A Wet Basement Can Lead To Health Concerns

Certain areas of North America get an average precipitation for a full calendar year between 1200 and 1600 mm (that's 47 and 63 inches). With that much combined annual rainfall and melted snow, it is a certainty that a large number of basements will flood. Flooded and wet basements pose serious risks to one's health through the growth of mold and the spreading of dust mites. By simply waterproofing your basement, you can rid your home of these dangers.

Mold Growth

Some form of mold is present in nearly every basement in every home. This is because the perfect conditions for mold growth exist in your basement are simple. Mold needs the following to thrive:

• Moisture
• Organic "food"

Basements are notoriously damp. Water in its liquid or vapor form can seep into a sub-structure through the porous concrete basement floor. When this happens, the vapor condenses on cooler objects in your basement such as pipes, furniture and the wooden structural supports. Water can also enter in through cracks in basement walls which appear more often than people believe.

When a house foundation is dug, the removed dirt is used as "back fill" around the recently-poured foundation. That soil is looser than the untouched earth around it and will settle over time. That settling causes shifting in the foundation walls and will often lead to cracking. In addition to cracks like these, plumbing problems or faulty widow seals also allow moisture into the basement and could contribute to mold complications.

Mold eats things that are organic (i.e. have an element of a natural substance in them), and many of the compounds in your basement have organic elements in them. Cardboard, paper, wallpaper, wood, latex paint, glues and many fabrics are organic (latex has rubber in it which comes from rubber trees). The combination of organic compounds like these and a water/moisture troubled basement is the ideal habitat for mold to grow. Also, a homes' air circulation starts in the basement and flows upward throughout the entire house (called the Stack Effect), thus subjecting your entire home to mold infestation.

Dust Mites

Similarly, dust mites can be anywhere; in your carpet, in your bedding or in your clothes, and you probably won't even notice them because they are so small.

• There are a thousand dust mites in a gram of dust.
• A single dust mite defecates 20 times a day, creating 200 times its body weight within two months; it is these dust mite droppings that irritate our airways.

Dust mites don't drink water, they absorb it out of the air. Evaporation from collected water or the vapor that seeps in through cracks, holes and the porous concrete of your basement, all add to the moisture content of your basement air ( a.k.a. humidity). You can see that your basement is the perfect breeding ground for dust mites. These tiny critters can also infiltrate your entire home because of the stack effect that is constantly at work.

The Solution

Contacting a local basement waterproofing specialist is your best bet to completely remediate mold and dust mites from your home. They will install a dehumidifier or repair leaky cracks in your basement so that moisture and humidity will not build up in your home. By installing these solutions, you can eliminate some major health concerns that will surely come about with an average of 1600 mm of precipitation a year.

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