Do dehumidifiers ruin floor joists?

I'm not a builder or any other type of professional.

First thing you need to do is figure out why you have standing water.

Second thing is most dehumidifiers have a control on them. I suppose if you turned it on as high as it will go it would dry everything out. If you put it on as low as it goes it would very rarely run and not dry anything out.

I think the thing is to find the happy medium. You can buy something to tell you how much humidity is in the air. Someone else can tell you what the ideal humidity is for a basement.

Good luck,

Devildog

Standing water is no good, whether you have a dehumidifier or not. Dehumidifiers simply remove moisture from the air. Water vapor. Apparently from your post, your basement has not been waterproofed at all. You failed to mention if you had a sump pump. I would be more concerned about how , where and why the standing water is getting in! The water that "puddles" in your basement will ruin the 2x4 or 2x6 joists. Whoever told your husband this info was not experienced.

...but as has been pointed out above, the dehumidifier won't resolve the problem you're having with water coming in to the basement. Seek professional help in your area to stop the water infiltration. Once the source of the water has been found and eliminated, then you can better judsge whether you still need a dehumidifier. And, as has been pointed out, the dehumidifier will only help to dry the air in the basement, as even many of the newest basements will have a little abmient moisture in the air. Dampness is a given in many, many basements, even mine. I have no water problems, just damp air in the warm months. So I run a dehumidifier 24/7 during those periods, and the drier are keeps mildew at bay...