation/ replacement.
The musty smell is among other things an odor "build up" over time. Basements rarely have air inlets from the house HVAC (heat/ventilate/air conditioning) system, and almost NEVER has proper exhaust. Consider that your house above grade has a cerain amoun of air leakage, and you periodically open windows and outside doors and have some air exchange. Bsemants dont get this. Musty is sort of the sick building syndrome smell.
If your furnace/ac unit is in the basement, put a few small outlet registers in the duct to let some "new" air in. If you have window wells, consider a small exhaust fan. You can shut it off when recording so you dont pick it up on tape. You could also pull air IN thru a window well. Ventilation is key, almost more than the humidifcation level.
BTW....I would think again about doing the wall and floor watersealing BEFORE putting any major construction into the space. Its easy in an empty space, next to impossible when its finished out.
 
Daav,

actually you have need to be concerned about humidity levels being that high, and your equiptment isn't the real issue here - your health is.

Humidity levels should not exceed 50%.

50% relative humidity is the level that mold begins to form - above that level is a perfect breeding ground for mold.

In a studio environment maintaining humidity levels around 45% is pretty standard. Power Station is maintained at 43% RH because of the grand piano inside the space year round.

If you have equipment that has other needs (for example - Martin recommends 50% RH for their acoustic guitars - piano manufacturers want 43% RH, etc.) then purchase humidifiers that are designed specifically for those instruments - they solve the problems.

Sincerely,

Rod
 
THanks Rod, that is exactly the conmclusiion i have come to. i actually found a patch of mold on the back of one of the gig bags i had put up against a wall (although that was before i had stopped up much of the plumbing leakage). After a day, the humidity down there has been reading at a steady 67% which i am feeling is way high. It has rained here in lovely VT for a month stright (and is supposed to continue all freakin weekend as well), so hopefully it is a really bad time.

Dehuimidifier from ebay arrives tomorrow. Just for kicks, i will post what difference in Humidity readings i get after running it for a couple days.

Daav
 
Yeah, I have to agree that 60% is just a bit too high, . .Now, for a basement especially in the spring/summer its not Earth Shattering high, . .But, it is a cause for concern, . .or at least to try and get the humidity levels down.

The humidifier will help CONSIDERABLY!!! and you will probably want to run it as continuously as possible, . .I have one and it keeps my basement with my gear at a steady 45 - 50%, . .without the humidifier the room humidity will run about 60%. . .

If your humidifier comes with a hose attachment on the tank, . you might even want to hook up a hose and run it to a drain in the floor , or your sub pump drain (if you have one) This way you wont have to be bothered with always remembering to empty the tank.

It also might not be a bad idea to get a small plastic fan from target and have that running when the basement is not in use, . .just to keep the air circulating .. .

If you want to check for a mold problem in your basement, you might want to buy a mold tester, . .they usually have them at Home Depot, or Lowes. . I'm not sure how accurate they are ,. . However, it might give you an indication if any mild is present, and how much . . .Cause, your health is definitely at risk if you are spending any amount of time in the basement, . and you have a mold issue .. .Let us know how the humidifier works out! I think you are going to feel a comfortable difference in the amount of moisture! :D
 
Hi all! Regarding studio temp/ humidity: I have a basement, partially subterranean studio area with a sectioned off laundry room / utility sink area. Before I built the studio, my first floor kitchen flooded, naturally making the basement area a new indoor swing pool for a few days, which then naturally turned into a mold farm (no mushrooms - darn it!) by the looks that I've never seen before. After the clean-up and dry-out - 3 - 4 weeks - I did a lot of research before I built it out into my studio. As an extra step to reduce future basement moisture, I coated the cinder block walls with 3 coats of "Drylock" (a Home Depot / Lowes product - get the 5 gal bucket) - with about a week between coats - caulked every hole, nook and cranny I could see with the naked eye, built a wall between the laundry room and studio area and went to every length to stop water and moisture from seeping in. It worked well, but before I stocked it with my equipment, my digital temp and humidity monitors told me it was always running between 65 and 80% in the summer, less in the winter. So, I put a portable fan in for air circulation and got a 70 pint dehumidifier on casters from Ebay and my humidity has been a perfect 48-52% since. I can even bring it down to 30-35, but that's really too dry - bring up static noise. I run them mostly at night or after working hours, but will run the fan (on a separate, dedicated "utility" 20 amp circut) while I'm there as I have a separate recording booth for vocals and small instruments, as needed. So, an average of 50% is great for most any gear. A little lower no problem, just keep it consistent. I confer about using the dry packs and air tight containers for mics, especially expensive ones! God bless and keep on a-rockin' Duker
 
I'm hoping this might help, to show you what you're up against:
I've been involved in this in airliners. Lotsa people in a relatively cramped space. That means LOTS of humidity. Potential for mold, smell, corrosion, and shorts. And yet, it's generally comfortable. Why?
The key to the situation is, as has been mentioned, something called changeout.
In an airplane we have to changeout the air 4 times each hour. So that means no air you're breathing is over 15 minutes 'old'. 75% humidity? No big deal. The problem is when the same air lingers with 75% humidity. Then it's a cesspit.
While flying, it's super easy. Plenty of air being scooped up by those big engines to port into the cabin. On the ground, the air is scooped up by the APU or the idling engines. Either way, you'll notice a lot of vents being switched over right around the moment you get pushed back from the gate which is why your ears often pop before takeoff.
So, how about your studio? Same formula. You take the volume of your studio (let's say 10 x 12 x7 for a basement room = 840 cu. ft.) and multiply 4 ( for 4 times each hour) and divide that by 60 (for minutes) and you got (840*4/60 =) 56 cu.ft. per minute. Now this seems like a lot if you're shopping for a compressor (and it is) but this is at ambient pressure, so it's just a decent sized squirrel cage fan. Probably find one at a garage sale for $10. Oh, but it's important to not just swish the air around, but actually get the old air out and fresh new air in. So you're probably talking ductwork, too.
If you can do that, humidity won't matter, mold won't be a problem, corrosion will scarcely occur, and you can rest easy knowing it's taken care of. Of course, that's a motor running 24/7/365 -- or at least a day or two each week.
So you might be well ahead of the game to get that de-humidifier and cover your floors and walls with concrete sealer. Then, at a later date, cover that with carpet, etc.
Because humid air, the SAME humid air, that doesn't get changed out, is very bad for people and wires and circuits and all the nice things we stuff into our studios. Just sayin'....


Ponder5
 
Seeing the original post was 2006, I think the humidity has either eaten the gear or the problem has been sorted out.

Alan
 
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