Water leaking into the basement through concrete walls is something of a nuisance if it does not cause structural damage and if it does, well, then it is a much bigger problem that needs to be dealt with. Whether you use your basement for storage or for an extra bedroom or an entertainment area, having a wet basement tends to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. Musty smells from mold growth will result, especially if there are things in the basement for the mold to feed on, such as paper or furniture. Not only is the smell quite repulsive, but the mold also creates a health risk for anyone living in the house. Mold often gets transferred from room to room by people and pets, so the infestation being mainly in the basement will not stop it from getting to other areas of your house.
So, what can you do to waterproof your basement walls? If there are already cracks in them, particularly in the middle of the wall, then sealing up the cracks is a fairly easy job to do. The only thing that you need to really do is determine what kind of material that you need to fill in the cracks with.
Caulking the crack shut does not work because it does not bond to the concrete and water will eventually cause it to come loose and just fall out. Cement does not work, either, since it is rigid and concrete is always moving, expanding, and shrinking.
Using a low-pressure injection of concrete is one of the best things that you can do to correct this problem. While it used to be expensive and need a heavy amount of equipment to accomplish, you can do it these days with a normal caulking gun.
Expandable polyurethane is one material that you can use to fill in cracks allowing water into the house. While it does not give the concrete any added strength, it does create a waterproof barrier. The polyurethane will bond to the crack whether water is seeping in through it at the time or not.
Go around the exterior of the house and find where water could be seeping inside. This could be around the foundation where water settles into pockets because the soil is not piled high enough around the house. You can fix this by getting soil from another area of your yard, if possible, or purchasing some and packing it in these pockets around the house.
If the problem is ground water, one of the only things that you can do about this is to install a drain system in the yard so the soil does not get oversaturated.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Sewage Damage Cleanup and other states such as
South Carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Water Damaged Papers
One of the first things that you need to be concerned with after a hurricane or a flood is the condition of the important documents that reside in your home with your other belongings. These are often the original and only copies of such documents and losing them could cause us at the least some inconveniences and at the most, a good amount of legal trouble. You should know how to protect these documents in case a flood or hurricane or other water-related event ever affects them, but how to restore them should this happen is something else to be aware of.
Any documents should be removed from water before a period of 48 hours is up. This will almost completely insure that mold does not start to grow on these items, since once mold starts to grow on them, they must be thrown away. Mold loves to eat cellulose-based products like paper and cardboard. Lower the humidity in the home as much as you can and the temperature inside should be around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Opening the windows and doors throughout your house should also help with lowering the humidity and helping with the air circulation, as long as the humidity outside is not higher than it is inside. Air circulation inside the house will also help dry things out.
Remove any standing water from the home and any documents found in it should be removed very carefully and put on a dry, flat surface. This will allow the paper to dry completely, but do not put documents on top of each other to dry. If papers are stapled together, take the staple out carefully and separate the pages.
The documents that are the most important to you and your family should be taken care of first and foremost. This will include items like birth certificates, social security cards, divorce papers, banking information, and warranties on any large appliance in your home. Other valuable information that is printed, but that you may not have stored on electronic media, will also need to be saved. Company presentation materials, a writer’s manuscript, and other valuable items should also be given high priority.
Items that you need to have taken to a freeze dry facility should be packed loosely in freezer paper. Loose leaf papers should be packed in boxes with other loose leaf papers and books should be packed with books. Keep these materials separated. After you get them packed up, make sure all of your contact information appears on the outside of the box.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation contractor companies across the united states.
Any documents should be removed from water before a period of 48 hours is up. This will almost completely insure that mold does not start to grow on these items, since once mold starts to grow on them, they must be thrown away. Mold loves to eat cellulose-based products like paper and cardboard. Lower the humidity in the home as much as you can and the temperature inside should be around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Opening the windows and doors throughout your house should also help with lowering the humidity and helping with the air circulation, as long as the humidity outside is not higher than it is inside. Air circulation inside the house will also help dry things out.
Remove any standing water from the home and any documents found in it should be removed very carefully and put on a dry, flat surface. This will allow the paper to dry completely, but do not put documents on top of each other to dry. If papers are stapled together, take the staple out carefully and separate the pages.
The documents that are the most important to you and your family should be taken care of first and foremost. This will include items like birth certificates, social security cards, divorce papers, banking information, and warranties on any large appliance in your home. Other valuable information that is printed, but that you may not have stored on electronic media, will also need to be saved. Company presentation materials, a writer’s manuscript, and other valuable items should also be given high priority.
Items that you need to have taken to a freeze dry facility should be packed loosely in freezer paper. Loose leaf papers should be packed in boxes with other loose leaf papers and books should be packed with books. Keep these materials separated. After you get them packed up, make sure all of your contact information appears on the outside of the box.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation contractor companies across the united states.
Water Damage and Interior Paint
Using waterproof paint to help prevent water damage to the walls and ceilings of your home is an option for most of us. The everyday wear and tear on the interior of our homes comes from all the areas in the home that are moist by nature such as the bathroom, the laundry room, kitchen, and basement. Showering, washing dishes, hot baths, and the steam from cooking all cause the water damage and discoloration of our walls and ceilings, but with waterproof paint, this does not have to be so.
Not only does water discolor the ceiling and cause the paint on your walls to peel, but it can also cause mold to grow in these areas, which introduces a new health risk to the indoor environment. Moisture becomes trapped under a layer of paint that allows it to seep in and mold begins to grow underneath it.
The best places for you to apply waterproof paint if you cannot apply it to the entire home are the areas that are most subject to the exposure of water vapor and steam. These are typically the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and your basement. Your bathroom and kitchen are the ones that you should concentrate on first, since every member of your household will have to go into these rooms at least once or twice every single day.
Using a primer that is waterproof and mold resistant is also good to use in these areas. The primer that you use does not have to be mold resistant, but it is definitely a plus. Finding one that is stain resistant is also good, since you will not have to repaint very often.
When it comes to just what kind of paint you need to apply to different things in your home, it depends on what kind of surface you intent on applying it to. A high-gloss paint is typically easy to clean, but if there are any flaws in the surface that you paint with it, they will all show up in perfect detail. Semi-gloss paints have less shine than high-gloss paints do, but these are easier to clean than high-gloss. Eggshell and flat finishes are the easiest to cleanse and these paints are starting to become more widely used since higher quality paints are becoming available in these no-gloss finishes.
Water damage, mold, and stains are all common household problems, but applying waterproof, stain resistant, and mold resistant paints to the moist areas of your home should help prevent a good bit of it.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation contractor companies across the united states.
Not only does water discolor the ceiling and cause the paint on your walls to peel, but it can also cause mold to grow in these areas, which introduces a new health risk to the indoor environment. Moisture becomes trapped under a layer of paint that allows it to seep in and mold begins to grow underneath it.
The best places for you to apply waterproof paint if you cannot apply it to the entire home are the areas that are most subject to the exposure of water vapor and steam. These are typically the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and your basement. Your bathroom and kitchen are the ones that you should concentrate on first, since every member of your household will have to go into these rooms at least once or twice every single day.
Using a primer that is waterproof and mold resistant is also good to use in these areas. The primer that you use does not have to be mold resistant, but it is definitely a plus. Finding one that is stain resistant is also good, since you will not have to repaint very often.
When it comes to just what kind of paint you need to apply to different things in your home, it depends on what kind of surface you intent on applying it to. A high-gloss paint is typically easy to clean, but if there are any flaws in the surface that you paint with it, they will all show up in perfect detail. Semi-gloss paints have less shine than high-gloss paints do, but these are easier to clean than high-gloss. Eggshell and flat finishes are the easiest to cleanse and these paints are starting to become more widely used since higher quality paints are becoming available in these no-gloss finishes.
Water damage, mold, and stains are all common household problems, but applying waterproof, stain resistant, and mold resistant paints to the moist areas of your home should help prevent a good bit of it.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
flood water damage restoration chicago and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation contractor companies across the united states.
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