Waterproofing basement walls is necessary not only to maintain the aesthetics of your home, but it also helps to maintain the health of the whole family.
If your basement smells damp and moldy, it means that you have to waterproof the walls.
High humidity level provides the ideal environment for molds, fungi, and mildews to grow and spread.
These microorganisms can damage the furniture, household appliances, and can also affect our health.
When water enters your basement through cracks or holes in the walls, it will assist the spread of the microorganisms throughout your home.
Although often not realized, they can trigger serious health problems for the people living in the home, such as sinus and respiratory problems, asthma, constant fatigue, headache, sleeping disorder, constipation, nose bleed, memory impairment, and weakened immune system.
People with allergy tendencies, underlying lung disease, and low immunity are at high risk for these mold-related diseases.
To waterproof your basement, you need to use good waterproofing products.
The first step in selecting the best waterproofing products is determining the extent of the water problem in your home.
Subsequently, you can choose the products according to the severity or the type of the problem.
For instance, there are products specially made for waterproofing the exterior or interior walls and you do not want to mistake one for the other.
Basically, waterproofing is a relatively simple preventive job.
Nevertheless, if the water has leaked to your home, you should fix the leaks prior to applying the waterproofing membranes.
If your house is a newly-built one, selecting and applying the waterproofing products should be an easy task since you don't have to do any reparation beforehand.
A good building contractor should put downspouts at least 10 feet from the foundation of the house.
To prevent future water problems, footer drains and a pump can be added to the foundation base.
Additionally, you will have to apply waterproofing tar to the exterior walls.
On the other hand, if there are leaks in the basement walls, you need to find out what causes them.
In most cases, water leaks through the joints and corners where the walls and the floors meet.
If the leaks are not fixed immediately, they will provide the perfect breeding ground for molds, mildews, and fungi.
You will need to use products which drain the water from the foundation of the house.
If you find no cracks or holes within the walls, you will only need to waterproof the interior walls.