Wave Home Solutions System… The Truth Be Told… Beware

5 min readDec 28, 2018

Wave Home Solutions System — Product Review

First, I will begin with I have been involved with home inspections, mold remediation and mold assessments for almost twenty years and have been asked countless times… do I install a Wave Home Solutions System or a dehumidifier. The following is my expressly my opinion and I always encourage my students as well as clients to research and educate themselves so they can make an informed conclusion.

What I can tell you is we can break this down two ways, building sciences and anecdotal evidence from me who has remediated way too many basements in which the Wave Home Solutions System was installed.

Most who ask are seeking a solution to the musty odor emanating from their basement. That musty odor is the mold growing behind walls, under carpets, on the surface of old dusty furniture and on the damp foundation block walls. In scientific terms, you are smelling the Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (MVOC’s) mold gives off when it reproduces. Mold only needs two items to grow; an organic source such as paper, dust, wood or anything that is dirty and has a biological component to it and WATER. Tough to eliminate the biological sources since our homes are built with wood and sheetrock which has paper, and never mind how we like to store all kinds of stuff in our basements (pack rats). What we CAN do is control the water. While most think water intrusion is a broken pipe or a leaky foundation wall however water is also condensation on our 52 degree below grade concrete walls on a hot humid day or humidity anywhere above 60% which is on any given day from late April — late October.

I have found humidity to be the number one culprit to why basements grow mold. Generally speaking, to control humidity, we either use air conditioning to reduce the temperature and humidity or dehumidifiers. Reality is that on Long Island, we don’t generally have A/C in our basements and we use a dehumidifier. The science behind an a/c unit or a dehumidifier is the same. Blow either cold air over warm coils or warm air over cold coils which cause condensation to form thus producing moisture droplets to fall into a pan or bucket.

What does the Wave Solutions System claim to do vs what does it really do?

First what is the Wave System?

It is a fan which is turned on by a humidistat switch (humidity level) and expels air from your basement. They claim the reduction in air pressure in the basement draws down air from the upper portions of the house, replacing the basement air with conditioned air from above. This theory has major flaws in it since our basements are not air tight and I like to say it draws air from the closest path of least resistance such as a pipe chase through the basement header, electric lines or simply from around the sill plates and other permeable materials and unsealed joints leading to the outside. Example: take a plastic straw and put it in a glass of water. Put a few holes in the straw above the water line and tell me how successful you are at drawing the liquid up. Same theory with your basement.

Flaw # 2. Even if it does draw air from upstairs, the conditioned air you just spent your hard-earned dollars cooling is now being drawn down to the basement and out the outside. Think about this. You might as well install an $80 dollar bathroom fan in your basement and turn it on rather than the $1,500 they quote for their systems.

Flaw # 3. It costs pennies a day to run vs a dehumidifier. What they don’t include is all that nice air-conditioned air from upstairs is being drawn outside increasing the number of hours you’re a/c system has to run thus here on Long Island, that equates to big dollars. To sum up their claims of energy efficiency: In cold conditions it would be drawing cold air into the house, increasing heating bills. In warm, humid conditions it would be as counterproductive as open windows as it would draw moisture into the home. In warm, dry conditions the system would appear to be working against the air conditioning system and the extra load on the air conditioning must surely cancel out the energy savings the company claims.

Now, let’s appeal to your common sense a bit. Getting back to the fact you will be drawing outside air back into the home via the basement air infiltration flaws, consider that in the summer our air is generally always above 60% humidity. All you are doing is reintroducing warm humid air back into your home thus promoting mold growth.

If you want to avoid mold growth in your basement, follow these steps:

Always use tile on the floors, not carpet, laminate wood like flooring or vinyl. Anything other than tile traps moisture under the vapor barrier thus promoting mold growth and that stinky smell.

Never allow your sheetrock bottom edge to sit on the concrete floor. It should be cut ½ to 1 inch above the floor. This prevent moisture wicking up the sheetrock from a damp concrete floor.

Always use composite (man-made fiberglass or plastic type) based moldings. Wood or compressed cardboard moldings absorb moisture thus promoting mold growth.

Declutter can help. Less dust to accumulate and easier to clean with less personal items. Again, no elevated humidity or water, mold can’t grow!

Always install a basement dehumidifier. We love self-pumping units so you don’t have to empty buckets. Better units such as AprilAire or SanteFe can be fed to a condensation pump are the first choice. Other common units with a built-in tube and pump can be bought between $200–300. Set the humidity level between 40–50 % and you should be fine.

Always make sure rain water is being diverted away from the foundation walls and cold water pipes are insulated to prevent condensation during the summer.

If you have any comments or questions regarding this article, please contact me at info@nyiaqsolutions.com. I would be happy to interact with you.

NY Indoor Air Quality Solutions
80 Old Brook Rd.
Huntington Station, NY 11746
631–275–5999 Michael Shain