I have a problem with musty odor in my 1960's ranch house in Atlanta. Atlanta is very humid, and my house has a lot of tree cover, making it extra damp. The top level of the house is at grade level, but the ground slopes, so the lower level of the house is partly below grade. Below the lower level is a dirt crawlspace which is fairly well sealed with plastic. The foundation vents of the crawlspace are also sealed, so it's pretty air tight.
I have a portable dehumidifier in the crawl space and a second portable dehumidifier in a utility area on the lower level. I'm able to get the spaces with the dehumidifiers down to about 40% humidity, but the upper area is still going up to 58% or so. I would like to try to get the top floor down below 50% to try to get rid of the musty smell.
I had a HVAC guy come in to look at the situation. I thought that a whole-house dehumidifier installed in the crawlspace and ducted into the AC system might do the job. He proposed putting the whole-house dehumidifier in the crawlspace without ducting it into the AC and he thought that would dehumidify the whole house. Based on the fact that the current, portable dehumidifiers are not doing the job, I'm skeptical that a larger unit will make a difference. He said that he could duct it into the AC, but that the only way he could do it would be to make it return-to-return.
So, now, I'm not sure what I should do. It seems to me that a dehumidifier with a dedicated return and ducted to the supply side would be the ideal solution. If I go with a whole-house unit ducted return-to-return, would that be effective? Looking for advice here.
I have a portable dehumidifier in the crawl space and a second portable dehumidifier in a utility area on the lower level. I'm able to get the spaces with the dehumidifiers down to about 40% humidity, but the upper area is still going up to 58% or so. I would like to try to get the top floor down below 50% to try to get rid of the musty smell.
I had a HVAC guy come in to look at the situation. I thought that a whole-house dehumidifier installed in the crawlspace and ducted into the AC system might do the job. He proposed putting the whole-house dehumidifier in the crawlspace without ducting it into the AC and he thought that would dehumidify the whole house. Based on the fact that the current, portable dehumidifiers are not doing the job, I'm skeptical that a larger unit will make a difference. He said that he could duct it into the AC, but that the only way he could do it would be to make it return-to-return.
So, now, I'm not sure what I should do. It seems to me that a dehumidifier with a dedicated return and ducted to the supply side would be the ideal solution. If I go with a whole-house unit ducted return-to-return, would that be effective? Looking for advice here.