Does Atmox Work? | Ask A Ninja #57

#AskANinja 057 - Crawl space, basement, and attic ventilation take many forms and brands. One of the more popular brands used by the pest control industry is the Atmox System. This is a system that strategically places fans throughout parts of your home and ventilates based on outside and inside conditions.
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[@robertstanton8954]

Aren't the Atmox fans unique in that they have two humidity sensors - one in the crawspace and one outside, and only operates when the humidity outside the crawlspace is lower than the humidity inside the crawlspace thus eliminating the concern of drawing more humid air into the crawlspace?

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Yes true, but interestingly Atmox sells dehumidifiers on their website. Why would they sell dehumidifiers if the system alone works to dry a crawl space?

[@confidentlocal8600]

@@CrawlSpaceNinja Because fans cost a lot less to run than a dehumidifier and are effective when the outside dewpoint is lower than in the crawlspace. The dehumidifier covers the few months out of the year when the outside dewpoint is so high that ventilation is not effective. The crawlspace is conditioned effectively year-round using as little energy as possible. My Santa Fe Compact costs $30-40 per month to run at full load, so the fans can take the load off the dehumidifier without requiring a full encapsulation protocol.

[@azizb.7561]

Exactly, not only it has two humidity sensors but also two temperature sensors. You can't just compare humidity outside vs inside. You have to take outside humidity, and if it is lower, then you still have to find what that humidity % will be once air cools to temperature equal to temperature inside the crawl space, then you compare it to humidity of crawl space and if it is still less, then run the fan. Edit: so CrawlSpaceNinja didn't answer and elaborate on why Atmox different from all other Chinese fans found on Amazon.

[@scind2585]

I have used the ATMOX system in SC for about ten years. It has worked great. I have HVAC ductwork in the crawlspace and have about 1500 sq ft. The ATMOX is coupled with a Santa Fe Compact dehumidifier. This dehumidifier works intermittently for about 4 months of the year. Many times in the summer the dehumidifier will be off when the dew point of the outside air is lower than that in the crawl space. I definitely agree that humidity of the crawl space should be monitored to understand what needs to be done. If you no not have HVAC ductwork in the crawlspace you can possibly get by without the dehumidifier. Again I highly recommend the ATMOX. It stopped out mold growth and out crawlspace is dry now. One last comment is if you have pier and curtain brick construction DO NOT seal the gap between the brick and rim joists in the crawl space with foam. I have seen at least two crawl space companies do this in the Carolinas. Research reports from Clemson showed that this can rot the siding and structure of a home. It may take 20 or more years to do this but it can happen.

[@brianchamplin3433]

Is your crawl space encapsulated? I am in a bit of an odd situation. I have been diagnosed with mold toxicity. House tested positive for some mold spores/mycotoxins but no water damage or obvious bad mold growth. Mold remediation guy thinks it's in crawl space soil and wants to do full encapsulation with dehumidifier. I'm trying to figure out if I could just do what you have without encapsulation and solve the problem.

[@JaredStarner]

Great setup for your video! Love seeing the improving production quality and attention to details. Do you recommend anything aside from dehumidifiers for humidity control in a basement? We've encapsulated, but can still see our humidity creeping towards 60% if I'm not running our dehumidifier. Exploring the following options: painting walls with Drylok, installing a heat-pump water heater, getting epoxy floor coating over concrete.

[@SJ-gd6bo]

Masonry products alone are not enough to prevent water vapor penetration. They will help prevent liquid H20, but those products would be considered secondary. You could possibly get away with doing them plus adding a return as well as a duct in the crawl but a dehumidifier is a simpler solution.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Thank you so much for your support! We're doing our best to continue improving our video production quality so thank you for noticing! As for your question, we would still recommend a dehumidifier. Those things may help reduce the amount of moisture that comes in, but they definitely will not help remove it once it gets into your basement.

[@lisaputnam6996]

Hi I live in MI and finally was approved for a crawl under a pole barn structure. My question is how would I go about fastening in between post(steel sheeting) zoning was a huge issue as I am the first in their county. Took me 6 months to prove to them it was doable!!! Thank you:)

[@lisaputnam6996]

No duct work, closed space with French drains on sand.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Are you talking about fastening the vapor barrier between posts? If you don't have a block foundation, you may benefit from this method using spray foam and Christmas tree fasteners: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKvWmKmhn7d7nLM. Hope this answers your question!

[@lisaputnam6996]

Crawl Space Ninja Thank you for responding! I can't see your whole response:) Yes vapor barrier.

[@johnouten1715]

Question - I live in Hot & Humid Charlotte, NC. Attic has duct work, gable & ridge vent. Should I air seal the attic and re-insulate -or- encapsulate Attic?

[@SJ-gd6bo]

Im in Charleston so I feel your pain. Depending on what the cost difference is on the ceiling vs roof. Having HVAC in the attics suck, they are always going to work harder and always going to have a larger temperature swing. You have 2 good options. Option 1, closed cell spray foam the attic ceiling to 1 inch thickness, then fill with cellulose. Option 2, install roof baffles on the underside of the roof, this part is important, (spray foam installers do not do this typically), then spray closed cell over top to achieve desired R value, in our region it is around R39. To save on cost you can do closed cell followed with open but it will be drastically thicker.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

I would only encapsulate an attic if you are going to completely condition with HVAC/air seal/Insulate. Which is a viable option but tends to be more expensive by adding attic load to HVAC, so usually includes beefing up your HVAC or installing new one for attic while completely sealing all vents, ridge, soffit, etc. Our method of air sealing floor, installing baffles to ensure air moves from soffit to ridge, blow in insulation without covering baffles and possibly cover ducting (recommended by a lot of energy auditors but I don't see very often), and radiant barrier if you don't have shade trees and active ventilation would help.

[@SJ-gd6bo]

Nice video Michael, gave me something to research a bit more about. Edited, looked into them, nah wont recommend them. Even on the website it states a dehumidifier may be needed as a supplement.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

May as well just install the dehumidifier on its own and let it do it's thing, right?

[@laurajones2032]

👍

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

Glad you liked it!

[@TheRfmodulator]

Im in a similar situation, but my 400 sqft crawl connects to a 600 sqft basement. Dehu in the basement, fan blowing the air into the crawlspace. Im really loving my wireless temp/humidity sensors. I'm trying to figure out what my next steps will be, and I know exactly what's going on down there. I don't think I would want positive air pressure in a crawl space.

[@CrawlSpaceNinja]

We always create a slight negative air pressure when we do our encapsulations. It's good that you've got humidity sensors down there! That will help you make a more well informed decision. Thanks for watching!