Basement and Crawl Space Dehumidifiers in
Wisconsin & northern Illinois: Rockford, Belvidere
A basement and the entire home should feel dry, smell dry, and look dry.
After
you've waterproofed your basement, keep the air dry and conditioned. A
basement or crawlspace can become damp even after a basement waterproofing system is installed, and this can lead to high relative humidity 
levels and condensation in the home, that can lead to mold growth,
musty smells, and other problems. This problem is prominent in the
greater Milwaukee and Madison area including Kenosha, Racine, Waukesha, Waukegan, and surrounding areas.
Three things can cause a below-grade environment that doesn't visibly leak water to become damp:
- Capillary action or wicking can bring in moisture. A block wall may not visibly leak water, but it can feel damp because water that may be present in the core of the blocks is wicking to the interior basement wall surface like a sponge.
- Water vapor permeating through your basement floor and walls may also need to be addressed. Badger Basement Systems has three basement wall systems and the patented ThermalDry Basement Floor Matting that eliminates any wicking concerns and considerably slows down water vapor transmission into the basement.
- Moisture can also enter your basement from exterior air leaking into the basement. This is not an issue as long as the outside air is cooler than the basement, however, the warmer summer air is a concern as it can move lots of moisture into the basement.
Whenever the outside air is warmer than the inside air – and especially when it's a humid day outside in Fort Atkinson of Wisconsin or Illinois – a basement (whether it's a finished basement
or not) or crawl space is apt to have a condensation problem. Besides
the subterranean levels having a condensation problem, we know that a
house has a "stack effect" (like a chimney) and air is drawn upwards
from the basement or crawl space into the living environment, thus
bringing the moist air into the upstairs. This air moving from the
downstairs to the upstairs can also carry musty, nasty smells, and
allergens such as mold spores or dust mite fecal matter (the number one
source of home allergens).
So when it's a hot and humid Wisconsin day in the summer, rain or not, our crawl space or basement may be the wettest it has been all year! Even without
condensation, high relative humidity levels are present in our homes,
allowing mold to grow and dust mites to thrive.
In
order to lower indoor relative humidity and eliminate
condensation, either the indoor air needs to be heated (ridiculous in
summer), or water needs to be removed (easy to do) -- but removing
water in an energy efficient manner is more difficult -- unless you
have the right equipment!
The SaniDry Dehumidifier - A Dehumidifier on Steroids!
Badger Basement Systems and the entire home improvement has been dealing with this issue intensely for nearly 20 years. The only machine that will get you the results you need is one called a SaniDry Basement Air System. And it's awesome.
To receive a FREE copy of “Dry Basement Science,” which talks in more detail about dehumidification, relative humidity, and the SaniDry Basement and Crawl Space Air System, schedule your FREE home inspection and estimate in Rockford, Belividere of northern Illinois and Janesville, Madison, Greater Eau Claire, La Crosse of Wisconsin, and we'll send the book to you.
