Damp basement what to do. Eliminate moisture due to wall problems

Damp basement or the cellar in the house can cause many problems for the owners. A high degree of humidity becomes not only the cause of food spoilage, but also the rapid destruction of the walls of the building. You can get rid of dampness yourself if you take the necessary measures.

Dampness in the basement or cellar: causes, optimal humidity level

Before you start removing dampness from the basement or cellar, you need to understand well the reasons for its occurrence. It can appear both in the basement of brick, cinder concrete, foam concrete or aerated concrete house, and wooden.

Damp penetration from the outside

Water can enter the basement from the outside or appear as water droplets on the walls and ceiling.

1. It seeps into the basement or cellar through microscopic cracks and defects in the walls, as well as due to poorly installed communication networks.
2. If the basement is damp, then you need to pay attention to the condition of the blind area.
3. Growing near the foundation big trees can pass water into the room through their root system.
4. Close proximity to the surface of groundwater can cause dampness.

Internal moisture source

If condensation collects on the walls, then it does not work well in the basement ventilation system or is completely absent. To eliminate the cause, two pipes are enough to create a supply and exhaust ventilation. In large basements, natural ventilation is usually not enough, so it is necessary to create a forced system, thanks to which it will be possible to independently regulate the temperature in the room. If the basement is water pipes, they must have good thermal insulation to prevent condensation on the walls and ceiling.

Why does the basement of a wooden house get damp?

Since the tree is natural material, then it is subject to various negative "diseases" - the appearance of mold and fungus, rotting. Therefore, dampness often appears in the basements of such buildings. If a pleasant microclimate reigns in the house, but greenish spots appear on the walls of the basement and you feel bad smell rot, this indicates high humidity. To begin with, assess the condition of the drainage system and sewerage. If there are no problems in this area, and the fungus does not disappear, you need to look at the problem more broadly.

Cause high level humidity can be poor-quality waterproofing and insufficient ventilation system. Fungus and mold will never grow in a dry and well-ventilated basement. The waterproofing layer will not allow moisture to penetrate into the room, which contributes to the development of fungal and mold growths. Special attention should be given to the old wooden buildings, in which the primary layer of waterproofing has long been broken.

Why does dampness occur in the garage

This is a non-residential building that does not require major insulation work. But many people have basements in their garages where they store various products and canned goods. And in this case, dampness becomes a problem. As in ordinary house, good ventilation, waterproofing and an external blind area should be created in the garage.

At sub-zero temperature outside, the humidity level in the basement increases. This is due to the difference in temperature outside and inside the room. Cold outdoor air cools the walls, and inside the basement the temperature is much higher and therefore the air, cooling in the basement, turns into condensate and accumulates on surfaces in the form of water droplets. As a result, humidity increases, which creates favorable conditions for the growth of fungi and mold.

What level of humidity is considered normal

For human body normal humidity levels are around 40–60%. Higher percentages increase the risk of chronic diseases respiratory organs, skin diseases, dangerous bronchial asthma. Dampness causes wet spots, mold and a suffocating putrid odor. Wooden structures deteriorate, and stone and concrete structures begin to crumble. Metal elements rust, and wooden elements quickly rot.

If it is impossible to remove dampness through natural ventilation, the humidity regime in the house is disturbed and fungal spores that hover in the air begin to actively multiply not only inside residential premises, but also in basements (cellars). This process is on a massive scale. If the humidity level reaches 70% or more, and the air temperature in the room is 15 ° C, then active measures should be taken. First you need to accurately determine the level of humidity using a hygrometer, and then move on to identifying the source of dampness and fixing the problem.

How to remove dampness from the basement: effective methods of struggle

Cracks become a dangerous source of moisture infiltration into the room. So the first thing to do is eliminate them.

External waterproofing

First, you should check the condition of the house from the outside, since very often dampness appears due to poor-quality installation of the drainage system.

1. We examine the slopes on the building.
2. We make sure that drainpipes divert water into a funnel of a special storm drain underground or into a surface gutter.
3. We check the drainage system, which is located around the house.
4. We look at the state of the blind area.

Any problems found must be corrected.

Then you need to protect the walls underground.

1. We remove the destroyed blind area.
2. We dig a small hole outside the basement walls, about 0.5 m wide and half a meter deep below the floor level.

   They dig a hole around the house half a meter wide to dry the walls

3. Thoroughly dry the outer walls of the house. This can be done naturally or with the help of special construction fans.
4. We treat the walls with special antiseptics.
5. We fill the hole with rubble.
6. We make a dense underground adjoining blind area from roofing material. To do this, we fix a sheet of material half a meter above the ground on the wall of the house and take it over the edge of the outer wall.
7. We make a high-quality blind area.
8. We smear it bituminous mastic.

Internal waterproofing device

As a result of improperly made basement waterproofing, dampness begins to appear over time. To keep the room dry, this needs to be fixed.

1. Dry the basement well.
2. We remove the old peeling coating from the walls, ceiling and floor.

   It is necessary to remove the plaster damaged by mold and fungus from the walls for quality repair all defects

3. We clean all the cracks and cracks. Carefully seal the damaged areas with cement mortar.
4. Soaking all the walls effective tool against fungus and mold.

   A special tool is used to cleanse concrete surfaces from fungus and mold

5. With bituminous mastic (or other waterproofing agent), we thoroughly coat all walls, ceiling and floor.
6. We close up the leaks and where they were before, with alabaster.

   The device for internal waterproofing of the basement is performed by treating the walls with water-repellent materials

7. For greater efficiency, you can re-plaster the walls of the basement.

   After drying and waterproofing treatment you can also re-plaster the basement walls

To enhance the waterproofing effect will help some actions.

Basement cement floor waterproofing

1. Dismantle the old floor.
2. Seal all existing gaps and cracks in the concrete with a cement mortar.
3. When everything is dry, cover the floor with sifted sand or fine expanded clay (a layer of at least 5 cm).
4. From above, lay sheets of roofing material, 3 mm thick with an overlap of 10 cm on each other and on the walls. You can use special waterproofing film for the floor.
5. Once again, seal all the cracks with bituminous mastic and make a new screed.
6. If desired, you can lay logs and arrange a wooden floor.

Basement clay floor waterproofing

If the basement floor is made of clay, then this will speed up the process.

1. Remove a small layer of clay (5 cm).
2. Leveling the base.
3. We lay polyethylene on top in 2 layers with an overlap on each other and on the walls of 10 cm.
4. Pour a layer of slightly moistened clay with sawdust (10-15 cm thick) on top of the film and tamp it well. We take sawdust and clay in a ratio of 1:10.
5. As the clay dries, it will crack a little, so the cracks will need to be sealed with the same solution.
6. Then we put another similar layer of clay with 20-25 cm on the walls.
7. When the clay dries, the humidity in the cellar will decrease, the air will be much drier.

How to Remove Basement Dampness During the Rainy Season

It often happens that the humidity increases in autumn and spring during the season of high rainfall. In this case, a different method of removing dampness is used.

How to strengthen a thin floor in the cellar

A thin floor causes dampness in the cellar. In this case, it is necessary to make a double base by laying roofing felt sheets that will protect the floor from excess moisture. All joints must be well smeared with bituminous mastic, and then finished on top cement screed.

An excellent way to eliminate dampness is calcium chloride. It is able to absorb moisture, as it is considered an excellent absorbent: pour the powder into various containers and arrange them in the corners of the cellar. Usually, 0.5 kg of the substance is enough for a small cellar.

Ventilation system

A poor ventilation system is one of the main causes of dampness in the basements of brick or wood houses.

The device is a simple supply and exhaust system

Video: ventilation device in the basement of the garage

Folk methods of dealing with dampness

There are inexpensive but effective folk methods fight dampness in basements.

1. To remove dampness, it is necessary to place four cans of powder on the floor or shelves in the corners of the room white moss. It perfectly absorbs moisture. This method will be effective only with a small percentage of basement moisture.
2. Moisture can be removed with hydrochloric acid. To do this, we remove all food and conservation from the basement. We dilute the acid so that a weak solution is obtained (100 ml per 1 liter of water). We put on gloves and carefully process the walls, shelves, ceiling and floor with the resulting solution. Care must be taken as hydrochloric acid can cause chemical burns.
3. The other way is also effective. Put glass or ceramic deep dishes on the floor, fill it with rock salt, and pour on top sulfuric acid. It is necessary to work only in protective clothing in compliance with all safety measures. Pairs that will stand out as a result chemical reaction, capable of destroying mold and fungal spores. When the dampness is gone, it is necessary to ventilate the room well and rinse all surfaces. You can buy sulfuric acid in online chemical reagent stores. This is a very dangerous substance, so you should think carefully about the advisability of using it in the basement of a residential building so as not to endanger the people living in it.
4. After creating a ventilation system, you can use to further remove excess moisture. slaked lime. To do this, you just need to put a deep container with a substance in the corner of the basement. It not only absorbs moisture, but also kills developing fungi in pairs.
5. If the walls in the basement are damp, but fungi and mold have not yet begun to appear, you can put in it different places red-hot clay bricks (3-4 pieces for a small room). As the clay cools, it will actively absorb moisture. When the bricks have cooled, they must be heated again.
6. Can be put electric fireplace next to a damp wall. It will warm up the required area and dry it. But this method will be effective only if the basement is damp small plot walls.
7. Mold and fungus in the basement can be removed with boric, acetic or citric acid. You just need to wash all surfaces well with one of the active substances.
8. You can remove dampness from the cellar using ordinary diesel fuel. In this case, it is important to first free the room from the products, and only then treat the walls and ceiling well with fuel, and whitewash the surfaces.

Dampness in the basement of the garage or wooden house may occur due to proximity groundwater, finding a building in a lowland. Wooden structures most susceptible to decay due to high level humidity, therefore, methods for eliminating the cause must be effective, but folk methods are not always so.

An eco-friendly way to kill fungus in the basement - video

How to eliminate dampness and fungus in a wooden cellar

Also remove mold from wooden surfaces it is possible with the help of a solution of sodium fluoride, zinc chloride, sodium silicate fluoride or ammonium.

1. Dilute 30 g of the selected substance in hot water.

Ammonium Sulphate Powder Removes Mold From Wooden Cellar Walls

You can make a special paste.

1. We take 150 g of sodium fluoride, 135 clay and 200 ml of water.
2. Add to boiling water Chemical substance and pour in the clay.
3. Mix everything well until a homogeneous consistency is formed.
4. We process all the surfaces of the cellar with the resulting paste and leave them to dry. This amount of paste is enough to process 1 m 2 of a wooden section of the wall. For greater efficiency, we re-treat in a month.

Sodium fluorosilicon powder is needed to prepare a paste used to protect wooden structures from moisture.

How to prevent dampness: preventive measures

1. If you live in an old house and cracks regularly appear in the basement, which cause dampness, then you need to seal them well with rags soaked in bituminous mastic, and cover them with plaster on top. This will be a temporary method, but it will not allow water to enter the room.
2. In the basement, you can make a pit, which is a metal or concrete "glass" for water drainage. It will be easy to pump water out of it with a pump. But in this case, the floor in the room should have a slight slope towards the pit.
3. It is necessary to regularly monitor the condition of the basement, check the condition of the sewerage and plumbing systems, as well as the roof of the house.
4. It is important to regularly ventilate the room.
5. In summer, on hot days, endure everything wooden shelves and shelving outside so that they dry out and warm up well in the sun.
6. Treat the walls every season with effective antiseptic agents.

Depending on how damp the walls and other surfaces of the basement are, as well as on the cause of such a problem, it is necessary to choose the means to solve it. Using correctly various methods removing moisture, you can always keep your basement or cellar clean and dry.

Initially, the soil in its own way physical properties under the floor of any building is a constant source of moisture. With a slight deepening, the underground dry in appearance "opens" moisture and an unpleasant smell of rot. All negative impacts, applied to structures and people from the damp underground, will not be described in this article. We will analyze how moisture can be dealt with under the floor of buildings.

What are the sources of excess dampness and moisture?

Way one
In the absence of a good blind area ( cement-sand mixture, asphalt concrete mixture on hot bitumen), water from the roof of the structure through the foundation cracks will certainly accumulate under the floor. The height of the rise of water through the capillaries (cracks in the foundations) is from 300 mm to 500 mm, which makes it necessary to make vertical insulation (glue a layer of roofing material hot mastic on the wall of the house and on the cement screed before laying the outer part of the blind area, at an angle of 90 degrees). Later you will finish the plinth decorative materials, and the roofing material will remain inside, as your insurance against outdoor water.

Way two
Groundwater is located high. Especially in autumn and spring periods. The movement of water will be according to the least resistance, namely to you under the floor. The way out is additional drainage (see below).

Way three
Warm and humid air penetrates through the vents into the underground. On cold walls, it condenses and settles in the form of dew.

In a dysfunctional underground, humidity can reach 80 percent. However, humidity up to 50 percent is considered the norm, and 30-50 percent is ideal.

The raw underground problem is solved as follows

First way
Sealing foundation walls inside. Additional high-quality concreting with subsequent pasting of the walls and floor of the underground with polyethylene reinforced film. The main difficulty in performing such work is sealing the joints of the film to an airtight state, especially in the corners. It is necessary to use special sealants and mastics. The film is fixed in the upper part of the wall with plastic dowels.
To protect against mechanical damage, an additional layer of concrete is placed on top of the film. Of course, doing this on the floor is easy, but you have to tinker when placing the film on the walls. Possibly the concrete large area the walls will not hold, in which case they lay bricks in one row or plastic sheets protect.

Second way
Creating effective ventilation. If the supply and exhaust ventilation does not cope with its functions, forced ventilation is installed. Nevertheless, it is still desirable that natural supply and exhaust ventilation work. Through the vents will flow fresh air, and exit through a pipe of a rather impressive diameter (up to 0.5 m). Moreover, the bottom of the pipe, which acts as an exhaust hood, should start almost from the bottom of the underground, so the cold air located below will tend to rise. Under lower part chimney, you can install a lighted candle under the chimney for a while. Heat created by candles, there will be enough to speed up air exchange by creating additional thrust. Thus, the underground can be dried relatively quickly.

Third way
Implementation of groundwater drainage. To perform similar drainage of the foundation, along the perimeter of the foundation of the underground, grooves are made at a slope to one of the corners of the building. Water through a pipe from this corner enters a sealed drainage well located outside the house. From time to time, water from the well will have to be pumped out.

Fourth way
Option at your discretion. AT cold period close the vents with foam plugs. The fact is that outside warm air can contain much more moisture than cold air. As a result, it creates additional dampness due to condensation on the walls of the underground. disadvantages this method: what to do with sudden temperature changes? In the underground, as a result of the lack of ventilation, the processes of mold and decay can be significantly activated. However, this method is worth a try, as it is very easy to implement.

Fifth way
The lightest, but quite effective method elimination of dampness in places where it is impossible to reach - under the floor of the building, cover the ground with one of the waterproofing agents: plastic wrap, roofing material, etc. However, this is best done during the construction period, before the start of the subfloor. Or undermine and re-lay the floors. Moisture will not be able to rise from the ground, which means that it will not penetrate through the waterproofing. Press the film down in several places. So that the film cannot move for any reason (ubiquitous moles, draft through the air, etc.).

It should be noted that there are other methods of dealing with damp underground. We hope that the described options will give you an idea and help solve the problems of dealing with high humidity under the floor of your home!

For the winter, corked in glass jars.

Deciding on terms

The problem of dampness, high humidity, and even flooding is one of the most common among owners own house with basement and cellar. So before looking effective methods struggle, it is worth deciding: what, in fact, are we fighting?

• Humidity

The cellar is a special building. It cannot be approached with the usual standards. What is good for a person is not always suitable for the stocks stored in the cellar. If for people the normal humidity is 65%, then for most vegetables and fruits a humidity of 70% is critical - they begin to wither, dry, lose useful material and, ultimately, poorly stored. Optimal mode differs for different fruits, but if it is not possible to organize separate storage facilities, then it is advisable to maintain the humidity level in the cellar within 85-90%.

Don't rely on own feelings, use the instrument to control the humidity level. Air humidity is measured psychrometers and hygrometers. The simplest psychrometer can be made independently from two alcohol thermometers. And for convenience, you can purchase a small weather station with remote temperature and humidity sensors - then you do not need to regularly dive into the cellar to control the readings of the device.

• Dampness

If water oozes along the walls in the cellar, the corners are covered with gray-black velvet mold, then you don’t need an instrument to understand: there is excessive dampness in the storage room. Before looking for ways to fix the problem, try to determine the cause.

Primary information can be obtained, for example, by the method of arranging test pits. True, this test is possible only if the floor of the cellar is earthen.

Dig small holes (about the size of a bucket) in the cellar next to the walls and monitor them regularly. If the bottom starts to get wet in the pits, then, most likely, ground water stand high. It may happen that water will appear at the bottom of not all test pits, but only in some: this indicates that there is a leak under the cellar. underground stream.

When moisture seeps from the side of the outer (facing the street) wall of the pit - most likely, it penetrates surface water , rain or melt water. Well, if the water evenly moistened inner surface pits - to be assumed condensate.

• Flooding

Water regularly appears in your cellar, it stands in a puddle on the floor - this is the most difficult case. Perhaps there are violations in the construction technology or the place is simply unsuccessfully chosen. And to cope with the problem in this case is possible only by radically eliminating the cause - that is, by rebuilding the cellar.

Now that we have determined that the humidity in the cellar must be maintained within 80-95%, dampness must be dealt with, and the issue of regular flooding of the vegetable store should be addressed radically, we will consider some methods.

Eliminate the cause, not fight the effect

Whatever the extent of the presence of excess water in the cellar, you need to eliminate the cause, and not permanently carry out some work, buying the latest tools to or remove mold. It is much more efficient and cheaper if you calculate how much money you will spend on wrestling. Yes and own forces- they just don't seem to be worth anything.

We arrange ventilation

Availability of the system - required condition proper functioning of the cellar. It should be exactly the system - with inflow and exhaust. The bottom of the supply pipe is placed at a height of 150-200 mm from the floor, and the exhaust hole is placed under the ceiling. It is desirable that the supply and exhaust pipe were scattered in different angles: in order for the air currents to wash the entire room.

ventilation pipes it is necessary that they do not freeze in winter, and also provide condensate collectors and valves. Gate valves are used to reduce the air flow in winter, so as not to cool the cellar too much in cold weather.

For effective work ventilation, you need to choose the right cross-section of air ducts - depending on the volume of the room. And if the pipes are already installed, but of a smaller diameter than necessary, a small fan will correct the situation. If the fan model has a humidity sensor, then it will turn on automatically.

Ventilation will help to cope with many problems of excess water in the cellar: it regulates humidity, eliminates excessive dampness, prevents mold and helps to dry a flooded cellar faster.

We divert water

To get rid of rain and melt water penetrating the cellar, they do and around the cellar. The blind area device should divert water flowing down from the roof slopes as far as possible from the walls of the cellar. And, of course, the correct waterproofing the entire structure.

To prevent the penetration of groundwater, the cellar floor is waterproofed. One of the stages of waterproofing is the installation of a gravel cushion that cuts through the capillarity of the soil. Sometimes it happens that at first the cellar was dry, and after some time of operation, groundwater began to rise. If the floor of the cellar is earthen, then additional gravel filling can be created by removing a certain amount of soil and replacing it with compacted gravel.

If the site is located in a swampy area and it is impossible to get rid of water with the help of waterproofing, then the only possibility is to make a cellar in a plastic or metal caisson. Although in this case, you still have to deal with condensation and high humidity.

If droplets of water accumulate on the ceiling of the cellar, this is condensate. This means that the ceilings are not sufficiently insulated. You can fix this by additionally insulating the cellar ceiling.

We use hygroscopic materials

Materials capable of absorbing moisture can reduce excessive moisture. Clay serves as a natural moisture regulator, but today cellars do not often make adobe floors and use clay plaster on the walls.

A substitute for a clay finish can be a box of lime or a decent bag of salt. Coals are also good adsorbents. True, they will perform their function for a limited time: until all the lime reacts with water or until salt or ash absorbs the maximum amount of moisture. Whitewashing the walls of the cellar with lime not only disinfects, but also reduces humidity.

Achievements of household appliances - in the cellar

You can solve the problem of humidity with the help of achievements modern technology- installing a household dehumidifier in the cellar. You just need to remember to drain the accumulated condensate from time to time if the model does not have a sewer connection.

Correctly operating the cellar

In order for vegetables to be well stored, it is important and correct operation cellars. Before the start of a new storage season, the room is cleaned of the remnants of old fruits, mold, if any. Racks and drawers can be washed with formalin solution or blue vitriol. If possible, equipment should be exposed to the sun to destroy germs. If you can’t take out the containers and shelves from the cellar, then you can make quartzing with an ultraviolet lamp.




Disinfection is also carried out with the help of smoke sulfur bombs or lime vapor. After processing, the cellar must be thoroughly ventilated and dried. There is one subtlety here: it is logical to assume that it is better to dry the cellar in the middle of summer, when it is the most hot weather and many do just that. But in summer there is a lot of moisture in the warm air. On hit warm air inside a cool cellar, the moisture contained in it condenses on the walls, on the contrary, moistening the cellar.

The storage should be ventilated and dried when the temperature of the outside air and the temperature in the cellar are equal, that is, closer to autumn. And since the weather can be rainy at this time, you can use a heater or put a bucket of embers in the cellar to speed up the process.

Stored vegetables must be dry. And it is desirable that their temperature also does not differ much from that in the cellar. If the temperature of the products is higher or lower than the temperature in the storage, condensation will accumulate on potatoes, pumpkins, carrots and other vegetables - it will increase the humidity of the cellar.

Proper arrangement of the pantry for supplies, careful preparation at the end of the summer and control of the cellar in the winter will keep the bins intact. You don't have to disappointedly throw away half of the crop that you have grown but failed to save.

When building a house, garage or any other outbuilding, many homeowners prefer houses with a basement. This is extremely convenient, because it appears extra space for storing various useful things, and if you're lucky, you can equip, for example, a workshop here.

However, construction is often carried out according to an “economical” project or with a violation of technology, as a result of basement a terrible and destructive enemy appears - moisture. She gradually undermines the structure, and her constant companion - mold fungus- spoils not only appearance and takes part in the destruction, but also has a significant harm to human health. The question arises, how to remove dampness in the basement?

Three reasons for dampness in the basement

Naturally, it is simply necessary to deal with all this, and first you need to find out the root of the problem. So, where can water and condensate come from in the basement, consider the main causes of dampness in the basement:

• capillary through walls, ceiling, floor;
• direct way through the cracks;
• condense from the air due to lack (or insufficiency) of ventilation.

Now that the enemy has been identified, you can proceed directly to the fight. Yes, before proceeding to work, the water from the basement, of course, must be pumped out and the room well ventilated, and, if possible, dried with a heat gun (fan, hair dryer).

Getting rid of cracks and capillary water in the basement

Cracks and cracks - the source of moisture in the basement

To do this, carefully check all surfaces for the presence of large and small cracks. It may be necessary to completely or partially dismantle the heat-insulating coating of walls, ceiling, remove flooring. Having found the place of violation of integrity, we carefully close it. Then we produce waterproofing works. These works are divided into: internal (floor, ceiling, walls) and external.

Outdoor waterproofing

First you need to check the entire building from the outside, because very often the reason that the basement is flooded or simply damp is that the drainage system around the house is simply stupidly equipped.

It includes:

• • slopes on the roof, windows, above the porch;
  • downpipes of "directional action", that is, draining water into the funnel of an underground storm drain or at least into an above-ground gutter;
  • drainage system around the walls of the house;

If all these components or at least part of them are absent, then this drawback must be eliminated. You should start from above, that is, from slopes and downpipes.

Now you can move on to the next step: protecting the underground part of the outer walls. For this:

1. We remove the old blind area.
2. Digging a hole a little more than half a meter wide beyond the outer walls of the basement (so that you can get into it and carry out work).
3. Dry thoroughly outer wall at home (natural or forced).
4. Coating the wall antifungal compounds (the choice in building stores is simply endless).
5. Coating the wall(can be clay, concrete based liquid glass or with additives that reduce moisture absorption);
6. Optional step: making an underground from a sheet of ruberoid. To do this, we fix it on the wall of the house 0.5 meters above the ground level and take it over the edge outer wall basement.
7. We fill the hole.
8. We equip the blind area(you can use any kind soft roof).

If serious excavation you can’t afford, then you can get by for the first time with only the last item. At the same time, a soft roof sheet should partially go onto the wall of the building (somewhere by 50–70 cm), and it is important to fix it well, for example, with the same bitumen. The second edge should go beyond the edge of the underground basement wall by the same 50–70 cm.

Internal basement waterproofing

To get rid of dampness in the basement, you must:

1. Good first.
2. Get rid of crumbling coatings.
3. Clear cracks.
4. Seal them with cement mortar.
5. Soak the walls with an antifungal drug;
6. Lubricate everything with a waterproofing solution (the simplest is bituminous mastic).

Pressure leaks, as well as their former places, must be very carefully repaired, for example, with alabaster.

To enhance the effect, you can plaster the walls completely or only partially 0.5–1 meter from the floor. But this step is not mandatory.

You can also make new walls from moisture-resistant material, in large basements they often build a new brickwork. Between old and new wall there should be a distance of at least 3 cm. It is important to drill holes between the old and new walls so that the air from the basement exits into the outdoor vents, and also so that moisture does not accumulate between the walls.

Dampness in the basement can also provide the old floor, even if it concrete screed. To remedy the situation, it is necessary to remove the decorative flooring, close up all the cracks in the concrete, if any. Then wait until everything dries, cover it with sand or expanded clay - the layer should be about 5 cm, and then lay the roofing material or other waterproof durable material. After processing with bituminous mastic, you can make a new screed or lay logs, and on them - a plank floor.

Ventilation

Internal ventilation in the basement is a must. At the same time, it should be precisely the supply and exhaust. The most simple circuit: two pipes, one of which goes almost from the very floor of the basement and goes out under the ceiling, the second is located under the ceiling and also leads outside. The outer parts of the pipes must be protected from the ingress of melt and rain water.

Fighting mold fungus

The two main enemies of mold are oxygen and dryness. The first we have already provided by arranging good ventilation. If for some reason this is not possible, then the basement should be ventilated as often as possible, but remember that the fungus will definitely return. The second can be provided by drying (industrial hair dryer, heat gun, heater). After drying, you can proceed to the treatment of walls, floors and ceilings with antifungal compounds.

If you have a rather old building, and cracks still appear in the basement from time to time (in the corners, between bricks), then as a temporary measure, you can plug them with rags smeared with bituminous mastic and plaster them on top.

In the basement, where you need to pump out water, it is worth organizing a pit- waterproof "glass" made of metal, concrete with waterproofing or other similar material. We will already pump water out of it with a pump.

The floor in the basement should be at an angle, even if small, directed to one corner. In this corner is a pit. Then all the water will collect where we can easily fight it.

Express method for removing moisture and dampness in the basement

For quick release from humidity, it is necessary to organize the collection of moisture with a hydrophilic substance (excellently absorbent). To do this, we take a board, put it at an angle in a bucket, sprinkle the board with hydrophilic powder (lime, alum, and so on). This method allows you to perfectly maintain dryness in the basement in the absence of the owners.

Blitz for the fastest

Briefly, all methods of dealing with dampness in the basement:

1. We carry out external waterproofing works (rainfall, coating of external walls with bitumen, arrangement of a blind area)
2. We remove mold.
3. We produce repair work to eliminate cracks.
4. We make new waterproofing.
5. Set up ventilation.

Having done all of the above, you can be sure that your home will be insured against the appearance of such an extremely undesirable phenomenon as dampness and mold, which can affect not only the basement, but also living quarters.

Dampness in the underground country house- how to get rid of it?

Dampness, high humidity, stale air in the underground country house- such problems are familiar to many summer residents. How to get rid of such misfortunes? Read about it below.

First of all, in order for the underground part of the cottage to have sufficient ventilation, it is necessary to leave a gap of at least fifty centimeters wide between the base and the floor. If this is not done, the air in the underground will stagnate, humidify and begin to penetrate into the upper parts of the country house.

In addition, on ground floor cottages need to arrange special air ducts for more intensive ventilation. These channels organize competent air circulation under the floor. Of course, one ventilation window it will not be enough for the entire subfloor: on all opposite sides of the basement there should be a pair of air vents for each individual part of the underground. If the house has a long front part, the air vents should be installed with an interval of three to five meters from each other. First of all, this applies to those buildings that are on a hill. For low-lying houses, it is worth increasing the number of channels in direct proportion to the floor area. It is better if the vents are not arranged linearly, but in a checkerboard pattern. In addition, you can bring the hood underground and place the channel as close as possible to the chimney. This technique will allow the basement air to be updated even in the cold season. For ventilation of corners, special gratings should be equipped in the floor, allowing air to circulate freely. In autumn and winter periods ventilation ducts close carefully. This is done so that cold air does not penetrate under the building from the outside.

Quite often, builders forget that ventilation ducts must also be installed in the basement tape, which runs under internal partitions. If this is not done, windproof zones form in the subfield, and, as a result, mold, fungus, and stale air.

Another reason why excessive humidity may appear in the building is the excess of the soil level outside the country house above the soil level in the underground. In this case, moisture freely penetrates under the foundation and creates dampness. It is worth monitoring the level of groundwater: if it is high, then it will almost always be wet in the underground. Correcting the situation is not so easy - for this you need a device drainage system, with the help of which it will be possible to divert groundwater from the building. It should also provide natural ventilation basement in spring and summer and carefully waterproof the foundation and walls of the subfloor.

In extreme cases, in order to reduce the humidity of the underground part of the country house, you can use a specialized device - a household dehumidifier. This device passes moist air through itself and condenses water into a separate container. After using a household dehumidifier, the humidity in the basement returns to normal.