Wet Basements An Open Invitation To Mold!

Submitted by: Fred Rosen

Wet basements – An open invitation to mold!

A damp or wet basement is a common problem that many homeowners have to deal with. And quite often, the type of home, its location or the vintage of the house doesn’t matter. While the owner of an older home is more likely to be faced with a wet basement, the problem can even occur in newly constructed homes.

Cause and effect

You don’t need a major flooding event, a drainage backup, or any other serious emergency situation to get a wet basement. In fact, in many cases, the basement of your a house can be at risk of being wet or damp as a result of seemingly “normal” activity, such as:

wear and tear of basement waterproofing

vapour from a shower or bath room without proper exhaust or ventilation

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9sXNCx0UQ0[/youtube]

an inadvertently open basement window during a shower or downpour can lead to a wet basement

open windows make underground basements susceptible when a house owner waters his/her lawn or backyard

a wet or damp basement may also be the result of improper humidity control

snow buildup against basement windows can lead to melting snow leaking into basements

While in most of these cases a vigilant homeowner will detect the problem and clean it up quickly, in some cases the damage goes largely unseen. Even when mops and sponges are used to drain away excess water from a wet basement floor or dripping walls, hidden dampness is often left behind. The effect can sometimes be devastating, leaving the basement filled with mildew and mold, which are harmful for both human health and the health of the property.

Dealing with the problem

In most instances of a wet basement, the homeowner can act quickly and diligently to remedy the situation themselves, or seek professional help to ensure the damage is contained:

Inspect the basement of your house regularly, especially in corners and around high window sills

Where the cause of a wet basement lies outside the house, the usual culprit is faulty or outdated basement waterproofing. Look for a wet basement floor or damp walls, and call in experts to advise you

Look for damp patches on outside facing basement walls. This could be indicative of foundation drainage system issues that must be dealt with by professionals

Landscaping might inadvertently create ground slopes towards (instead of away from) the house. This causes water to drain into the basement. This is a relatively easy fix.

There are other instances where a wet basement could be the result of nothing related to your own home. For instance, improperly draining water (rain, melting snow) from a neighbor’s roof could be what’s creating your basement to get wet.

Consulting an experienced wet basement repair specialist is the best way to deal with the problem. And addressing the signs earlier on could save you a lot of grief and prevent structural damage to your property caused by mould and mildew.

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