Finished Basements Need to Be Made Mold-Proof

If you manage to remodel your basement into the type of room that you have always dreamed of having then you can be rightly proud of your achievement. But before you congratulate yourself too much, have you made sure that your new space is mold-proof? This is a common mistake and finished basements that are not mold-proof can turn from the stuff of dreams to the stuff of nightmares. In many instances finished basements actually make mold more likely to occur because it creates the conditions that this fungus loves.

Mold is not a fussy guest; it just requires a few basic conditions and it is good to go. For mold to prosper it needs some dead organic material and a bit of moisture. These are things which can be commonly found in most basements. Remodeling your basement can add to the problem because all that wood paneling and floor boards you are adding are giving it more to grow on. If you install a poorly ventilated shower to your basement you may as well have opened up a mold-hotel, because that is what you are going to be getting. You may not even notice that you have mold because if moisture is coming from the outside behind your wood paneling or underneath your new floor boards then this mold can be growing where you can't even see it. Mold that you can't see is the worst type of mold because it could lead to all sorts of damage to your health and finances.

So what are you to do? Should you just abandon the whole idea of finished basements? No way, no that you know how the problem arises you can take steps to prevent it happening. Prior to commencing any finished basements project you will need to first check to see if you have damp anywhere. If you find some and you are not certain about whether it is coming from inside or outside the house there is a little test you can perform. Put some plastic sheeting on the wall where you feel the dampness and leave for a day or two. If the water is on the outside of the plastic then you know you have condensation problems while if it is inside then you have water from the outside. Whatever the cause, you will need to remedy the situation before beginning any work on finishing your basement.