Do Not Pay For Storage Because You Have A Damp Basement

You have a nice, big basement, but still, you're forced to keep all of your belongings in the main living area or pay for a storage unit to house all of the items that would be destroyed if you tried storing them in your damp basement. If you're paying for storage while the basement sits empty, you're wasting a lot of money each year and wasting a lot of space in your home. Here, you'll find a few tips to help you dry out your basement and make it a safe area to store anything—or even convert to an additional living space.

Contact a Basement Waterproofing Company

The best place to start is to contact a basement waterproofing company to come to your home and complete an inspection and provide you with an estimate to get the work done the right way. You see, there are many reasons that your basement is damper than it should be—it would take you quite a while to narrow down the possibilities and come up with an actionable plan to actually stop the water from coming in.

During the inspection, the technician will take a look inside and outside of the home. He or she may need to move some things to access different areas of the basement, but it's important that you don't skip ahead and move anything before they arrive. This will give them a clear view of exactly what the conditions are in the basement on the average day.

Take pictures of the water at its worst. All too often, when the day of the inspection comes about, the basement will be at its driest point and it won't look as bad as it can get. Take the time to snap a few photos of the water seepage at its worst. This can help the technician pinpoint exactly where the moisture is coming from so they can more quickly come up with a workable plan to put it to a stop.

In the Meantime

Until the day that your basement is waterproofed, there are a few things that you can do to help decrease the moisture levels in the area.

Run a dehumidifier – If you don't already have a good dehumidifier working in your basement, it's time to spend a couple hundred dollars and get one as soon as possible. Get it turned on and leave it running constantly. Find a unit that has an auto shut-off when the moisture levels reach acceptable lows.

Clean the gutters – If your gutters are overflowing, the moisture in the basement will be worse as the water flows directly into the foundation rather than down the downspouts.

Talk with your local home waterproofing professional and begin making plans for creating a usable basement for the near future.