H & H Pest Control Blog

Controlling moisture levels in your home provides a myriad of benefits: 

You know that having excess moisture in your house can cause mold and mildew, which is bad for your health. The question is, “How do you get rid of moisture in the house?” Washing dishes, breathing, bathing, cooking – all of these activities produce moisture, which is normal and usually doesn’t go over normal levels. However, when you have an issue with excess moisture in the basement or crawlspace, you end up running into problems that create mold and mildew.

Waterproofing your basement prevents mold and mildew that makes you sick, and it increases the value of your home because it keeps your basement dry. Instead of a damp, dark place you use for storage, you can turn a dry basement into extra living space with basement waterproofing, whether you use it for more bedrooms, an office, or a game room. And, you’ll keep your lungs free of the mold spores that thrive in damp places.

Moisture in your home comes from many sources, including showering, cooking, using a humidifier and moisture that seeps in from your basement or crawlspace. While you do need some humidity in your home to be comfortable, too much encourages the growth of mold and mildew. In turn, the mold and mildew attract bugs, cause wood to decay, damages electronics and cause health problems. If you have excess moisture in your home, H&H Pest Control and Waterproofing’s waterproofing services help remove the excess moisture.

If you have moisture or water running into your basement, the waterproofing either was not installed on the home or it has worn out. Basement waterproofing not only keeps water and moisture out of the basement, but it keeps excessive humidity out of your house. When you have too much moisture in your basement and in your house, you give mold and mildew the perfect environment to grow. Our waterproofing services at H&H Pest Control and Waterproofing stop the excess moisture that causes mold and mildew.

Moisture and mold can be silent killers in your home. Not only can moisture wear away at the foundation of your home and damage flooring, baseboards, furniture, and appliances, but it can also cause chronic, debilitating illness for those exposed. Perhaps even more alarming is the fact that many renters and homeowners don’t know there’s moisture because it hides in places that aren’t always visible or accessible.

If you don’t use moisture control practices in your home, you could have mold hiding under wallpaper, baseboards and other trim. You create humidity in your home by cooking, showering, doing dishes, using an unvented clothes dryer and using a humidifier. When water gets in through the basement or crawlspace because of poor drainage, the humidity increases, which could cause mold to form.

A basement or crawlspace built with blocks needs to be waterproofed. Cement and blocks are not waterproof, so water seeps through to the inside. Most builders put waterproofing on the blocks, but it does wear out after some years. When excess moisture gets through the waterproofing or the cement, if it wasn’t waterproofed, your house becomes damp, which encourages mold to grow. Putting in moisture control measures while you are building is less expensive than having to do it later.

French drain systems divert water from where it pools to a place where the water cannot hurt buildings or your landscaping. Often, people install a French drain and let it evacuate water to a part of the landscape that requires extra water. A deeper French drain, or a footing drain, moves a lot of water, while a shallow French drain, also known as a curtain drain, is uphill of the area you want to dry out. The curtain drain stops the water from flowing downhill and forces it away from the soggy spot. Footing drains are suitable for keeping water out of your basement. They are placed at the footing for the basement, so are easier to install while you are building your house, but we can install them after the build is finished.