[Jayems]

Here's something that's come up...

my basement is perpetually cold and damp while the rest of my house is really hot.

Now I assume it's because of all the rain, coupled with the fact that i'm in a construction zone and there's not much for sloping and I can't install any underground weeping tile or whatever...

But seriously, my hockey equipment NEVER dries. It's gross. How can I make my basement less damp? A space heater and de-humidifier aren't really in the budget right now. And I can't leave the basement window open all the time because it needs to be closed to activate the alarm.

I've opened windows during the day, started leaving the door to upstairs open, turned off the furnace's humidifier... any other suggestions?

(there is no water leaking into the basement that I've found, FWIW).