Why should you waterproof your basement..Here are 5 reasons why.

The ground is wet so this means more then likely so is your basement. This past winter was a wet one. Spring has just begun and there is still a lot of rain in the upcoming forecast. Stop losing sleep over that old sump pump failing or dragging that shop vac to the basement to suck up the watercoming in. Enough with the moldy musty smells!!!

1 – Save Money

Truth is that your wet basement is much more than simply an eyesore. It is bad news for your finances too. What if I told you that keeping that basement wet is costing you more money than you would pay to have us fix it? Wondering how is that possible? Read on!

2 – Save Energy

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, an insulated, average size basement, can save homeowners up to $250 USD a year in heating and cooling costs. So, by keeping your basement wet, you are wasting at least that much money every year. Think about it, could you use that extra $250 a year?

3 – Protect your Family

If you are thinking that what happens in your wet basement, stays in your wet basement, think again. Due to a physics phenomena known as “Stack Effect”, the air from the basement is consistently being sucked into the upper floors. Actually, 1/3 of the air you breathe every day in your home is coming straight from your basement.

That means that, if your basement is humid and moldy, your family is breathing mold spores in high concentrations. Although not all species of mold are toxic, even non-toxic species produce spores known to cause allergies in sensitive people.

How often? Mold spores are the #2 cause on indoor allergies in America. The #1 cause are dust mite pellets. Mold and dust mites thrive under the very same conditions. Chances are that, if you have one, you have the other.

4 – Protect your Property

Basements usually leak for one reason: an over-saturated backfill.
Let me explain. When your home was built, a hole was dug so that your basement could be built. Once it was done, they backfilled around the basement walls, and originally graded that soil to slope away from the house.

However, that soil is more lose than the undisturbed portion of the land around it, and it will remain so long after the house is built. As a result, it will soak up water like a sponge. That is called the “clay bowl effect”. When that soil is oversaturated, the resulting hydrostatic pressure pushes the water against the basement walls, and that is how the water finds its way into your basement, through joints, cracks, crevices and ever through capillary action because concrete is very porous.

Give it enough rain, and your basement will flood, causing thousands of dollars in damages, even if you only use it for storage and laundry.

To make matters worse, the consistent pressure against the basement walls can compromise your home’s structural integrity over time, and the mold inside the basement can cause floor joists and wooden structures to sag, rot and crumble.

5 – Protect your Investment

Even if you are planning to sell your home in the near future, keep in mind that the vast majority of home buyers won’t even consider a fixer-upper, and a wet basement is listed as one of the top ways to scare away prospective buyers.

Agents are not fond of listings with wet basements and, if you ever get an offer, you can bet the buyer will want a significant discount on the asking price just because you have a wet basement.

Don’t even consider a cosmetic job to hide the problem. The law demands that sellers disclose basement problems during the transaction and you may be held liable if you don’t, even after the property is sold.

Ohio Basement Systems offers the most advanced, efficient and affordable basement waterproofing systems in the industry. They cost 50% less than conventional methods, and we back them up with a Transferable Lifetime Warranty, that will cover you and any future buyer.

We service all of Northeast Ohio and Northwest as far as Sandusky. Don’t wait any longer contact us today!!