Garage Floor Sweating

Nashcat

Nashcat

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Does anyone have a cure for a sweating garage floor? It occurs when the concrete is cold, and then the weather warms up with rain. The added moisture in the warm air then condenses on the cold floor. Yesterday was so bad, patches of water had actually pooled on the floor.

I don’t know of any way to cheat the laws of physics, when the floor temperature is below the dew point.

John
 
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Short of good seals on all doors and windows, heating the building, and installing a dehumidifier to lower the moisture content of the air above the concrete, I can't think of anything.
 
jfheath said:
Apart from a heater...

The problem might be that if you even if could cover the floor with some sort of insulation (interlocking foam mats spring to mind), the metal of your bike would be just as cold and the moisture in the air would condense on that and it would drip from inside the fairing over your shiny new mats.
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I disagree to the extent that a bike won't remain as cold as a concrete floor when the garage air qualities change.

If his bike would promote condensation with a covered floor, it will be doing it now.
 
Nashcat said:
Does anyone have a cure for a sweating garage floor? It occurs when the concrete is cold, and then the weather warms up with rain. The added moisture in the warm air then condenses on the cold floor. Yesterday was so bad, patches of water had actually pooled on the floor.

I don’t know of any way to cheat the laws of physics, when the floor temperature is below the dew point.

John
Click to expand...

Common problem up here in my part of Canada during the Winter & Spring. The humidity gathers on everything cold that is non porous & non absorbant from floor to cars to tools. As you noted it's due to the humidity in the warmer air vs the cold stored in the concrete. The only solution is to keep the concrete warmed above freezing or put a non concrete subfloor or something absorbent over it. It's really impractical to try and remove the air's humidity. You could heat the air, but what you're doing in that sence is also heating the floor to eliminate the issue. When the surface of any floor condenses the moisture you'll get condensation. The key is to limit that cold mass on the floor. Floor coatings are for the most part just to limit how slippery the floors get (other than to make them look nice and allow for ease of cleanup of messes that would otherwise stain concrete.
 
I like the idea of a smart de- humidifier (one that automatically turns on when the humidity reaches a pre-set amount).
 
I have this problem and just have a small fan running to circulate the air in the shop . Seems to work well and keep the moisture off the floor .
 
gmtech94 said:
I have this problem and just have a small fan running to circulate the air in the shop . Seems to work well and keep the moisture off the floor .
Click to expand...

In terms of solution cost I'd wager this is probably the least expensive. Heating and especially dehumidification are relatively expensive. If you could rig up the fan to a switch activated by a humidity sensor ( the type found in a furnace humidifier ) then you could fine tune when the fan actually came on. No point in paying to run it when the humidity level is low. I'd also check the weatherstripping on all the door and windows as well.
 
ReSTored said:
If you could rig up the fan to a switch activated by a humidity sensor ( the type found in a furnace humidifier ) then you could fine tune when the fan actually came on.
Click to expand...
You can also get a replacement thermostat/humidistat control for attic fans at the orange and blue stores.
 
Check out # 3...you could always get out a Jack-Hammer!
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Not sure, but one of those car/bike bubbles with a built-in fan might work if you're just trying to protect the bike.
 
ReSTored said:
In terms of solution cost I'd wager this is probably the least expensive. Heating and especially dehumidification are relatively expensive. If you could rig up the fan to a switch activated by a humidity sensor ( the type found in a furnace humidifier ) then you could fine tune when the fan actually came on. No point in paying to run it when the humidity level is low. I'd also check the weatherstripping on all the door and windows as well.
Click to expand...

You can buy humidity switch sensors at most home improvement places.
Something like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton...3-A-Single-Pole-White-R02-IPHS5-0LW/204734988
 
My garage is like that. Whenever it rains a lot and the water table gets high i get that sweaty garage floor. The wet cars have something to do with it too. Also make sure your garage is well insulated. My brothers garage is and his garage floor is always dry as a bone. But I must say my garage condition has not hurt my st1100 all these years.
 
Thanks for all the help, guys. This morning, everything’s dry. Of course, it’s all due to a cold front moving through last night. It’s now 47, with a dew point of 30, so everything’s nice and dry.

Thanks @Sheriff41 for the heads up on the garage journal forum. It pointed me toward a couple of other sites with some good suggestions.

I‘m not sure about floor tiles. I’m thinking it would make it hard to clean spills and hard to sweep the textured surface.

It looks like a dehumidifier will be my next purchase. I looked at ones that are recommended on the garagejournal forum, and they’re not that expensive.

I usually run a 18” pedestal fan, whenever the humidity if high, and this helps quite a bit. After some research, I found that by circulating the air, the air doesn’t stay in contact with the floor, long enough to condense the moisture. I’m going to add another fan, since the one I have can’t circulate air around 3 bikes and a lift table. I might try a couple of oscillating desk fans at floor level.

I‘be never had any condensation on the bikes or other equipment in the garage. I guess it’s because the bikes temperature changes quickly, with the ambient air temps.

Thanks again,
John
 
Part of it is whether a vapour barrier was put down before the floor was poured... moisture wicks up through concrete from the ground. Later building codes required it, but not back in the old days... also helps to have a base of crushed stone (not sand or gravel). But, you're not going to solve that now, putting sealer or something over it may not stop it. if you want to test a patch, just cover it with a sheet of plastic with something to hold it down, check in the morning.... old trick for similar issue in basements.
Keep the air moving.... a cheap ceiling fan will keep the air circulating and the other construction materials in the garage (wood studs, plywood, etc.) will likely absorb a lot of the humidity... also, opening the door for a spell on a cold dry day.........
 
Nashcat said:
I usually run a 18” pedestal fan, whenever the humidity if high, and this helps quite a bit. After some research, I found that by circulating the air, the air doesn’t stay in contact with the floor, long enough to condense the moisture. I’m going to add another fan, since the one I have can’t circulate air around 3 bikes and a lift table. I might try a couple of oscillating desk fans at floor level.
Click to expand...

You could also look into the floor drying fans. You can get small ones up to large industrial ones like they use at schools etc.

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