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Stopping Water Leaks and Seepage and Keep the Basement Dry

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Water collects on basement floors and walls during damp, humid weather. It happens because when moist air hits cold basement walls and floors, it condenses. Sometimes water collects during hard, fast rain storms, coming in between window frames and casings, through cracks in the foundation, or up through the sewer lines. The problem compounds if your yard slopes toward the house instead of away from it.

Basements also get wet if they’re deep and the water table in the area is high. For that reason homes in the South — and New Orleans cemeteries, for instance — are constructed above ground.

If water pools against the house, it can cause tiny cracks to form in poured concrete, concrete block, brick, and stone foundations. And eventually, these holes will get larger. Just think about how water carves rocks, changes the flow of rivers, and creates huge underground caverns. You need to stop water leaks and get rid of moisture and bad odors that are caused by mold and mildew building up.

You can take steps to minimize, if not permanently eliminate, water leak:

Start outdoors by looking at the downspouts and gutters. Make sure they aren’t clogged because that will contribute to your problem.

Buy downspout extensions at a hardware or home improvement center and attach them to the downspouts. You want water coming out to train farther away from the house. Place the ends of the spouts as far away as possible without encroaching on your neighbor’s property.

The next time it rains, go outdoors and look at the yard. If water pools up against the house and stays there long after it’s stopped raining, the yard may be sloped towards the house.

Consider replacing the Basement Windows with permanent glass panes that would block any water from seeping though the windows.

The most important aspect of protecting your basement from flooding is by installing a sump pump. Installing a sump pump, unfortunately, is not a do-it-yourself kind of job. Either you got to have some experience doing that before or hire a professional. The sump pump will pump out the excess basement water out to predetermined drain area or ditch outside of your house.