I'm having moisture issues in my house from brewing beer

[thrstyunderwater]

Seriously. So in the past week I have:

made five gallons of beer
made/canned 3 gallons of bbq sauce
made/canned 3 gallons of deer stock
a decent amount of cooking

The stock and the sauce simmered for 24 hours plus I had to boil water to can them. We all know what boiling 5 gallons of beer on your stovetop is like.

So there's to much moisture in the house, it's accumulating on the walls, running down to the floorboards, bad ****. The wall behind my room mates bed molded, seriously.

So what can I do to reduce the moisture? Can I have a lid partway on my brew kettle to reduce the evaporation? I'm doing all grain and I want to say I can't.

I have a couple windows open, ceiling fan going. There's no vent fan above the stove. I need to figure something out, I live with my wife and a female room mate, they're already annoyed enough with my manly/messy ways. If I don't figure this out it's gonna be no brewing in the house and it get's cold in Utah!

 

[benharper13]

I'd say brew outside or tell them to deal with it. Honestly I dont know what to say cuz I don't brew inside but come to Utah county and we can do an outdoor brew

 

[as1084]

Yea, brew outside and dress reallllly warm lol. What I use is a turkey deep fryer. You can get one for around $50-$60. You can even look on craigslist to see if you can find one at a bargain. The one I am using now I bought brand new for $20 on craigslist. Or see if a buddy will let you brew in their house. Besides, if you want to move to all grain, your going to need one anyways. It's a PIA to brew all grain indoors.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

I am brewing all grain. And I have a turkey deep fryer and a keggle. I just don't want to be outside in the cold at the end of the day paying for propane

 

[as1084]

oh yea sorry. I misread one sentence. I thought you were saying you want to go all grain. Don't know what to tell ya man. I live in Vegas, so brewing outside in the winter is no biggie for me.

 

[petey_c]

thrstyunderwater, do you own this house or just rent? If you own it, I'd say it's time to install a range hood/vent above the stove. A cheap venting hood should run about $120-150 at HD (these are NY prices) http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 If you start getting mold in your house because of excessive moisture it can lead to serious health/structural issues. If you rent, explain the cost benefits to your landlord (vents all the moisture, grease and smells outside, etc.. This applies to you too.) It should take 2-3 hours to install, depending on your skill level. You might want to get an electrician for the wiring part, if you don't feel comfortable with it. You could also check craigslist and see if you can get a decent one there on the cheap. Plus while you're on CL, you can check for homebrew items.

 

[kgfitz]

I heat my strike and sparge water on the stove and mash in the kitchen. Then I do the boil out in the garage with the door open on a propane burner. It is easer to hold mash temps inside and the water is not steaming that much because it is not boiling. You can save on propane that way ( and the boil warms up the garage even with the door open so it is not as cold as being out side)

 

[bullinachinashop]

thrstyunderwater, do you own this house or just rent? If you own it, I'd say it's time to install a range hood/vent above the stove. A cheap venting hood should run about $120-150 at HD (these are NY prices) http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 If you start getting mold in your house because of excessive moisture it can lead to serious health/structural issues. If you rent, explain the cost benefits to your landlord (vents all the moisture, grease and smells outside, etc.. This applies to you too.) It should take 2-3 hours to install, depending on your skill level. You might want to get an electrician for the wiring part, if you don't feel comfortable with it. You could also check craigslist and see if you can get a decent one there on the cheap. Plus while you're on CL, you can check for homebrew items.

I agree with the vent, if and only if it is vented to the exterior. If not, it won't help much.

Bull

 

[rodneypierce]

how about a dehumidifier???? Thats what they do, "de" humidify the air. As in remove water.....

 

[the_mox]

how about a dehumidifier???? Thats what they do, "de" humidify the air. As in remove water.....

+1

 

[Diver165]

yes, dehumidifier is your best choice...especially in the winter. But cheaper and easier...just equalize the temperature & humidity. Open a window or door and ventilate. Put a fan in the window pointed outside. Open a window on the opposite side of the room. The room air is saturated with water (ie the air can't take up anymore). Just point that super saturated air right outside.

 

[bdf24]

Another option that can really help is an Air Exchanger. If you have a forced air heating system in your house it will connect directly to it easily. It removes the stale moist air from the house and brings fresh air in from outside. It recycles up to 70% of the heat in the air it's exhausting to heat the fresh air coming in.
We own a house that is about 7 years old and have had condensation problems on the windows every winter, to the point where it's dripping onto the sill. We just installed an Air Exchanger this year and it's made a huge difference! No more condensation on the windows and it's already been down to around 0 degrees this winter. You should also run your bath fans if you have them if you want to do brewing in the house.
Personally, I'm just looking into home brewing and need to purchase all of my equipment yet, but when I do, I'll be boiling outside. The wife already told me she doesn't want me boiling beer in the inside and stinking up the house, can't say that I blame her.

 

[LCTitan]

Cut to the chase and brew outside. If really bad out brew in the garage with the door's and windows open. I gave up brewing inside because the furnace wouldn't kick on and the SWMBO was freezing in the front room. Way too much moisture and heat generated. Sheilding from the wind is key here.

 

[bknifefight]

how about a dehumidifier???? Thats what they do, "de" humidify the air. As in remove water.....

It seems like the answer to your problem is a pretty simple one.

 

[Johnny_Crunch]

run the air conditioning, they dry the air.

 

[troub]

I live in an old house with no vent fans, etc. Usually opening a window or two would be fine -- the cold air coming in is very dry, and as it warms its capacity to hold moisture increases and it will evaporate the droplets on the walls, etc. Good circulation is key, but with the fans, etc. it sounds like you might have this covered but the air is just super saturated. A dehumidifier, or it sounds crazy but I second the air conditioner idea as it has a built-in dehumidifier of sorts (as the air runs over the cold coils it condenses out). You will have to be careful if your condenser tube where the water runs out goes outside because then it might freeze and cause problems when the water backs up (mine goes to floor drain in my basement).

The best thing if you have this problem long term is either a range hood exhaust or a dehumidifier. The dehumidifier has higher ongoing electricity costs (basically like a window AC unit), but it's super-easy (no drilling, as in my case I would have to drill an exhaust-size hole through plaster and brick) and effective.

 

[pnj]

how about a dehumidifier???? Thats what they do, "de" humidify the air. As in remove water.....

this.

 

[motobrewer]

lucky. i have one big humidifier (has two 1.5-ish gallon tanks) and two smaller ones (bout a gallon each) in the house. probably throw a few gallons of water into the house a day, and it's still dry as h*ll.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

lucky. i have one big humidifier (has two 1.5-ish gallon tanks) and two smaller ones (bout a gallon each) in the house. probably throw a few gallons of water into the house a day, and it's still dry as h*ll.

Just brew beer, make stock and bbq sauce and all will be well.

 

[eelpout]

Start a big roaring fire in the fireplace, stove or kitchen table, which ever is you find suitable.

 

[therealrsr]

A propane fill and warm coat are a lot cheaper than if you get moisture/mold in the walls from a number of perspectives. Try pointing a box fan out the closest window to the stove. Course then you are running up your utilities vs. buying propane. 24 hour simmers? bet that sauce clings well.

 

[thrstyunderwater]

A propane fill and warm coat are a lot cheaper than if you get moisture/mold in the walls from a number of perspectives. Try pointing a box fan out the closest window to the stove. Course then you are running up your utilities vs. buying propane. 24 hour simmers? bet that sauce clings well.

Yip!

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

do you have access to a garage? if so, boil in there where there is some heat. get a sunflower heater and sit. bonus: auto fridge outside and snow can work as a good ice bath to cool wort. i live in ND and we brew outside in january!! we hit temps of -30F and a good coleman in the garage and it gets warm quick!!

no garage: dehumidifier!!


but it sounds like you cooked alot. is that amount normal????

 

[JonK331]

Just brew beer, make stock and bbq sauce and all will be well.

Yeah what the hell, breathing mold spores won't hurt anything right

 

[naughtyco]

if you use a dehumidifier, then you can collect all that extra water you're wasting, boil it, and make MORE BEER WITH IT!

 

[HoppedIPA]

I agree with the vent, if and only if it is vented to the exterior. If not, it won't help much.

Bull

Agree with this too.. I have one over our stove for when i am canning and it would make a mess on our walls in the winter too with out.. never brewed beer inside so use your garage or something like that if you need to .. Remember to leave the door up so not to get carbon monoxide exposure.