So tired of water in the basement

[flyingiguana]

We seem to have a river running through our basement. It's only about a 1/2 inch deep, but we just can't get rid of it. We've tried vacuuming it up. We run a pump. But we never get the floor completely dry and it all comes back as soon as we let up. Like when we sleep at night. And we can't just leave the pump running because it won't shut off if it runs dry. And meanwhile, the water is just seeping in at some other location.

 

I'm sick of smelling wet walls. I'm sick of not having our family room.

 

I'm just complaining. Not really looking for advice. The obvious thing would be to put in a sump pump, but we have to wait 2 weeks just to get someone to give an estimate. And there's no way they'd be able to put anything in until October at the earliest. And my husband doesn't even want to have it done, because it would involve moving all his stuff. (I would suggest getting rid of his stuff, but that's a whole other battle.)

 

Meanwhile, I'm worried we're going to grow mold and start up everyone's asthma again.

 

I just wish it would stop raining.

[jrn]

:grouphug:

[Just Another Jen]

Ugh. Been there. I suggest chocolate in vast quantities.

[skimomma]

It sound alike your basement is furnished?  That makes it more of a problem.  We have water running through ours year-round.  It is normal in my area.  And because it is not furnished and we have a drain, mold is not a problem.  The cats love it.

[unsinkable]

I'm sorry. That sucks.

 

Funny story...we were getting estimates to deal with the water in the basement. It was the worst on one wall, basically a constant trickle or little stream if the weather was rainy.

 

One guy's solution was to build a second wall, about a foot away from the basement wall so the water was out of sight! He'd only charge us a couple hundred bucks.

 

:lol:

 

Another waterproofing company came in and wrote down everything they'd do ( sump pump, drain tile, waterproof the walls ) but wouldn't give us an exact price until they were done. He said, "jobs like this just start adding up and we really don't know how much it will all cost in the end."

 

:lol:

 

We did NOT go with either of these choices!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I know you said that you're not looking for advice but I'm going to give you some.  Feel free to ignore if you wish!

 

You have to deal with this.  You're already growing mold if this has been happening every night.  And with asthmatics in the house. . . eek - that is a disaster.  If stuff has been getting damp it needs to be moved.  Some of it might need to be tossed is it is something that cannot be disinfected and dried out.  

 

I think you probably have a situation like we had - a high groundwater level possibly with some aquifers in the area.  The only thing that made a difference for us was having a french drain dug around the side of the house where water was getting in.  We had a sump pump too but it was working overtime and didn't fix the problem.  

 

I sympathize - it is a royal pain in the you-know-what but it could get a lot worse if it isn't taken care of.  

[redsquirrel]

I live in a very wet area, a river practically runs through my basement. We do have a sump (could not go without realistically) and we run a dehumidifier all year long. The dehumidifier is positioned so it empties into the sump so I never have to empty it or really think about it.

 

Can you get a dehumidifier?

 

I understand not wanting to move stuff etc to have a sump made, but your stuff down there is getting ruined. You will never get that musty smell out. We don't have anything in our basement that we are not willing to lose to the water. It hasn't happened yet, but history tells us we will. And as for waiting until October to get the sump, well, October is coming no matter what and you will still have a wet basement.

 

As a person with a mold allergy, I cannot imagine not dealing with this head on. But, I have a basement with a water line so your situation might not be as wet as ours. Once my sump clogged and I had to go swimming in my basement, in melted snow run off, to clear it out. A little stone had stopped up the whole thing.

[flyingiguana]

Thing is -- we CAN'T get a sump put in until Oct.  Funny -- get the 2nd largest rainfall on record and suddenly you can't get anyone to come out and put in a drainage system.

 

And if we wait a few weeks, experience tells us that the water will all drain away and we'll have a dry basement for the next 10 years.  Until this happens again.  So it makes the decision to get a sump less clear cut.

 

We had just put a bunch of boric acid out to kill centipedes.  If we're lucky, that soaked up into the walls and is now preventing mold growth.

 

I doubt a dehumidifier is going to accomplish much right now.  It's hard to dehumidfy a lake.  We've tried pumping with a portable pump, but the water just comes back. 

 

Problem is, we're sitting on top of an underground river.  Most of the time, it's not a problem.  But every now and then, the water gets high. 

 

I think for the French drains to work, we'd probably have to dig below the level of the basement.  This is not something we're going to accomplish on our own.  So we'd need to hire someone.  And, well, they're all pretty busy.

 

We're still waiting on some company or other to get back to us on giving an estimate and getting us on their list.

 

Meanwhile, the water is slowly getting lower.

[Reefgazer]

Been there, done that.  You're stuck with it unless you 1) put in a sump pump, 2) Repair leaks in your foundation where water is coming in, 3) paint/coat walls and floor with water-blocking paint, 4) run a dehumidifier so your basement is no more than 50% humidity, and 5) add extensions to your rain gutters so that roof run-off is channeled away from your house (these are cheap and easily installed).  You can hire a handyman to move and re-arrange hubby's stuff so he won't have to labor to do it.

[redsquirrel]

You still might need a dehumidfier once the water goes down. It will help keep the air circulating and reduce mold and mildew.