Water in your Basement? Here’s what to do

Having water coming into your basement is stressful and can make you regret purchasing your property.

I’ve been a landlord for several years now and I purchased a rental property that had water seepage where the basement wall and floor meet. On a normal, sunny day, there wouldn’t be any visible water seeping through. However, during a rain storm or when massive amounts of snow melted during the spring season – there was plenty of visible water.

It took me about 8 months to go from knowing nothing about handling this problem to being capable of resolving this issue myself – DIY style. So, in this post, I’m going to talk about a few things that will help you if you have water seeping into the basement as a property owner.

Signs of water in your basement

The first step you need to take as a property owner is to identify if you have water coming into the basement from the outside or inside your property. This is important because the solution for water seeping into your basement will be different depending on the cause.

Since most people can identify the cause of water in the basement if it’s caused by something inside the property (such as a pipe, water heater, or sewage backup) – I’m going to focus on identifying signs of water seepage coming from outside of the property.

The obvious signs of water intrusion in a basement are:

• Visible water
• Mold growth on the ceiling or floor joist above
• Efflorescence

The less obvious signs are:

• High moisture readings in the foundation wall
• High humidity
• Visible interior cracks on the foundation

Why you have water seeping into the basement

When I was researching water seepage in basements, most of the resources I found made it sound extremely complicated. They made it sound like you’d have to be a waterproofing professional or foundation repair company in order to figure out why water was entering the basement.

I’ve been a digital marketer for almost a decade now and can spot a gatekeeper when I see one.

A gatekeeper in this instance refers to a person (or group of people) that tries to withhold information in order to seem necessary

So, instead of using Google to find a bunch of regurgitated information and blog posts – I started learning about foundations and how they fail. Here’s what I learned that helps explain why you have water seeping into the basement:

You have cracks or holes in your foundation

If the water entering your basement comes from the exterior – it has to have a place to enter.  Visible water doesn’t magically enter your basement (water vapor/humidity on the other hand can look like magic since it won’t be visible). The main entry points for water are cracks and holes in your foundation.

If you have a solid concrete foundation, cracks or holes on the outside of your foundation should be visible on the inside. The simplest way to get an idea if you have water coming in through cracks in your foundation wall is to look at the wall when it’s raining. Not every crack is big enough (yet, if you live in an area with freezing winters) to leak but they’re all worth paying attention to.

If you have a hollow concrete block foundation (more common in my area) – you could have cracks or holes on the exterior of your foundation that are not visible on the inside (this was the case for my property). This could lead to water from the exterior entering these voids, building up in the foundation wall, and exiting in a completely different location.

Here’s a tip:

An easy way to figure out if your water issue is coming from cracks/holes in the foundation is to take a water hose, turn it on, and let it flow right next to your foundation where you believe the water is entering your basement.

If you notice that water starts entering your basement after 5-10 minutes, it’s a clear sign that you have entry points.

If your problem was malfunctioning drain tile, it would take much longer for the water level under your property to fill up and cause a problem.

Malfunctioning drain tile

Another reason you can have water in your basement could be from clogged/malfunctioning footer drain tile around your property.

Most homes in America have underground pipes along the foundation of the house that help prevent groundwater from building up and entering the property. If your footer drains are not working correctly, this can contribute to water building up higher than it should and eventually finding an entry point.

However, for most properties I’ve seen here in Ohio with basement water issues – I’m not as convinced as some interior waterproofing companies that this is the primary contributor. Even if your drain tile was clogged (or missing completely) – water still can’t get inside the property unless there’s an access point (the cracks or holes we talked about in the previous section).

A basement is basically an inverted swimming pool. Instead of the water being inside the foundation (like a swimming pool), the water is outside the foundation (your basement).

When was the last time you heard someone complain about water from the soil surrounding the pool, entering the pool, and making it dirty?

Here’s what needs to be fixed

If you have water coming in from the wall or where the wall and floor connects:

• I’d recommend you focus on fixing exterior cracks or holes.

if you have water entering your basement from cracks in the floor:

• I’d recommend you focus on fixing your footer drain tile (or installing interior drain tile)

Interior Waterproofing: the temporary fix

The temporary fix for stopping visible water from showing on your basement floor would be to do what’s called “interior waterproofing” – which is basically just installing another set of footer drains inside your foundation walls (underneath the floor).

This will capture any water that enters your foundation or water that rises underneath your basement floor, redirect it to a sump pump, and pump it away.

I’ve never been a fan of the term “interior waterproofing” or the method. It’s more accurate to describe it as “interior water diversion” because it doesn’t actually stop the water from entering your foundation. It only stops you from visibly seeing it.

Here’s what that means for you as the property owner:

• Water vapor is still entering your basement and causing higher humidity (which can cause mold growth and that “basement smell”)
• Water is still deteriorating your foundation as it enters before it’s diverted to the sump pump.  Depending on how long you plan to own the house, this may not be a problem for you. However, it will be a problem for someone.
• Higher levels of radon in your basement. The more the water deteriorates the foundation and widens the entry points, the easier it is for radon gas to enter the basement from surrounding soils.
• There’s still increased pressure on your foundation walls from wet, surrounding soils (especially if your soil is heavy clay). Who do you think will eventually give up first, the surrounding soil or your basement wall? Here’s a hint, it’s not the soil.

Exterior Waterproofing: the permanent fix

The permanent fix for water in your basement is to deal with the water before it enters your basement (aka exterior waterproofing).

This means digging up the soil surrounding your problem areas, patching cracks, installing a waterproof membrane, installing exterior insulation, cleaning/replacing your footer drain tiles, and replacing the surrounding soil with clean rock/gravel (which doesn’t hold water and drains easily).

Although that’s the right way, it’s much more expensive than going with the temporary fix above. And for good reason, it’s a lot more work and does a lot more damage to the area surrounding your property.

With that said, by fixing this issue permanently – you also permanently reduce:

• your humidity levels
• your radon levels
• your energy usage (if you install exterior insulation as well).

When to choose interior waterproofing?

• Suppose your property is surrounded by tens of thousands of dollars worth of porches, patios, additions, or landscaping. In that case, it may not be financially feasible to tear all of that up, waterproof it, and then rebuild it all.
• If your property sits on a very small lot that’s so close to your neighbors that the company you hire can’t get equipment to fit in order to do the job (and won’t do it with shovels).
• If you don’t plan on keeping this property long enough for the major issues to start showing

When to choose exterior waterproofing?

• If you plan to own the property long-term and don’t want to have to deal with this problem again (or any of the eventual consequences of interior waterproofing)
• If you plan to finish the basement
• If you’d like to keep radon levels lower without putting in a radon system

Exterior Waterproofing vs Interior Waterproofing

Info	Interior Waterproofing	Exterior Waterproofing
Cost	$3k – $10k	$5k – $50k+
Time	1-2 days	2-3+ days per wall
Permanent?	No	Yes
Reduce humidity?	No	Yes
Reduce radon?	No	Yes
Can be performed all year?	Yes, since all work is done inside the property	No, since all work is done outside
Requires a sump pump	Yes	Maybe – depends on if the water can drain downhill somewhere via gravity or not
Ease of maintenance	Easy – clean-outs can be accessed via the sump pump	Easy – as long as clean-outs are installed up to grade level.

Practical tips for dealing with water in your basement

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you see water in your basement. I can remember being at home and any time it rained heavily, I was stressed because I didn’t know how bad the basement was at the property that had basement issues.

So, as someone with experience in DIY exterior waterproofing and hiring out a company – here are a few tips for dealing with water in your basement that can help while you figure out/save for some kind of waterproofing solution:

• Start with making sure there aren’t any downspouts of large amounts of water pooling near your property.
• Make sure the grading near your house allows water to flow away from it for at least 10 feet (more is better)
• Avoid painting your interior foundation walls with Drylock or “waterproofing paint” before fixing your basement. This paint makes it hard for water vapor to transfer and can cause additional pressure on the exterior side of the wall. Leading to faster foundation wall deterioration and eventual bowing.

Helpful products:

Here are a few products that are helpful for dealing with water in your basement:

• Water absorber/diverter – https://amzn.to/3INKkNv – To keep water away from important areas
• Moisture reader – https://amzn.to/3kiZr7t – To get an idea of how much moisture is in your foundation
• Dehumidifier – https://amzn.to/3k8rBlh – For reducing the humidity and preventing mold growth. I used this with the included hose so that it auto-empty into a drain.
• Moisture absorbers – https://amzn.to/3kgj28a – For reducing the humidity and preventing mold growth (use in conjunction with a dehumidifier)
• Shop Vac – https://amzn.to/3W9jJNX – For cleaning up standing water
• Air circulating fan – https://amzn.to/3CQQloQ – This fan wasn’t designed for drying out a leaking basement but does a great job. It’s also useful for other things (like my home gym)
• Floor squeegee – https://amzn.to/3iI1Jwo – for moving visible water on the floor easily