Dry out Basement Gym Flooring with a Dehumidifier - Reader situation / Question

Every spring and summer it feels like similar questions come into the site. One of the more common ones is about how to dry out a basement after flooding. This particular reader asked a more specific question about the gym flooring he/she had in their basement. They asked if a dehumidifier is the right way to dry out a wet basement gym floor:
The answer is: Partly.

As I've mentioned before in several posts, one being this year after the massive floods in Rhode Island during March 2010, a dehumidifier can easily deal with moisture in the air, but it's not very good at dealing with puddles.
Should I use AC or Heat to dry up a wet basement?
If you're basement has truly flooded and have had it pumped out then you're working with a good starting point. Many professional flood cleaning companies use high powered submersible pumps in addition too large fans, dehumidifiers, and the heat from your furnace. That's right, adding heat from a furnace can help to break up the puddled moisture by helping it to warm up and evaporate into the air - the dehumidifier can easily handle the humidity and moisture.

This can go for the gym flooring. Hopefully you have a tile system (these are the easiest and most cost effective way of doing it.) and can take it apart. I know, no one wants too, but when there's moisture trapped under the tiles, or between the seems it's easier to dry everything if it's all taken up. Looking for Basement Flooring?

I'd recommend stacking them with cloth or washcloths in between to draw out any moisture. These stacks should be put in your furnace room, or close too it. Turn on the furnace and the dehumidifier and let the room heat up. Eventually the moisture will come out on it's own. This will also be helpful as you tackle the rest of the area that might still be wet.

If you have a question about your basement that you'd like to have answered, or have a situation you need help with, feel free to drop me a line, leave a comment, or visit the Pioneer Basement Help Forums to ask your question. If the question is good I'll share it here on my blog with the answer for my readers. Keep Dry!


Related Reading and Links
Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make. See what other readers have asked in Safe'n'Dry Basement Blog's Reader Questions Section
Ask Pioneer Basement a question Directly on Pioneer Basement's Help Forums!
Basement Waterproofing - So you never have to deal with it again!

April Showers – Getting the jump on your wet basement.

This is the time of year to do something about the basement.

Water, mold, mildew, radon; whatever the issue is in your basement, getting the jump on spring will save you time, money, and a pained back.

Even if it is occasional water, “every now and then” – this proves that there is a way into your basement from the outside! Doesn’t that bug you? You know you have the chance to see water, and what’s been done about it? “Well it’s been dry all winter”…but that doesn’t mean that it will stay this way. Every Basement, regardless of age, has the potential to flood…that’s a fact.

I can’t tell you how many people on the phone, almost daily, have finally said, “This is the year I’m going to do something about it.”

Standing Water, Leaks, and Seepage
Excess moisture in the basement is bad for the home and it’s bad for your health. It jacks up the price you pay for AC/Heating and it can harbor bacteria and support mold growth. If these aren’t enough of a reason to fix the “occasional water in the basement” then here’s more:

• Excess moisture/water/dampness in basements of buildings make it 75% more likely that the occupants of that building will become ill.  
• Damp conditions down stairs can help support mold growth upstairs.
• Air flows up from the basement, so if there are smells created by the conditions in the basement you can bet that they’ll emerge upstairs.

Pick your motivation! You want a place to watch football, a place for the kids, finally a place to store all your files and junk that it won’t get ruined – keep that picture in your mind and use that to motivate you into correcting the conditions of your basement before the rains in spring.

You CAN have a dry basement, but you have to choose to.

Related Reading and Links

Read about the Top 6 Basement Mistakes that contractors and homeowners make.

Ask Jacob A question Directly on Pioneer Basement's Help Forums!

Basement Remodeling: Pre-Finishing and Preparation steps.

Over the past few years I’ve seen more and more problems with wet basements and more and more of them are happening in fully finished basements. The homeowner in many cases stated “it was a dry basement, we’d never seen water until today” which is very true in most cases.

There are two facts about basements that we currently have to live with:

1.) All concrete will and can crack
2.) All basements will and eventually leak

These are two very hard things for most people to understand. We’re all in denial about bad choices that we’ve made in the past and not preparing your basement before you finish could be one that you could very well have to own in the near future.

The thing is that this lesson is totally preventable. Preparing your basement is much like prepping a patient for surgery. You can’t just throw them into the ER; you have to go through a series of steps before they’re ready.

With the basement, regardless of if you’ve ever seen water, water in its gas form (vapor) can travel through concrete quite easily. Airflow brings it into your home in your basement and then helps it to travel up into the home eventually. Increased amounts of humidity and an increase in a need to run you’re A/C are two signs that you might have a moisture control problem. There are other signs that you might come across as well such as condensation, puddle-ing, and damp walls.

Don’t think for a second because you’ve never had water on your floor that your basement won’t ever leak.

The first step in finishing your basement is to install a moisture control system that will reduce the amount of moisture vapor build up in the basement, protect from leaks and flooding and dehumidification to help circulate the air and filter it.

From here you’ll be working with a clean slate that’s protected and ready to be finished over.