Buffalo Restoration

A clean, dry basement has become one of the most important, valuable and rewarding characteristics of a home. For some homeowners, it’s the ultimate goal.

Many basements can be prone to humidity, dampness and wet conditions, as well as flooding. And these are the very conditions that can put your home at an even greater risk of developing mildew, or even worse-- black mold.

Most homeowners are unaware of how dangerous black mold can be. It can be very dangerous and cause severe health problems including breathing conditions. Some adults and children are more prone to developing issues such as irritable topical allergies, asthma, respiratory and breathing conditions—not everyone responds in the same ways or as severely when encountering black mold.

Black mold is best known by contractors as the silent attacker, as it slowly eats away at the wooden and concrete surfaces of your home resulting in devastation. Exposure to black mold places you at risk of health issues and your home in great jeopardy of developing structural weakness and wood decay.

Here are 4 steps to take to achieve a dry basement and prevent black mold from attacking your basement.

Landscaping

Some homeowners tend to overlook the landscaping around their home as a way to help achieve a dry basement. Whether you’re considering new construction or have work done to an existing structure, it’s a good idea to consider sloping the ground around the foundation.

Creating a small sloping angle is a process that allows water to conveniently redirect itself away from your home, overall, protecting the foundation against water damage. This small process can have remarkable benefits in helping achieve a dry basement, and reducing the chances of black mold.

Repairing Small Drips or Leaks

Moisture in a basement tends to come from a large variety of sources including outdoor spigots and leaky pipes in your basement. Unfortunately, many homeowners tend to overlook outdoor spigots as a source of achieving a dry basement.

It's hard to believe that something as small as a slow leaky pipe or slow dripping outdoor spigot can be a major factor in maintaining a dry basement. Within a short amount of time and with very little effort, the smallest, slightest drip or leak can create a concrete-eroding puddle around your foundation. Uncontrollable leaks can make it nearly impossible to achieve a dry basement. Any type of moisture, dampness or wetness in the basement of your home places your home high at risk of forming black mold.

If you discover a leaky pipe in your basement or a small drip from your outdoor spigot, it may be time to contact a professional plumber. This phone call may prove to be a preventative measure, because it’s far less expensive to have a plumber repair a leak than it is to have a contractor repair your home’s foundation in sections or in its entirety.

Gutters

Rain fall can create puddles of water near the walls of your foundation that, over time, allows water to seep through the walls and floor of your concrete foundation and creates serious issues; black mold, mildew, and wood/concrete decay.

Although the water being channeled through rain gutters does tend to run over or spill out, the gutter systems are intended to prevent rain from falling directly onto the concrete foundation of your home. In fact, rain gutter systems are designed to redirect the water away from the foundation.

Thus, the rain gutters or "spouting" around your home are very important factors in achieving a dry basement and preventing black mold from forming.

Installing Drains

Installing a French drain around your home is another way to redirect water away from the foundation of your home.

A French drain is nothing more than a small ditch around the foundation of your home that’s covered with gravel to redirect ground water away from the foundation.

This process is another step towards achieving a dry basement and reducing the risk of black mold.

Conclusion

These procedures must be done properly, so do-it-yourselfers it is best to contact a good basement waterproofing expert that can examine your basement, determine your specific needs and discuss your options. Such an expert can also recommend the best and most cost effective way you can achieve your goal of having a dry basement, thus reducing the risk of black mold.

Contact Buffalo Restoration today for more information about mold and basement waterproofing. They offer a free estimate for their services including mold removal in Montana.