Basement – How to improve air flow in the basement

basementventilation

I have a pretty odd two floor duplex apartment with one of the rooms practically being a basement. I have previously had problems with mold, and in general the air isn't great in the basement. So I was wondering what are the best options to improve the airflow in these rooms? I was thinking of getting a fan to at least get some airflow, because I don't think it would be easy to get any some sort of air intake installed.

I have one window in this room, but I don't think it would be easy to turn that into an air intake. There are some ventilation holes just under the window, but they do not seem to do much and I don't think having the window open 24/7 is a good alternative, especially not during the winter.

The apartment I am living in was renovated when I moved in, but as I live in Versailles, France these buildings are probably over a hundred years old. It tends to get very humid as well, especially during the summer which doesn't help.

How can I improve the air flow in this basement?

Best Answer

If it's a really old house, that might actually work to your benefit as old houses usually are not well sealed when compared to new homes which are practically air tight.

There's a couple components to what you are trying to accomplish:

  1. Air circulation - A ceiling fan will probably do the trick for a single room. If the house is conditioned via forced air, another option might be setting the furnace fan to be always on instead of only on when heating/cooling. This will help keep the air circulating throughout the house (and through the furnaces filter).
  2. Humidity - If its really bad, a dehumidifier will likely be required.
  3. Fresh air - In all likelihood, you are probably getting a decent amount of fresh air through the cracks in the walls and elsewhere already (seeing as it's an old house). If you are not, the simplest solution is to open a window ocasionally. If this is not an option (ie: winter) then the furnace fan trick I mentioned in (1) migtht help too.

Some other options are:

  1. Some household plants might also help with the air quality - talk to your local garden center to see if they have any ideas
  2. Air ioniser (or negative ion generator) - I can't backup any claims made by these devices, but some people claim they work well.
  3. Install a small HEPA filter
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