Do Wall Coatings Prevent Mold Growth in Your Basement?
It has been documented in studies by medical professionals that mold, especially black mold, is extremely dangerous to the health of you and your family.
While many people ignore the evidence and allow mold to grow and spread in your home, more research finds even more devastating health issues related to mold in your home.
The longer it stays, the more serious the health problems.
Basements & Mold: Perfect Together Your basement is dark, often humid (in the winter and summer), and can often get wet.
This is the perfect breeding ground for mold growth.
Excess ground water is often the major cause of wetness in the cellar.
A little big of moisture gets inside the basement...
then mold grows.
It's automatic and it will have explosive growth if not fixed.
The first step is to get rid of the excess water that is getting into your basement.
This usually involves waterproofing the outer walls and putting in better drainage.
You have to get rid of the water at the perimeter of your basement floor or walls.
If you've had flooding, make sure it's pumped out properly.
The walls often allow vapor to pass through because they are hollow inside (cinder block, cement and terra cotta style foundations).
Cold or damp air outside goes right through them...
it can even go through stone walls.
This is where most mold remediation and waterproofing companies go wrong.
How? What they do is coat your basement walls with a "Waterproofing paint" or vapor barrier.
This is often after ignoring two key points:
But, the water, moisture and vapor is still getting through the walls.
Now, mold simply grows behind the barrier, and spreads fast.
Many companies will tell you that this is fine, you're protected since it's behind the coating.
This is dangerous wrong.
Mold will eat away at the coating, spread and send its spores into your home's air...
you and your family will breathe it in.
And, the foundation problems are not addressed.
This is like putting a band-aid on a crack in the Hoover Dam.
It might look OK and keep water out for a short time, but, the dam will break down and cause flooding pretty quickly.
While many people ignore the evidence and allow mold to grow and spread in your home, more research finds even more devastating health issues related to mold in your home.
The longer it stays, the more serious the health problems.
Basements & Mold: Perfect Together Your basement is dark, often humid (in the winter and summer), and can often get wet.
This is the perfect breeding ground for mold growth.
Excess ground water is often the major cause of wetness in the cellar.
A little big of moisture gets inside the basement...
then mold grows.
It's automatic and it will have explosive growth if not fixed.
The first step is to get rid of the excess water that is getting into your basement.
This usually involves waterproofing the outer walls and putting in better drainage.
You have to get rid of the water at the perimeter of your basement floor or walls.
If you've had flooding, make sure it's pumped out properly.
The walls often allow vapor to pass through because they are hollow inside (cinder block, cement and terra cotta style foundations).
Cold or damp air outside goes right through them...
it can even go through stone walls.
This is where most mold remediation and waterproofing companies go wrong.
How? What they do is coat your basement walls with a "Waterproofing paint" or vapor barrier.
This is often after ignoring two key points:
- The cracks on the outside walls of your basement remain and will allow water and vapor to pour in when it rains or snows
- The ground around your foundation is not re-settled.
When the home was built, the dirt was simply dumped back in...
it was never tamped down.
This causes air pockets and an easy path for water to get into your basement.
But, the water, moisture and vapor is still getting through the walls.
Now, mold simply grows behind the barrier, and spreads fast.
Many companies will tell you that this is fine, you're protected since it's behind the coating.
This is dangerous wrong.
Mold will eat away at the coating, spread and send its spores into your home's air...
you and your family will breathe it in.
And, the foundation problems are not addressed.
This is like putting a band-aid on a crack in the Hoover Dam.
It might look OK and keep water out for a short time, but, the dam will break down and cause flooding pretty quickly.
