Unfinished Basement Growing Mold? The Permanent Solution Is Waterproofing
Unfinished basements with concrete block walls are prone to various annoying problems. One of the most common is water intrusion which leads to toxic mold growth. Although removing the mold is mandatory, the mold will quickly return if you don't treat the underlying water intrusion.
Complete Mold Remediation Requires Removing the Underlying Moisture
The key to keeping mold-promoting moisture out of your basement is proper waterproofing. Once you prevent water from seeping through the concrete blocks, then mold spores won't be able to grow. Alternatively, the mold will continue to come back without adequate waterproofing and continue to threaten your family's health.
How an Unfinished Concrete Block Foundation is Repaired
Fixing moisture on concrete block foundation walls is reasonably straightforward but should be completed by a general contractor for the best results. If the project isn't completed correctly, you will end up with more basement problems than you started with.
Elimination of mold and moisture requires the following steps:
Step 1: Determining the Type of Mold or Other Contaminate and Removing It
If the mold growing on the concrete block walls in the basement is white, you might discover it's not actually mold but instead efflorescence.
Efflorescence is a white, crystalline salt leached out of concrete blocks exposed to moisture. To determine if what you see is mold or salt, place some in a glass of water, and if it dissolves, it's salt, not mold.
To remove efflorescence or mold requires treating with specialized chemicals and then completely removing it with a stiff brush and shop vacuum. Before waterproofing, the walls must be clean and in good repair otherwise, the rubberized paint won't adhere to them and could peel.
Step 2: All Cracks Are Filled With Epoxy
Once the concrete block foundation walls have been cleaned, any cracks will be filled with a special crack filler designed for concrete block foundations. Epoxy injections are used to fill basement cracks because they are very strong and last nearly forever. This is not a job for regular mortar.
Step 3: The Concrete Blocks are Sealed With a Rubberized Paint
Finally, once the concrete blocks have been cleaned and the cracks stabilized with epoxy, it's time to seal the walls with a rubberized waterproofing paint. The thick paint product is rolled onto the walls with a paint roller. Once dried, the paint prevents water from leaching through the concrete blocks into the basement.
With moisture prevented from moving into the space, mold or efflorescence will no longer grow on the walls, and your problem will be solved.
Learn more about interior basement waterproofing.