SmartHomeOwners

A basement leakage can cause excess moisture to enter your basement and can even damage your belongings if left unrepaired.  It might be a while before discovering you even have a basement leakage, so it's wise to check it occasionally and notice if there are wet spots on the floors or walls, a musky smell, or any stored items with apparent water damage.

Identify the Leakage

The cause of leaks in a basement could be anything from a crack in the foundation to a leak in bottom floor plumbing that seeps through the flooring.  Cracks can appear in the basement if there are poor quality pipes or tiles.  Concrete shrinks can cause cracks as well.  If there's even a small crack, heavy rainfall as well as settling of the house can cause it to grow larger over time.  If it's a fairly new home, perhaps the builder left a small opening in the basement walls during the time of construction.  Once you've identified where the water is coming from, be sure to repair it right away before it leads to bigger problems.

Repairing the Leakage

Visit your local home improvement store (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) to buy the supplies you'll need.  If you find a crack or hole in the concrete, buy some hydrophobic liquid polyurethane.  This can be used to fill even very deep cracks, and once applied, it will expand and turn into a foam-like substance.  After drying, this substance is waterproof and can last up to 15 years!  You'll also need to buy peel-off ports and cartridges (for filling the cracks) as well as crack seal glue.

Here's what to do to repair basement cracks:

1.  Clean the basement from top to bottom to eliminate any moisture and toxins.

2.  Cover all the cracks you can find with the crack seal glue and peel-off ports. 

3.  The cartridges can then be used to fill the cracks with polyurethane.  Wait for it to form into the foam-like substance completely before the next step.

4.  The crack seal glue and peel-off ports can be removed once the polyurethane has formed into the foam-like substance. 

5.  Waterproof your basement (kits are available to do this) to avoid moisture build-up and further damage to your stored items.

Other Tips:

If you find a leaky plumbing pipe in your basement, be sure to repair it immediately.  If you're not familiar with plumbing, it's best to call a plumbing repair person right away.  Don't allow the leak to continue...even if only a small one.  It can cause your pipes to burst and flood your basement entirely!

Use these simple tips to repair any leakages caused by cracks or to fix other moisture problems in your basement.  Don't allow moisture to damage your valuable possessions or to cause mold and mildew problems to arise.