A wet basement can cause serious damage to your home's structural integrity, but this is only the beginning. When moist air is trapped in your house, the mold spores it carries increase significantly. Mold is a major culprit in triggering allergies, asthma, and other respiratory issues. In addition to being a health hazard, a damp basement can erode surfaces and circuit boards and get rusted if exposed to moisture for an extended period of time. You waste both time and money by allowing a damp home to remain unchecked
in the
long run.
This post will discuss a few reasons why your
damp houses are ruining your family's health.
Bacteria
It's a dirty problem. Basements with moisture
levels higher than 50% can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria that lead
to infection and mold. As you probably know, this problem is entirely
preventable with the right underdrain system – flooded
basement equipment absorbs excess water from your basement
floor to keep moisture levels as low as possible.
Molds
Mold can make you sick in many ways. One of
the most common is called 'allergic fungal sinusitis. Exposure can cause
coughing, sneezing, itchy red eyes, congestion, watery eyes, and even nasal
polyps or nasal cancer if you are allergic to mold. Long-term mold exposure can
also lead to chronic sinusitis, asthma, or allergies.
Dust mites
If you live in a damp basement, you're likely
dealing with a few unwelcome guests: dust mites. These bugs thrive in warm
environments and find your damp basement to be the perfect home. They will eat
any debris that is lying around, such as mold and mildew. The byproduct of that
is you experience sneezing, coughing, runny nose/eyes, and asthma attacks. To
manage these bugs, seal off your basement or put in some high-powered
ventilation systems to drop the humidity in your home.
Waterproofing is one of the most important
aspects of basements. Without it, you'll find yourself dealing with more than
just an ugly-looking basement. A wet basement can attract mice, cockroaches,
spiders, snakes, and ants that probably wouldn't be excellent house guests.
