Garden furniture and upholstery must be stored dry. If only the basement is available for this, any existing moisture must be removed.
If you don't have enough space in your garden for a garden shed or tool shed, you'll be happy to have a basement. Garden tools and garden furniture or at least the upholstery can be stored here. Plants can also overwinter here. Unfortunately, basements often get damp. These are not good conditions for wooden garden furniture or upholstery. Swollen wood and mold on the upholstery can only be prevented if you take action against the humidity in the basement - in the worst case only an ozone generator can help.
Possible causes of damp basements
In order to permanently combat moisture, you must first determine the cause. It's not always easy. Then it may be advisable to leave the cause analysis to a specialist.
Incorrect ventilation
In order to prevent moisture in the basement, proper ventilation is essential. Incorrect ventilation can - especially in summer - cause damp air to get into the basement and form condensation on the cold walls. Under certain circumstances, incorrect ventilation can also mean that the moisture generated in the basement cannot escape and settles on the walls.
High humidity occurs, for example, if you don't dry your laundry in the garden but in the basement. The wet laundry releases a lot of moisture into the air and thus increases the humidity. If you don't ventilate here, don't be surprised if the walls get damp.
Tip: Plants that you overwinter in the basement or mice and other animals that are looking for a warm shelter for the winter also increase the humidity.
Leaking Pipes
If pipes leak, water will come out. With exposed pipes, this is usually noticed quite quickly and the damage is quickly repaired. The situation is different with pipes laid in the wall. Here the masonry is soaked from the inside out. It doesn't matter if it's a complete pipe ruptureor only around individual damaged areas.
You don't need to have any specialist knowledge to identify defective pipes as the cause of a damp wall. The damage is clear: the wet spots begin in the middle of the wall and run towards the ground. A dark discoloration also suggests that the moisture originated in the masonry.
Blocked or defective gutter
You're wondering what the gutter has to do with the basement? Basically nothing. But a clogged gutter prevents water from draining properly. The same applies to a defective gutter. The result is that the water accumulates in it, rises over the edge and finally runs down the wall of the house. In this way, under certain circumstances, it can penetrate the masonry and spread from there to the basement and also cause damp walls there.
Similar to the broken pipe, the moisture comes out of the masonry here. The difference is that moisture disappears when it is dry and reappears when it rains or snows
Missing or insufficient sealing
Especially in houses built before 1960, the basement was often not sealed. If there was already a proper seal back then, it may no longer be able to do its job perfectly today if it has not been renewed in between. In both cases, as a result, moisture from the adjacent soil can enter the basement through the walls (vertical moisture penetration) or via the floor (horizontal moisture penetration).
By the way: Moist walls usually result from seepage water, pressing groundwater or rising soil moisture in the adjacent soil. But a basement shaft or a light shaft can also pose a danger to the basement walls if water accumulates in them.
Fix Moisture
Even if you don't know where the moisture is coming from, you should try to dry out the basement, at least temporarily, so that the damage doesn't get worse. Walls and floors can be dried quickly if you turn on the heating for a longer period of time. It makes sense to ventilate the cellar from time to time to let new, dry air into the cellar, which is better able to absorb moisture.
Tip: If your basement does not have a heater, you can rent an electric heater from Obi, for example, which, in combination with a construction dryer, removes moisture even better and fasterremoved.
Remedy causes and prevent recurrence of moisture
In order to not only temporarily eliminate the moisture, you have to tackle the cause. This is the only way you can be sure that your basement will not get damp again in the future.
Proper ventilation
If condensation has formed on your walls, you should - as already mentioned - heat up the cellar and ventilate it occasionally so that the walls can dry. After that, be sure to ventilate your basement regularly for a few minutes. In summer, you should choose the cooler morning or evening hours to prevent humid air from getting into the cellar, which could condense on the cool cellar wall and thus provide moisture again.
Tip: With a hygrometer, you can keep an eye on the humidity, which should be a maximum of 65 percent, and you can counteract excessively humid air with ventilation.
Fix defect on pipes
Defects in exposed water pipes can be quickly located and repaired. The situation is different with pipes laid in the wall. Damage to such pipes should be localized with professional leak detection. After the repair, it may be necessary to renovate the affected wall (e.g. painting with anti-mold paint) or the entire basement room.
Pipe bursts can have various causes, over which you usually have no influence. But you can at least protect the pipes from the harmful effects of frost. Because frozen water makes the pipes burst. Therefore, turn off the water in the basement and then open the tap to drain the pipes.
Tip: Also remember to drain your water pipes and garden water tanks to avoid frost damage.
Clean or repair gutter
If a clogged gutter or downpipe is the cause of the damp basement, you cannot avoid cleaning it. If a defective rain gutter is the cause of the damp walls in the basement, you can also repair it yourself.
Tip: A frozen gutter also prevents the water from draining properly. Therefore, you should protect your gutter from frost to prevent it from overflowing in winter.
Avoid backwater in the basement shaft
Water can collect in an open basement shaft andmasonry can penetrate. To prevent this, you should make sure that you raise the edges. This will prevent rainwater from flowing into the shaft from the surrounding soil. This measure becomes even more effective if you create an infiltration layer around the edges.
Since heavy rain can cause water to collect in the shaft, you should ensure that there is sufficient water drainage. Of course, you can also ensure that water does not get into the basement shaft in the first place. You can achieve this with waterproof light shaft covers, such as those offered by Schulz-Dobrick GmbH.
Tip: You can use a cover to prevent leaves, insects, spiders or other animals from getting into the shaft. This also saves you the unpleasant cleaning that would otherwise be due regularly.
Seal basement
As already mentioned, due to the lack of waterproofing, water can penetrate and spread through the walls. Both horizontal and vertical waterproofing can be retrofitted in the basement. You should definitely have both remedial measures carried out by a specialist. Information on immediate measures and long-term solutions can be found on the Remmers website.
In the case of horizontal sealing, a seal in the form of stainless steel sheets, roofing felt or foil is drawn in either from the inside or from the outside. Alternatively, cement or epoxy resin or silicone resin can also be injected into the masonry. This prevents water from rising up in the masonry.
In the case of vertical sealing from the outside, the soil around the basement must be excavated generously. Then thick bitumen coatings, sealing slurries or barrier plaster are used.
Tip: Sealing from the inside is also theoretically possible. But we advise against this, as moisture can still get into the walls. So that doesn't solve the problem.