"I tried them in my basement, and honestly, didn't see much improvement..."
Yeah, same here. Tried charcoal bags in my laundry room and barely noticed a difference. Switched to a small electric dehumidifier too, and it's been way better. Guess charcoal bags aren't for everyone...
Same experience here—charcoal bags didn't cut it for me either. Couple things I learned the hard way:
- Check your gutters and downspouts; clogged ones can really ramp up basement humidity.
- Sealing cracks in walls made a noticeable difference too.
Dehumidifier's still king though...
"Check your gutters and downspouts; clogged ones can really ramp up basement humidity."
Couldn't agree more on this. I remember buying a property a few years back—nice little fixer-upper, great neighborhood—but the basement was practically a rainforest. Tried all the usual quick fixes (charcoal bags included, sadly), but nothing seemed to help much.
Then one rainy weekend, I noticed water literally cascading over the edges of the gutters like Niagara Falls. Turns out, previous owners hadn't cleaned them in ages. Spent a messy afternoon clearing out leaves and gunk, and within days, basement humidity dropped significantly. Still needed a dehumidifier to get things totally comfortable, but it wasn't working overtime anymore.
I do have to say though, sealing cracks was hit-or-miss for me... helped some spots noticeably, others not so much. Guess it depends on how extensive the cracks are or maybe just my amateur sealing skills, haha. Either way, tackling gutters first saved me from wasting money on unnecessary solutions later.
Had a similar issue when I moved into my place last year. Basement felt damp all the time, and I kept blaming the foundation. Turns out the gutters were totally clogged—never even crossed my mind to check them at first. Cleared them out, and it made a noticeable difference pretty quickly. Still wondering though...is sealing cracks really worth the effort, or better to just focus on drainage?
Had a similar dilemma myself...cleared gutters, improved drainage, but still felt dampness creeping in. Eventually sealed up a few cracks—honestly, it was tedious—but I noticed it helped stabilize humidity way better long-term. Might be worth the hassle, depending on your patience level.
