If a homeowner notices a puddle on the basement floor they need to take some action. What is the puddle being caused from? It could be condensation. When warm air hits a cold surface, the cold surface being the concrete floor, wall or cold water pipe, condensation happens. Or it could be from a void in the concrete, like a crack or from water wicking through the porous concrete.
How do we diagnose which is causing the wet basement floor.
Look above and see if the pipes in the ceiling have condensation on them. See if the pipes are sweating and dripping on the floor. Also, check near your dryer vent. The dryer lets out a gallon and a half of water per load into the air. Be sure that the hose is connected and that the water is not occurring around there.
After a visual, there is a simple test you can do. Take a piece of plastic wrap or tin foil about 1 foot by 1 foot. Tape it to your floor and wait about a day. If there is water or dampness on it, this is condensation. Lift it up, if there is water beneath it, then the water is coming from below which can be coming from a crack or void in the concrete.
If it is condensation, you need a good dehumidifier. If it’s pipe that is sweating, use pipe insulation to wrap the pipes. If it is a crack or void we can fill in those voids or we can put a crystallized quartz based material which will fill the holes and prevent water from coming up through the floor.
For more information, contact A1 Foundation Crack Repair.