Before & After Photos

This homeowner had horrible smells coming up into her kitchen and the rest of the home. Thrasher traced it to the crawl space and suggested a permanent fix.

Sandra had horrible smells coming up into her kitchen and the rest of the home. No homeowner wants that, especially in the kitchen. She traced the source of the offending odors to the crawl space. But what was causing the smells? Moisture is the root cause of most musty house smells. The most common reason for a musty odor in your home is the presence of mold or mildew. This is one reason that some houses smell after it rains or when you've had a plumbing leak.

Getting Rid of Musty Smell in Your Home

So how do you get rid of the musty smell in the basement? Deodorizers? Air filtration? Fans? Over time, it's more than an olfactory annoyance. There are even deeper worries about how it may be affecting your family's health. Fifty percent of homes have at least one person that suffers from allergies. And, 90% with allergies show sensitivity to mold spores. Indoor air quality is an often overlooked but critical issue in the health of your home.

The problem is the amount of humidity in your home. Part of the challenge is how air circulates in a home. It's called the "stack effect." The stack effect refers to the process in which hot air leaves the home through your attic and upper levels. As it does, a vacuum is created below, and new air is pulled upwards through the basement, crawl space, and lower levels. And, all of that moisture is pulled along with the air through your home. Mold, mildew and even dust mites thrive in humidity-rich environments. What's a homeowner to do? 

Here's a video that explains the stack in your home(opens in a new window).

Permanently Fixing Humidity Issues in Basements, Crawl Space

Sandra called Thrasher Foundation Repair. System Design Specialist Zach Goldberg confirmed what Sandra suspected, and that was her problem originated in the crawl space. The solution was an efficient system to eliminate the moisture and keep it from spreading throughout Sandra's home. Zach recommended: 

• Complete crawl space encapsulation - A vapor barrier slows or prevents ground moisture evaporation into the crawl space air. A vapor barrier, by its nature, resists the passage of air. By stopping air movement from the ground, it can also turn your crawlspace into a semi-conditioned space – one that is close to the temperature of the living spaces above. 
• Also, a highly efficient dehumidifier, the SaniDry Sedona, was recommended to pull the moisture out of the air and prevent it from being released into the home. The SaniDry Sedona eliminates damp, musty odors in your basement or crawlspace by drying and filtering the air. It will keep your home below 50% relative humidity – mold won't stand a chance, and dust mites will die off!
• By installing a SuperSump sump pump system, they'd be able to capture additional sources of moisture like groundwater, any water that collects in the crawl space and a resource for emptying the dehumidifier. Your sump pump is the critical component of keeping your basement dry. Without a reliable and operational sump pump, your basement is likely to get wet.
• As a final step, drain we installed lines to route water away from the home to avoid reintroduction into the crawl space. If the soil around your basement is saturated with water, hydrostatic pressure will build, and water will find its way in through the path of least resistance. These resistance paths can include porous concrete foundation walls, form ties on poured foundation walls, cracks in foundation walls, and the cold joint where the foundation wall and footing meet.

This was a big project to consider, and Sandra felt like she needed some help to decide. She called on her son Paul to offer counsel. Paul is a highly-regarded contractor in Wichita, was very much involved after the original consultation. Zach went and visited Sandra and Paul and thoroughly discussed the inspection and the options presented. After an hour and a half, they decided that this was the best for Sandra and her home. Part of our Thrasher Difference is our Design Specialists will educate you to make the most informed decision about how to repair and restore value for your home. We have a variety of products to fit various problems, and if we can't fix it – we'll let you know that too. The 25-year transferrable warranty on the crawl space encapsulation also offered peace of mind for moving forward.

What’s the Right Level of Humidity in My Home

So, what's the right level of humidity in your home? Every basement is going to have a humidity level. The question boils down to – what is a safe humidity level to have in your home? Safe humidity levels range from 30% up to 50%. Once you get up to that 50% marker in a basement, there is enough moisture in the air to allow some of the common indoor allergens to start to survive and thrive. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends(opens in a new window), "Keep humidity levels in your home as low as you can—no higher than 50%–all day long."

In the video below, Shane McClintic, one of our basement repair experts with over ten years of waterproofing experience, provides more information and explains what an average, healthy basement humidity level is for most homes and symptoms of basement humidity that exceed this level. Shane also discusses how high basement humidity levels can lead to potential health issues, including mold growth, dust mites and allergies.

Here's a video that explains "normal" levels of humidity in your home(opens in a new window).

Once we did the work, Paul told Zach at the job site that he doesn't give praise much because his standards are so high, but that he was impressed with everything Thrasher did for his mom.

He would recommend us to anyone.

Ready for Peace of Mind

If your basement or crawl space doesn't pass the "sniff test,' call us to determine how you can better ensure your family's health. And remember, it includes a warranty she can pass on if she decides to move on! If you have any nagging problems where Thrasher Foundation Repair can help, call us today or link to our Free Inspection form here. 

Barry B. has lived in his home a long time. Each time it rained he would get up to 2 inches of water in his basement and it was always wet when it rained. Tired of not being able to use this space and cleaning up each time, he decided to give Thrasher a call.

We sent System Design Specialist, Dylan Hagen out to the home. He was able to identify how the water was coming in. The crew started with installing WaterGuard, which is an interior basement drainage system, that captures water before it reaches the basement floor. Then full height CleanSpace was used to encapsulate the space, to keep the walls dry. Lastly a TripleSafe Sump Pump was installed to capture the water from the WaterGuard system. The homeowner was extremely pleased to know that his basement would stay completely dry!

We installed a full-featured waterproofing solution for this homeowner in Bel Aire, Kansas, including CleanSpace vapor barrier, perimeter and lateral draining system, our TripleSafe sump pump and IceGuard with buried discharge. Water is the basement disrupted this homeowners work space, but now he can return to work and store his belongings secure in the knowledge that it will be clean, dry and safe.

This homeowner was frustrated because her basement was wet. She wanted to have this fixed, so she decided to contact us after a friend referred her.

We sent Service Technician Andrew Davis to inspect the basement and determine what was causing this homeowner's basement to have standing water. Andrew noticed that there was a high level of water on the floor from the latest rain because there was no proper drainage for water to exit the basement. Andrew installed WaterGuard Interior Drainage System, CleanSpace Basement Wall Vapor Barrier and lateral lines to give the basement a drainage system.

The homeowner was very happy with the project and very pleased that her basement is dry. Check out the newly installed waterproofing systems!

A homeowner in Wichita, KS was looking to sell her home with her daughter before the end of the year. She believed that water was coming from the neighbors home and into hers, and her daughter was tired of having to clean up the water mess on the shared wall every time. After looking into solutions online, they decided to give us a call.

We sent System Design Specialist Clint Gerber to inspect the shared wall as well as the perimeter of the duplex to determine where the water was coming from and what solutions would work best for the home. Clint determined that water was getting in through the cold join along the shared foundation wall and that the neighbor's yard had grading that was not doing their water problem any favors. Water was directed directly the their side of the duplex and due to hydrostatic pressure, water only was able to get in through the cold joint. Clint suggested a few solutions that made the homeowner and her daughter extremely excited, so they scheduled a time for installation. Our installation team used WaterGuard Interior Drainage System and CleanSpace Vapor Barrier to keep the basement draining water away from the floor and to direct water into the drainage system only.

The homeowner and her daughter are so excited that they never have to worry about water getting into their basement again. They expect moving to be a lot easier now. Check out their waterproofed wall!