If you are having health problems, you also don't need to be bothered
with being ripped off as well. Make sure you are buying a solution,
not just a product. Let me explain.
Mold requires damp conditions to grow. The water is either coming up
from the ground, down from the sky, or out of the plumbing. It is
vitally important that you determine where the water is coming from.
If you have dampness when it is not raining, the check the plumbing
supply and drain pipes for leaks.
If you have dampness when it has rained, check your roof and your
gutters and downspouts. Have any leaks in the roof repaired by a good
roofer. If your gutters are leaking, have them cleaned, repaired or
replaced. Make sure the downspouts direct water away from the house.
Check the slope of the ground around your house, make sure everything
slopes away from the house. Clear away any trees or bushes that are
growing up against the house.
It is possible that rain water is traveling down a slope onto your
property. In most places it is the responsibility of the property
owner to make sure runoff does not damage other properties.
Only if all the things I've mentioned don't solve the problem should
you consider the products offered by the waterproofing companies.
They are going to want to install a french drain around the perimeter
of your basement. This will not stop the water from coming in, it
will just collect it. Hopefully, they will install a good sump pump
to pump it out (but make sure the output of the pump is far enough
from the house so the water does not run back in). They will probably
want to paint the inside of your basement walls with something they
claim will waterproof your walls. Again, this does not stop the water
from coming through the foundation, it will just keep the surface of
your walls dry.
Get a guarantee in writing. Ideally, they should guarantee that your
mold problem will go away. They is really what you want, and for the
money that you are paying, it is what you deserve.
Good luck. |
