Constructing a house is difficult, but maintaining it is a much bigger, more time-consuming challenge. Nonetheless, it’s important to safeguard your home to continue enjoying its comfort. When doing this, you can’t overlook your basement regardless of how little time you spend there. Your basement is really important because it’s your home’s foundation, and any water leaks or dampness causes major issues to which you must react immediately to make sure you don’t have even bigger problems. This is why waterproofing your basement is so vital.
What types of problems can a wet basement lead to?
Structural Damage
When your home’s foundation has moist soil under it this water is prone to seep through your basement’s walls. This typically happens around the floor’s edges and joints. Once you notice it, the water has probably been there for some time so you don’t want to ignore it any longer since this can lead to even more damage (e.g. a cracked foundation, bowed walls). Therefore, it’s better to waterproof your basement to prevent this damage from ever happening in the first place.
Property Damage
If you have anything stored in your basement or have a garage or wine cellar there, the water will seep through your basement walls. When this happens, anything there becomes ruined. This is especially true of wooden items.
Microorganism Growth
Although every basement has some mold growing in it because of its “perfect” conditions, a wet basement is even more conducive to its growth. So, when water seeps into the basement’s sub-structure, the vapor condenses on cool objects (e.g. pipes) and wood the likelihood of mold growth is even greater. Once inside your home, the mold will eat any natural substances there (e.g. cardboard, paper, wallpaper, wood, latex paint, glues and many fabrics). From there the mold will also enter your home’s air circulation system whereby it’s carried throughout your entire home.
Dust mites also are similar to mold, but they’re found anywhere (e.g. carpeting, bedding, clothing) and you typically won’t notice them. In fact, for every gram of dust, there are 1,000 dust mites in it. Each of these mites defecates 20 times a day creating 200 times its body weight in just two months. These dust mites thrive especially well in areas where water vapor seeps through cracks, holes, and concrete in your home because these areas are humid. Of course, this makes your basement the perfect breeding ground for dust mites. From there they’ll infiltrate your whole home.
Grading and Sloping
Your home’s foundation is dug by removing dirt that’s then used as “back fill” once they pour the home’s foundation. This loose soil settles over time causing the foundation walls to shift and oftentimes crack, plumbing problems to occur and faulty window seals that let moisture into your basement contributing to problems with mold. If your foundation doesn’t slope away from your home, the damages are more extensive. Therefore, you’ll either want to get the slope fixed or your basement waterproofed.
Save Money on Your Energy Bills
Damp air costs more money to both heat and cool so when your basement is damp, you’re wasting your money on your electric bills. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that this costs anywhere from a 10% to a 15% increase in your electric bill. This is approximately $250 USD per year in savings.
The Bottom Line
You can clearly see that waterproofing your basement is crucial. Although it does cost you some money now, it will save you in the long run. So, contact us that we can help you safeguard your family’s health, cherished possessions, and your property’s value.
