[Stones]

I installed a Vanee 90HV-ECM last fall due to the same problems you are having. The previous owners of my house should have installed one years ago as all of the windows frames had black mold on them and had suffered major water damage. After moving in and setting up my 225 galllon aquarium, it was absolutely necessary to install the HRV or my house would have been destroyed by the excess humidity.

I did the install myself and the hardest part was plumbing the exhaust intake vent from my basement to the top of my living room wall on my main level without tearing out any drywall or ripping the flexible venting while doing so. Other than this, the install went very well and after firing up the HRV, my humidity went from >60% down to 30-35% within a few days. I also vented the fresh air into my furnace plenum which is what I'd recommend to anyone doing a retrofit, especially if you have a furnace with a DC fan.

I ended up with alot of small cracks in my drywall and nearly all of my baseboards had to be redone due to the large gaps forming at all the corners and joints. I now have to replace all of the windows and frames in the house as the frames are shot and all of the window inserts seals are gone as well. Had an HRV been installed sooner, this likely wouldn't have been the case.

You won't see a new house being built now without a HRV and this should have been manditory years ago. I'd highly recommend installing a HRV in your situation as a dehumidifier may be the cheaper route, but this is only a bandaid and not a solution for such a problem.