I live on the water and am cursed with a high water table and a crawlspace underneath my house. Since my wife and I moved in 2 years ago we have always noticed a faint musty smell in the lower level of the house. After the record rainfalls in
Madison, WI in the month of June our crawlspace became very wet and made the smell worse. I learned many things about crawlspace and basement remediation, so I will share with you these bits of wisdom…If you notice a musty smell in your house or find water in your crawlspace or basement here are some things to check:
- Sump Pump - The majority of the time when you get water in your basement or crawlspace, it is because your sump failed. Check to make sure that there is no debri in the sump pit that could get sucked into the pump and clog it. I found that our sump had become clogged with insulation that floated into the pit when water came in. You will also want to examine electric wiring/fuses, and check the drainage piping to make sure it is properly connected and is not leaking.
- Tip: Purchase a sealed sump system if you don’t already have one. A sealed system keeps debris from floating in and water vapor and radon from exiting out of the sump pit and into your house.
- Sump Piping - If the drain pipe from your sump is draining near your house chances are that the water will end up back in your basement or crawlspace.? Use a nice rigid pipe and stay away from the bendy stuff.
- Tip: Don’t use drain hoses that collapse (like a large tube sock)…these can blow in the wind on a dry day and easily freeze up on a cold day. Stick to PVC piping for your drainage option.
- Grading of your soil - It is important that the earth around your home slopes such that water moves away from the foundation. Fixing your grading can be a big expense if you need to get a back hoe involved. If you have minor grading issues you can accomplish a lot with a pick axe, shovel, rake, and a wheel barrow. Trust me on this one, my wife and I just spent the weekend re-grading the yard around the house because the soil was above the sill plate and let water flow over the foundation walls and into the crawlspace.
- Tip: Put flower beds around the perimeter of your house.? The anti-weed matting and rocks/wood chips that you put down will help water drain away from the house and prevent soil erosion. In addition, keeping grass and plants from growing next to your home will substantially reduce the number of critters that find their way into your home.
- Gutters and Downspouts – Make sure all gutters and downspouts are clean and free from debris. In addition, your downspouts should drain at least 5 foot from your house. A lot of the time water comes in through the basement or crawlspace because your gutters and downspouts are not keeping water away from your foundation.
- Tip: Gutter covers can greatly reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do throughout the year…Invest in some and save yourself some work.
- Cracks in your foundation- This can be a bigger issue since cracks can be very difficult to truly repair and because they can impact the structural integrity of your house. Don’t bother trying to chisel out a crack and to slop on crack filler, this is almost certain to fail as the pressure the water puts on the filler from the outside of the house will easily overcome it. Your best bet is to use epoxy injection to get deep inside the crack. Epoxy can also help the structural integrity of the foundation, unlike crack filler.
- Tip: If you have a crack that is leaking water, get a professional involved. You will save yourself a lot of headaches and rework.
- Plumbing in your home- A lot of the times leaks in the plumbing in your home will cause mold to form and will create that “musty” smell. If you don’t pinpoint the source of water as coming from the outside of your home, check your major water lines…chances are you have a leak.
- Tip: Whenever plumbing work is required, get a pro to fix it, but make sure they carry a guarantee that they will fix any future leaks from their work for free. Action Plumbing in Madison is a good place to go with for this.
- Tip: Check the wax rings on your toilets from time to time and make sure that all your toilets are anchored securely to the floor. A wobbly toilet will break down the wax ring overtime and will leak water into the floor. A wax ring is about $2 from the hardware store…fixing the damage from a bad one will cost you at least 100 times that.
- Check for Mold- Mold is easy to spot and smell in most cases. That “musty” smell comes from mold! It is usually black and hangs out on anything organic (wood, latex paint, paper, etc.). If you have a minor mold problem it is fairly easy to fix with a Bleach (1 part)/Water (5 parts) mixture. This is of course assuming that you fixed the water problem…mold can’t grow without a damp environment. So get rid of the source of water and your mold problem will go away.
- Tip: A yard/fertilizer pump sprayer from your local hardware store is a great tool for spraying your bleach/water mixture on the mold.
- Examine house your basement/crawlspace insulation- You wouldn’t think this would matter much, but a properly insulated crawlspace will substantially reduce the moisture in the space. If you have a crawlspace, DO NOT insulate the between the floor joists! Insulating the floor will cause moisture to build up in your crawlspace. Your best bet is to remove any insulation from the floor joists and insulate the walls of the crawlspace. The newest recommendation is to insulate the outside walls of your foundation, rather than the inside walls. This can be a tough task if you own an existing home so hire some contractors to spray foam on the inside walls of your crawlspace. Not only will this help you save money on heating and cooling bills, it will also help keep moisture out.
- Tip: If you are building a new home, invest in waterproofing your foundation and insulating the outside walls. You will be happy with this choice in the long run since you will be much less likely to have water problems in your basement/crawlspace.
- CLOSE crawlspace vents - Warm air entering the crawlspace in the summer time will condense on the walls, floor, and ceiling. This creates a breeding ground for mold and critters and can rot out your floor joists in a hurry. In addition, cold air coming in during the winter time will greatly increase your heating bills.
- Pour a concrete floor- If you are like most folks with a dirt crawlspace, pour a concrete floor. This will keep most moisture from coming up through the ground, can be used to drain water to the sump, and helps make your space more useable for storage. A 24’x27’ crawlspace will cost between $2000 and $4000 to put in a concrete floor…very worth it when you consider the problems that can arise without one.
I hope you can take something away from this article. I put almost all of these things into practice and now enjoy a fresh smelling home and a dry crawlspace, even with my proximity to the water. If you have any other ideas or tips to help fix a wet crawlspace or basement, please share in the comments below. Stay dry!
Tags: crawlspace, house flooding, wet basement