Wet Basements
Cellars often leak due to water built-up on the outside of your foundation walls. Water collects in small pockets in the soil next to the foundation and begins to form hydrostatic pressure. Overtime this pressure increases until the moisture is literally pushed through the wall (often called “bleeding”). Usually you’ll find seepage in corners or in joints where the wall meets the floor. Though the process is typically slow going and probably won’t have immediate consequences, you’ll want to remedy the problem as soon as possible. If ignored, it won’t only ruin the look of your cellar; it’ll cause bigger setbacks down the road (bowed walls and cracked foundations).

Exterior Measures
Since there is only one way for water to get into your home, your first plan of action will be to examine the outside of your house to see if water is being properly diverted. Passive basement waterproofing systems are the primary preventative measure.
Sloping and Grading: Look at where the soil meets your walls. Is the ground sloping away from the foundation? This is the biggest reason why water penetrates the home: it has nowhere to go but in. If this is the case, you’ll want to hire a professional grader to help slope the ground downhill and away from the house.
Gutters: Are your gutters clean? If they’re clogged, the water will simply spill over the edge, down your walls, and into the foundation.
Downspouts Extensions: Even if water is being properly diverted, is it being carried far enough away? If your drainage systems allow water to seep back towards the home, then invest in some downspout extensions to ensure its permanent evacuation.

The Inside Scoop
Of course, this where the water ends up. So once you’ve located the sources of the leak, in order inhibit moisture spreading into other areas of the interior, here are a couple mitigation methods for those do-it-yourselfers.
Sealant: Buy a product that seals your entire interior. You patch up the joints and seams, prime the area, and then literally paint on a couple coats of sealer. It creates an impermeable, almost rubberized surface and repairs any leaks or cracks.
Baseboard Guards: These metal baseboards run along the seam where the wall meets the floor, are permanently sealed in place, and collect any escaping moisture. This collected water is then guided to a drain or sump pump. It’s a very effective system, but requires some prep work. For poured concrete, you’ll need to seal the corner joint above the baseboard. And for concrete block, holes may need to be drilled into the core of the bottom row in order to alleviate the hydrostatic pressure and let the water run free.

Drainage Systems
Basement waterproofing requires a lot of separate equipment: gutters, grading, sealing, etc. But don’t forget the primary sources of water diversion. Regularly check your interior drains to assure they’re not clogged. Also, it’s a great idea to invest in a sump pump that will literally push the water away from the home (this should also be regularly checked and monitored for maintenance). And if the problem gets worse, you may want to invest in some tile systems (digging up the basement floor, installing a drainage system in the foundation, and then replacing the flooring). However, for this particularly extensive chore, you’ll definitely want to hire a professional contractor trained in basement waterproofing systems.

Basement Condensation & Basement Leakage

If you do not have obvious flows of water after each rain but have persistent dampness, your problem may be basement condensation rather than water leaking through the walls. If dampness seems to be a hot-weather problem, basement condensation is the likely culprit.

What Is Basement Condensation?
The warmer air is, the more moisture it can hold. Conversely, when air cools, it often has to release moisture. The dew on your lawn in the morning is moisture that was in the air until overnight temperatures dropped to the point where the air could not hold all of that moisture. The same thing happens when warm summer air that is loaded with moisture comes into contact with your glass of iced tea: the glass cools the air, causing the air to give up some moisture as water droplets on the outside of your glass. In your basement, condensation develops when you have relatively warm, moist air contacting the cool surface of the walls. As the walls cool the air, droplets form on the walls and you’ve got a damp basement.

Condensation Testing
If you think condensation might be the problem in your basement, there is a simple test. Securely tape a 10″ x 10″ piece of plastic wrap onto the basement wall in an area where you have noticed dampness, sealing the edges of the plastic wrap with the tape. Check on the plastic over the next few days. Eventually you will get moisture: if the moisture is on the wall side of the plastic, you’ve got a leak; if the moisture is on the room side of the plastic, you’ve got a condensation problem.

Basement Condensation Solutions

Condensation problems are usually easier to fix than leaks. Depending on the circumstances in your home, you have several lines of attack, all of which are designed to reduce the moisture in the air. Excess moisture commonly comes from clothes dryers, clothes lines, showers, cooking, and dew.

Sources of Basement Moisture
Concentrate on potential sources of basement moisture in or near the basement. If you have an indoor clothes line, consider moving it outdoors (at least in the warm summer months) or increasing air circulation (more on that later). Check your dryer to ensure that the exhaust vent doesn’t leak and has an unobstructed path to the outdoors. If your dryer exhaust is equipped with an energy saving switch, allowing you to exhaust air indoors or out, ensure that yours is set to outdoors and see if it takes care of the problem.

While uncommon, basement moisture sometimes comes from plumbing leaks. As you are checking your basement, be on the lookout for signs of a plumbing problem. One place to check is the pipes in the ceiling directly under the kitchen sink. Another problem location is the drain line that removes water from the indoor part of your central air conditioner. Some new high- efficiency furnaces have a drain line as well. If these lines are clogged or broken, they can put out a surprising amount of water.

Basement Exhaust fans. If there is a basement shower that gets a lot of use, install a basement exhaust fan that draws the damp air out of the house. Should these measures fail to resolve the problem, and you are rather certain that your problem is basement condensation, check moisture sources in other parts of the house. In very well insulated houses, even small amounts of basement moisture can be problematic. The kitchen and every bath should be equipped with a working exhaust fan. Make sure household members use the fans! (If you have trouble getting cooperation on this front, have the bathroom fans hooked up to the light switch. Whenever the light goes on, so does the fan.)

Air circulation in Your Basement
If the condensationin your basement is quite modest, and there are not obvious sources of excess moisture, increasing air circulation may resolve the problem. Some basements don’t have air-conditioning vents, but it is usually a simple matter to create a couple of vents. If you already have vents, make sure they are open.

If your basement is so packed with stuff that air can’t circulate anyway, additional vents will have little effect. You should get rid of some junk and create air passages around and between things. You especially want air to be able to flow easily along walls. If you do not have a central fan or air conditioner, or if it doesn’t seem to adequately stir the basement air, you might want to run a circulating fan in the basement for a few hours each day. While it won’t remove much moisture, it helps distribute the moisture evenly and eliminate damp spots.

Insulating Your Basement
Another approach to the condensation problem is to reduce the extent to which moist air contacts cool surfaces where it can condense. With this approach, you insulate exposed duct work, pipes, and walls – anywhere that water tends to condense. If the moist air can’t reach the cool surfaces, it won’t release water as condensation.

Wet Basements
Cellars often leak due to water built-up on the outside of your foundation walls. Water collects in small pockets in the soil next to the foundation and begins to form hydrostatic pressure. Overtime this pressure increases until the moisture is literally pushed through the wall (often called “bleeding”). Usually you’ll find seepage in corners or in joints where the wall meets the floor. Though the process is typically slow going and probably won’t have immediate consequences, you’ll want to remedy the problem as soon as possible. If ignored, it won’t only ruin the look of your cellar; it’ll cause bigger setbacks down the road (bowed walls and cracked foundations).

Exterior Measures
Since there is only one way for water to get into your home, your first plan of action will be to examine the outside of your house to see if water is being properly diverted. Passive basement waterproofing systems are the primary preventative measure.
Sloping and Grading: Look at where the soil meets your walls. Is the ground sloping away from the foundation? This is the biggest reason why water penetrates the home: it has nowhere to go but in. If this is the case, you’ll want to hire a professional grader to help slope the ground downhill and away from the house.
Gutters: Are your gutters clean? If they’re clogged, the water will simply spill over the edge, down your walls, and into the foundation.
Downspouts Extensions: Even if water is being properly diverted, is it being carried far enough away? If your drainage systems allow water to seep back towards the home, then invest in some downspout extensions to ensure its permanent evacuation.

The Inside Scoop
Of course, this where the water ends up. So once you’ve located the sources of the leak, in order inhibit moisture spreading into other areas of the interior, here are a couple mitigation methods for those do-it-yourselfers.
Sealant: Buy a product that seals your entire interior. You patch up the joints and seams, prime the area, and then literally paint on a couple coats of sealer. It creates an impermeable, almost rubberized surface and repairs any leaks or cracks.
Baseboard Guards: These metal baseboards run along the seam where the wall meets the floor, are permanently sealed in place, and collect any escaping moisture. This collected water is then guided to a drain or sump pump. It’s a very effective system, but requires some prep work. For poured concrete, you’ll need to seal the corner joint above the baseboard. And for concrete block, holes may need to be drilled into the core of the bottom row in order to alleviate the hydrostatic pressure and let the water run free.

Drainage Systems
Basement waterproofing requires a lot of separate equipment: gutters, grading, sealing, etc. But don’t forget the primary sources of water diversion. Regularly check your interior drains to assure they’re not clogged. Also, it’s a great idea to invest in a sump pump that will literally push the water away from the home (this should also be regularly checked and monitored for maintenance). And if the problem gets worse, you may want to invest in some tile systems (digging up the basement floor, installing a drainage system in the foundation, and then replacing the flooring). However, for this particularly extensive chore, you’ll definitely want to hire a professional contractor trained in basement waterproofing systems.

Basement Condensation & Basement Leakage

If you do not have obvious flows of water after each rain but have persistent dampness, your problem may be basement condensation rather than water leaking through the walls. If dampness seems to be a hot-weather problem, basement condensation is the likely culprit.

What Is Basement Condensation?
The warmer air is, the more moisture it can hold. Conversely, when air cools, it often has to release moisture. The dew on your lawn in the morning is moisture that was in the air until overnight temperatures dropped to the point where the air could not hold all of that moisture. The same thing happens when warm summer air that is loaded with moisture comes into contact with your glass of iced tea: the glass cools the air, causing the air to give up some moisture as water droplets on the outside of your glass. In your basement, condensation develops when you have relatively warm, moist air contacting the cool surface of the walls. As the walls cool the air, droplets form on the walls and you’ve got a damp basement.

Condensation Testing
If you think condensation might be the problem in your basement, there is a simple test. Securely tape a 10″ x 10″ piece of plastic wrap onto the basement wall in an area where you have noticed dampness, sealing the edges of the plastic wrap with the tape. Check on the plastic over the next few days. Eventually you will get moisture: if the moisture is on the wall side of the plastic, you’ve got a leak; if the moisture is on the room side of the plastic, you’ve got a condensation problem.

Basement Condensation Solutions

Condensation problems are usually easier to fix than leaks. Depending on the circumstances in your home, you have several lines of attack, all of which are designed to reduce the moisture in the air. Excess moisture commonly comes from clothes dryers, clothes lines, showers, cooking, and dew.

Sources of Basement Moisture
Concentrate on potential sources of basement moisture in or near the basement. If you have an indoor clothes line, consider moving it outdoors (at least in the warm summer months) or increasing air circulation (more on that later). Check your dryer to ensure that the exhaust vent doesn’t leak and has an unobstructed path to the outdoors. If your dryer exhaust is equipped with an energy saving switch, allowing you to exhaust air indoors or out, ensure that yours is set to outdoors and see if it takes care of the problem.

While uncommon, basement moisture sometimes comes from plumbing leaks. As you are checking your basement, be on the lookout for signs of a plumbing problem. One place to check is the pipes in the ceiling directly under the kitchen sink. Another problem location is the drain line that removes water from the indoor part of your central air conditioner. Some new high- efficiency furnaces have a drain line as well. If these lines are clogged or broken, they can put out a surprising amount of water.

Basement Exhaust fans. If there is a basement shower that gets a lot of use, install a basement exhaust fan that draws the damp air out of the house. Should these measures fail to resolve the problem, and you are rather certain that your problem is basement condensation, check moisture sources in other parts of the house. In very well insulated houses, even small amounts of basement moisture can be problematic. The kitchen and every bath should be equipped with a working exhaust fan. Make sure household members use the fans! (If you have trouble getting cooperation on this front, have the bathroom fans hooked up to the light switch. Whenever the light goes on, so does the fan.)

Air circulation in Your Basement
If the condensationin your basement is quite modest, and there are not obvious sources of excess moisture, increasing air circulation may resolve the problem. Some basements don’t have air-conditioning vents, but it is usually a simple matter to create a couple of vents. If you already have vents, make sure they are open.

If your basement is so packed with stuff that air can’t circulate anyway, additional vents will have little effect. You should get rid of some junk and create air passages around and between things. You especially want air to be able to flow easily along walls. If you do not have a central fan or air conditioner, or if it doesn’t seem to adequately stir the basement air, you might want to run a circulating fan in the basement for a few hours each day. While it won’t remove much moisture, it helps distribute the moisture evenly and eliminate damp spots.

Insulating Your Basement
Another approach to the condensation problem is to reduce the extent to which moist air contacts cool surfaces where it can condense. With this approach, you insulate exposed duct work, pipes, and walls – anywhere that water tends to condense. If the moist air can’t reach the cool surfaces, it won’t release water as condensation.

Basement Condensation & Basement Leakage

If you do not have obvious flows of water after each rain but have persistent dampness, your problem may be basement condensation rather than water leaking through the walls. If dampness seems to be a hot-weather problem, basement condensation is the likely culprit.

What Is Basement Condensation?
The warmer air is, the more moisture it can hold. Conversely, when air cools, it often has to release moisture. The dew on your lawn in the morning is moisture that was in the air until overnight temperatures dropped to the point where the air could not hold all of that moisture. The same thing happens when warm summer air that is loaded with moisture comes into contact with your glass of iced tea: the glass cools the air, causing the air to give up some moisture as water droplets on the outside of your glass. In your basement, condensation develops when you have relatively warm, moist air contacting the cool surface of the walls. As the walls cool the air, droplets form on the walls and you’ve got a damp basement.

Condensation Testing
If you think condensation might be the problem in your basement, there is a simple test. Securely tape a 10″ x 10″ piece of plastic wrap onto the basement wall in an area where you have noticed dampness, sealing the edges of the plastic wrap with the tape. Check on the plastic over the next few days. Eventually you will get moisture: if the moisture is on the wall side of the plastic, you’ve got a leak; if the moisture is on the room side of the plastic, you’ve got a condensation problem.

Basement Condensation Solutions

Condensation problems are usually easier to fix than leaks. Depending on the circumstances in your home, you have several lines of attack, all of which are designed to reduce the moisture in the air. Excess moisture commonly comes from clothes dryers, clothes lines, showers, cooking, and dew.

Sources of Basement Moisture
Concentrate on potential sources of basement moisture in or near the basement. If you have an indoor clothes line, consider moving it outdoors (at least in the warm summer months) or increasing air circulation (more on that later). Check your dryer to ensure that the exhaust vent doesn’t leak and has an unobstructed path to the outdoors. If your dryer exhaust is equipped with an energy saving switch, allowing you to exhaust air indoors or out, ensure that yours is set to outdoors and see if it takes care of the problem.

While uncommon, basement moisture sometimes comes from plumbing leaks. As you are checking your basement, be on the lookout for signs of a plumbing problem. One place to check is the pipes in the ceiling directly under the kitchen sink. Another problem location is the drain line that removes water from the indoor part of your central air conditioner. Some new high- efficiency furnaces have a drain line as well. If these lines are clogged or broken, they can put out a surprising amount of water.

Basement Exhaust fans. If there is a basement shower that gets a lot of use, install a basement exhaust fan that draws the damp air out of the house. Should these measures fail to resolve the problem, and you are rather certain that your problem is basement condensation, check moisture sources in other parts of the house. In very well insulated houses, even small amounts of basement moisture can be problematic. The kitchen and every bath should be equipped with a working exhaust fan. Make sure household members use the fans! (If you have trouble getting cooperation on this front, have the bathroom fans hooked up to the light switch. Whenever the light goes on, so does the fan.)

Air circulation in Your Basement
If the condensationin your basement is quite modest, and there are not obvious sources of excess moisture, increasing air circulation may resolve the problem. Some basements don’t have air-conditioning vents, but it is usually a simple matter to create a couple of vents. If you already have vents, make sure they are open.

If your basement is so packed with stuff that air can’t circulate anyway, additional vents will have little effect. You should get rid of some junk and create air passages around and between things. You especially want air to be able to flow easily along walls. If you do not have a central fan or air conditioner, or if it doesn’t seem to adequately stir the basement air, you might want to run a circulating fan in the basement for a few hours each day. While it won’t remove much moisture, it helps distribute the moisture evenly and eliminate damp spots.

Insulating Your Basement
Another approach to the condensation problem is to reduce the extent to which moist air contacts cool surfaces where it can condense. With this approach, you insulate exposed duct work, pipes, and walls – anywhere that water tends to condense. If the moist air can’t reach the cool surfaces, it won’t release water as condensation.

Wet Basements
Cellars often leak due to water built-up on the outside of your foundation walls. Water collects in small pockets in the soil next to the foundation and begins to form hydrostatic pressure. Overtime this pressure increases until the moisture is literally pushed through the wall (often called “bleeding”). Usually you’ll find seepage in corners or in joints where the wall meets the floor. Though the process is typically slow going and probably won’t have immediate consequences, you’ll want to remedy the problem as soon as possible. If ignored, it won’t only ruin the look of your cellar; it’ll cause bigger setbacks down the road (bowed walls and cracked foundations).

Exterior Measures
Since there is only one way for water to get into your home, your first plan of action will be to examine the outside of your house to see if water is being properly diverted. Passive basement waterproofing systems are the primary preventative measure.
Sloping and Grading: Look at where the soil meets your walls. Is the ground sloping away from the foundation? This is the biggest reason why water penetrates the home: it has nowhere to go but in. If this is the case, you’ll want to hire a professional grader to help slope the ground downhill and away from the house.
Gutters: Are your gutters clean? If they’re clogged, the water will simply spill over the edge, down your walls, and into the foundation.
Downspouts Extensions: Even if water is being properly diverted, is it being carried far enough away? If your drainage systems allow water to seep back towards the home, then invest in some downspout extensions to ensure its permanent evacuation.

The Inside Scoop
Of course, this where the water ends up. So once you’ve located the sources of the leak, in order inhibit moisture spreading into other areas of the interior, here are a couple mitigation methods for those do-it-yourselfers.
Sealant: Buy a product that seals your entire interior. You patch up the joints and seams, prime the area, and then literally paint on a couple coats of sealer. It creates an impermeable, almost rubberized surface and repairs any leaks or cracks.
Baseboard Guards: These metal baseboards run along the seam where the wall meets the floor, are permanently sealed in place, and collect any escaping moisture. This collected water is then guided to a drain or sump pump. It’s a very effective system, but requires some prep work. For poured concrete, you’ll need to seal the corner joint above the baseboard. And for concrete block, holes may need to be drilled into the core of the bottom row in order to alleviate the hydrostatic pressure and let the water run free.

Drainage Systems
Basement waterproofing requires a lot of separate equipment: gutters, grading, sealing, etc. But don’t forget the primary sources of water diversion. Regularly check your interior drains to assure they’re not clogged. Also, it’s a great idea to invest in a sump pump that will literally push the water away from the home (this should also be regularly checked and monitored for maintenance). And if the problem gets worse, you may want to invest in some tile systems (digging up the basement floor, installing a drainage system in the foundation, and then replacing the flooring). However, for this particularly extensive chore, you’ll definitely want to hire a professional contractor trained in basement waterproofing systems.