How to Repair a Wet Basement
Moisture that enters your basement can make the space uncomfortable and annoying, bringing mold and mildew that create unpleasant smells, while also doing serious damage to the structure of your house and the things you store in the basement. Even when repairs are expensive, it's worth it to stop the cost of damage from going up. Remedying your wet basement requires fixing the damage done inside your basement and searching outside it for the things that are bringing water in. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Monitor the wet areas to determine the sources of the water and continue monitoring as you make changes to see their effects. Try to determine if water is leaking through a particular spot on the ceiling or wall, or if moisture in your basement increases after particular events, like weather outside or the use of certain plumbing fixtures within your house. You may be able to trace a leak to something that is easy to remedy, like water spraying on the floor from a bath or shower.
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Check your rain gutters and drains to ensure they they are clean and are carrying water away from your house. Many drains dump water right at the base of the house, where it is easy for it to damage the foundation and seep into the basement. Extend drains to carry water at least 4 feet away from the house, ideally more. Keep in mind that an enormous amount of water can fall on a roof and that a substantial portion of it can be directed to this one spot.
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Add soil, and grass to hold it in place, to grade your lawn so that it captures water and redirects it away from your home. Ideally, there is a steady decline from the base of the house around it in all direction, leading toward water drainage. If water rolls downhill towards your home, create a trench or mound that turns it and guides it away.
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Open hairline cracks wider with a chisel or grinder so that that they can be filled. Wash out cracks with a hose or pressure washer and towel off so the surface is damp but there is no standing water. Fill small cracks with grout.
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For deeper cracks, chisel below the surface so that the opening is smaller than inside. This will keep the patching material locked firmly in place. Fill deeper cracks with a vinyl concrete patcher in quarter-inch layers, letting each layer dry before adding the next.
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Leave a generous amount of baking soda on dampened carpets for a couple of days to remove odors. Although warped wood is primarily an aesthetic concern as long as it is flooring or wall paneling and not a support beam for the house, it will need to be replaced.
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