Should I use Heat or AC to dry up a wet basement? - Reader Question

After flooding your primary goal is to get the water out. Once the water is out, or is to a manageable "dry-vac" level is the point where fans, dehumidifiers and heat will help.

Using your AC to dry the home is not going to work nearly as well as turning your furnace on and increasing the temperature of the basement and running a dehumidifier. Read more in a previous post about Indoor Air Quality Affected by the Basement

ACs have to work harder to take in air, heat it to remove the moisture, then force cool the air to push it into the home. Cold air isn't nearly as effective in forcing air movement in a basement as warm air is.

Best plan: Use warm air to force circulation and decrease the amount that the dehumidifiers have to work (it's easier for them to remove moisture from warm air than cool air). The heat will help the wet areas dry quicker by evaporating the water trapped in the surface which will again, make your dehumidifier more effective.

Fan + Dehumidifier + Warmer Temperatures = Win

Related Reading and Links

Safe'n'Dry Basement Blog: Indoor Air Quality Affected by the basement.
Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make.

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