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Old, but also new cellars often show traces of mold, which come to light in a wide variety of pollution levels. With regard to the mold, there are different types. The color spectrum is wide. Very common is the white mold, but also green, yellow and black mold is often observed in cellars.
Causes of mold and the problem in basements
Three main causes can be highlighted at this point, both based on moisture problems or excessive humidity. Water penetrating into the basement is one reason, the other is too high relative humidity, and finally residual moisture in the walls due to insufficient drying of the building.
Even one of these above-mentioned causes of moisture, can lead to moisture damage such as musty odor and mold growth. All causes combined are particularly dangerous and difficult to get under control. If musty odor and mold are ignored, this can lead to long-term decay of the building fabric (wall decay). The fact that most basements are airtight and have neither a window nor ventilation exacerbates this moisture problem.
If moisture gets into the basement room through the walls or through the floor due to insufficient or damaged building fabric, the wetness creates the ideal breeding ground for mold. In the absence of a moisture barrier (in houses built before 1970), the so-called capillary effect causes the walls of the house to absorb water from the ground. If you dip a sugar cube a quarter of the way into your coffee, the coffee will rise upwards against the force of gravity - this is called capillary action, which is often the cause of moisture problems in the basement.
If it is a water damage in the basement, for example, due to a burst pipe, should immediately react properly. To dry out, construction dryers or dehumidifiers must be rented, these are particularly powerful and robust dehumidifiers to dry out water damage faster and prevent further moisture damage.
The cheapest long-term solution to basement moisture problems is to use a reliable basement dehumidifier, such as the ecodry 425 or the ecodry CaveMaster. This has the necessary auto-start function, is made of high quality (durability), has 10 operating levels and convinces with the extremely energy-efficient and quiet operation.
Tip: Set the ecodry 425 to operation level no. 6, as soon as the relative humidity rises above 60%, the dehumidifier will start operation to lower the humidity back to 60%. 60% relative humidity corresponds to the optimal basement humidity, in these conditions neither musty smell nor mold can develop.
Mold is often the trigger for a musty smell that spreads throughout the house from the basement. Stains can also be visually perceived on basement walls. These can have a wide variety of colors and sizes, depending on the type and intensity of the infestation. Molds can infest not only basement walls, but also objects and furniture. It should be noted that there may be mold spores in the air that are not yet visually noticeable.
To remove mold in the basement, a mold remover can be used if the infestation is light. After removing the mold infestation, the relative humidity should be kept below 60%, so that the mold is deprived of its breeding ground.
Attention: airing can be counterproductive. The biggest problem and danger of airing in summer and autumn is that it can lead you even more moisture inside the house, because the air outside is warmer and can absorb more moisture, it cools down inside the basement and can carry less water than before.
So water is not led out, but into the basement. This leads to an increased risk of mold, especially because people think they are doing something about the excessive moisture and expect less mold growth. Therefore, care should be taken to ventilate in the summer, if at all, only in the morning or at night, when it is cooler outside. Otherwise, keep windows closed and monitor relative humidity so that it does not exceed 60%. If this is the case, a dehumidifier must be used.
