2012年1月26日 星期四

Basement Basics - Basement Waterproofing and More


Basements are complex, and sometimes difficult to maintain. Waterproof your basement walls, and then you've got to worry about leaking pipes. Fix the pipes, and then you discover a nest of baby spiders in the corner. It's enough to make you want to pull your hair out.

But if your basement is properly waterproofed, the rest is easy. It's simply a matter of maintaining a checklist of Basement Basics. Here's a quick list of regular tasks you should perform every month or so.

Keep the floors clean. Is your basement floor concrete? If so, you can keep it clean by sweeping with a broom, then scouring it with a mixture of bleach and water (a good ratio is a cup of bleach to about a gallon of water; if you're unsure, err on the side of adding less bleach). If you have finished or painted floors, use dish soap or floor cleaner instead of bleach. Mop it, then dry-mop it to soak up all the soap.

Brush for Pests. Most of the spiders that nest in basements are harmless, and can even help keep your home free of other pests. Two poisonous spiders, the brown recluse and the black widow, have bites that can seriously injure or kill -- but they're extremely rare in much of the northeastern United States, and not terribly common in the rest of the USA as well. Still, an ounce of prevention is a good idea here: Sweep your basement's corners regularly, and dust about once every two weeks or so.

Clean the window wells. If your basement windows have window wells on the outside of your home, you're probably a homeowner who takes basement waterproofing seriously. But keeping those wells clean and free of debris is just as important as installing them in the first place. Clean window wells resist corrosion, and are less likely to have cracked windows in them. They're also less likely to serve as homes for possums, skunks, or bugs.

Check the pipes and ducts. If pipes lose their insulation, they can "sweat" condensed water into your basement, damaging your wood and concrete surfaces and creating good conditions for black mold growth. Loose pipe fittings can do the same thing. Check all the insulated pipes and pipe fittings in your home at least once every three years or so. If your home is heated through forced air, you'll probably have ducts in your basement. Ducts with loose fittings can waste heat and raise your heating bill.

Check for radon. If there is uranium in the soil around your home, it can break down into radon, an invisible, carcinogenic, radioactive gas that you can't smell. Testing isn't hard, and it isn't expensive -- and it's easier and cheaper than getting radon poisoning. Buy a test kit at a hardware store, or have a testing pro come to your home to check it out.




D. Michael Kirby is a freelance writer. He writes about travel, technology, home improvement, and more. One of his clients, Right Way Waterproofing, is the premier basement waterproofing company in the Delaware Valley, also specializing in mold remediation and basement remodeling.

Visit Right Way here: http://www.rightwaywaterproofing.com





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