I have been experiencing problems with my wine room. My residence is in South Florida and although the temperature in my wine room is about 55 degrees (never varying more than 3 degrees), there is an unusually high amount of moisture (96% humidity this morning). I have signs of mold on the walls, racking system and on some of the labels.
I plan to hire a contractor to remove the drywall, vapor barrier and insulation but before I begin reconstruction, I have the following concerns:
From the outside wall going in to the wine room, drywall, insulation then marine grade wood, then panelling, where should the contractor install the vapor barrior.
My present refrigeration unit is 17,000 BTU and the room is 8’4" X 6’7" x 9’10" with a 2’ x 9’10" offset to the left of the entry door. The refrigeration contractor is suggesting a 4,600 BTU unit. It was suggested the larger unit does not allow for dehumidification because it cools the room too quickly yet it seems the current unit never shuts off.
Would using a dehumidifier along with the current unit do the trick?
Of late, each time I open a bottle of wine, the corks are being sucked back into the bottles. Could the additonal humidity be the cause?
To the contrary, we specifically look for collections that were stored at high humidity because that generally bodes well for the cork. We have seen some old bottles come out of cellars that maintain 75%+ humidity and the cork looks to be a fraction of the age of the bottle - still spongy, etc. Humidity IS bad for the labels, but some savvy collectors of old wines actually look for conditions like “damp stained” and “moldy” labels as a good indicator for the condition of the cork.
Lisa, while the humidity isn’t hurting the corks, I would still try to dial it back. As a quick fix, try running a dehumidifier on low (or for short periods) and see if it does the trick.
Sorry Serge, I read your response as saying that humidity could have no effect on the cork whatsoever, which of course is not true. It sounds like Lisa is talking about depressed corks? In that case, I have never heard of humidity being a contributing factor there.
I seriously doubt that high humidity would do anything to the position of the corks.
A real rough guess seems like 17k btu is too big and 4.5k is too small. But the bottom line is that an oversized unit can definitely short-cycle and fail to control relative humidity, esp in FLA.
Dehumidifiers are pretty effective, esp as 70% humidity would be fine. I would think that you could control the problem if you tried one. This issue is separate from whether you otherwise have a correct vapor barrier.
Lisa,
I am in Dallas and have similar problems. I was conscientious with my vapor barrier during construction, but ended up with it being inadequate ( I think the problem is the roof/ceiling and not the walls).
I ultimately added a dehumidifier that has a programmable setting and it seems to do a fine job controlling the humidity and associated mold etc. I only need to run it in warmer months in my climate. Generally the tank on the dehum. fills up every 3 days or so in the summer heat.
I know the vapor barrier is the issue, but in my situation I decided it was too big of a project to fix (at least for now).
Make sure your entire room has a vapor barrier, including all walls, ceiling, floor and door. Tim is correct…the vapor barrier goes outside of the insulation. You’re trying to block moisture in the air outside the wine room before it reaches a cool enough point within the insulation or interior drywall where it will condense (the dew point). If your water table is high and your house is built on a slab (no basement), the concrete slab will pull moisture from the ground into your wine room, so make sure you have a concrete vapor barrier of some sort. Also, make sure you use the green or purple sheetrock that is normally used for bathrooms, backsplashes, etc. The paper covering on it contains mold inhibitors. Lastly, your door needs to have weather stripping all the way around, including a threshold or bottom sweep.
I just finished my wine room, and believe me, installing the vapor barrier is the biggest pain in the ass you could imagine, but it is absolutely critical.
Lisa,
Is your room in a basement or on a slab? Most important is the vapor barrier. IF you are taking everything apart, my suggestion would be to use closed cell spray foam insulation. If on a slab, raise the floor and foam that as well. With respect to the unit, it is definitely too big for the space. That is why it is not dehumidifying before cooling. Also, good chance it is short cycling which will cut down on the life of the unit.
17k btu is WAY oversized and will never run long enough to condense the humidity. You say it doesn’t shut off, either the fans run constantly (possible) or there is something wrong with the unit or it would be freezing cold in there.
it may or may not work and would use considerably more electric as it would generate heat in the process. It also would pose the risk of cooking your wine when the cooling unit failed (unless you built an $$$ control system). It is a RARE case supplemental dehumidifcation is needed (typically cold damp places) and is typically done utilizing the existing cooling system.
no actual experience but my vote is YES! the logic being is that because of the high humidity they are swollen and tight in the bottle and when pulling them there is no air bypassing the cork creating a vacuum. I like the theory and I’m sticking with it sans proof.
Without a lot more info it would be impossible to comment on sizing. Tell us how old your cellar is and when these problems started happening.
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