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If you have a really wet or flooding basement, the first thing you want to do is find where the water is coming in from. If possible, seal off the water source to keep additional water from entering your basement.

Clean Up Begins
Then, get all carpeting, drywall, boxes of personal belongings, and any other ruined, wet materials out of the basement area all together. Since basements have little to no sunshine, they are breeding grounds for mold and mildew growth. That means you need to remove any wet material from the basement or it will probably mildew, mold and rot. Plus, if you don’t remove wet materials, they will probably take on a non-pleasant odor that will permeate your basement space. Be especially careful to check all drywall and boxes, as they may not appear to be wet or damp but in fact are just that.

Conditioning the Air
Once you remove all the wet materials from the basement, condition the air using an industrial strength dehumidifier. What this does is wring out the moisture in the air and dry it. You can even hook up the dehumidifier to a hose to drain outside so you don’t have to empty the dehumidifier – it automatically goes outside and away from your home!

An industrial strength dehumidifier is best, as it can handle much more air capacity than a regular home dehumidifier. The dehumidifier’s cooling core, which helps condition the moist air, is much larger in an industrial model than in a model you find at your local home improvement store. With an industrial dehumidifier, this means less moisture in your basement and less potential for mold and mildew to grow – who doesn’t want that?

Get a Sump Pump
Next you’ll want to make sure you have a sump pump installed. Any responsible basement waterproofing contractor will advise you to place the sump pump in the lowest point of the basement. Since water seeks usually seeks the lowest point first, a sump pump is most effective in the low spot. Also, when a drainage system is installed, you’ll want the system to be pitched to that low spot to work effectively.

Once enough water is in the sump pump, the pump kicks on and pumps water through a discharge line which then leaves your home. Secondary pumps and back-up sump pumps are also a great idea in case the first pump can’t keep up with water demand or if the power is out. Since most homeowners aren’t in their basement each and every day, sump pump alarms are a good idea, too. A sump pump alarm alerts you when water rises past the point where the sump should have turned on. This means less worrying and stress for you on a daily basis.