Battling Humidity

It’s hard to ignore three inches of water in your basement. But a constant muggy feeling? Easy to put out of your mind, as long as there’s literally anything else to focus on.  

Here’s a story. 

I bought my house in March of 2019. It has a finished basement and, although there was a very slight smell, I attributed it to the family having a lot of kids and the basement being their major play area. Then as spring turned to summer, there was a new, lingering, constantly worsening smell. I spent a weekend plugging in air fresheners, cleaning upstairs, and yelling WHAT IS THAT SMELL at my husband. It was the basement, of course. Humidity is naturally lower in the winter and that keeps any related smells at bay, but once temperatures rise, so do the side effects of humidity. In my case, a smell. 

Even though I’ve worked for a company that handles water problems for five years. Even though I’ve written about this very situation multiple times, I still did what everyone does - I tried to take care of the effects instead of the problem. It’s human nature.  

But the problem is something that can’t be solved with air fresheners. Humidity allows mold to grow, since all mold needs to thrive is moisture and organic material (like the wooden beams or drywall backing in your basement). And you can’t exactly get rid of the wood in your basement, so what do you do? 

You control the moisture. A dehumidifier will keep ambient moisture below the level needed to harbor mold. This will not only improve the feel of your basement, since it’s not fun to hang out in a humid room, but will also eliminate the smells that drift upstairs. 

It’s easy to be in denial about your basement if you don’t have standing water, but ambient moisture can be just as inconvenient and, over time, problematic. Call today to schedule your free inspection and find out how much better your house could be with moisture under control.