[happeemommee]

My family and I are currently in the mountains of NC. It seems every house we have lived in has had a mold issue. Things in the basement / garage always seem to have that lovely greenish black covering - is this an issue in Vermont, as well?

[arctichomesteader]

It depends on the house. I've lived in houses where you didn't want to store anything in the basement that flooded every time it rained. The house I grew up in had a cellar you could live in, never a flooding issue, no mold, and always the right temperature. It was built that way as a root cellar. So when you're looking at houses, look for evidence of wet basement issues. You get mold when there's too much moisture.

[joe moving]

I wonder if these new heat pump water heaters have some value to them for this application. They dehumidifier the air in the the basement (when placed there, obviously) all year long as a side affect of heating the water.

[happeemommee]

I haven't heard about those, Joe. All I know is here, even without flooding the ground is so damp there's mold everywhere. Old houses, new houses - businesses - everywhere!

[cgregor]

It is quite likely that without vapor barriers between the soil and the foundation, there will be enough dampness in the lower parts of any building to support a mold problem. If the basement footing has a vapor barrier before the concrete is poured, if the basement exterior wall is waterproofed and if there is a vapor barrier between the top of the basement wall and the sill plate, then you will have far less likelihood of a mold problem. Attractive it might be, but it is very unhealthy. As far back as Biblical times, it was recognized as a problem. It is addressed in Leviticus.

[Hopes]

It's a shame the homeowners didn't do their best to battle the water issues to prevent mold.

Our basement is damp because it has a sandstone foundation that's below the water table at certain times of the year. About 20 years ago, we dug up the foundation and installed a French drain. We also make sure our gutters are in working order. I've noticed many Vermont houses don't have gutters. We never store anything down here that could get moldy. We keep the windows open and a fan running in the spring and summer.

This year has been the worst year because our rainfall has topped the charts. The ground is completely saturated and it keeps raining. I bought a dehumidifier a month ago. The water table rose significantly and I literally had visible puddles of water, not just a damp floor. The water comes up through the concrete floor, not the wall. Now I have to shop vac the water up as soon as it appears. Water needs to be removed within 24 hours or mild will start to develop.

Since this is more labor intensive than I plan to do on a regular basis, we're going to install a sump pump. If we hired a plumber to install it, the cost would be between 1k and 2k. We're going to do it ourselves for under $400. A sump pump to remove water and a dehumidifier should keep us dry.

Even though they didn't maintain their basements, you can get one under control. You just have to solve the water problem, get it dry, and keep it dry.

[joe moving]

Don't most basements in VT not even have windows? That was actually a question I had for building a new home.

[tkln]

When house hunting we saw everything from bare cement wall basements with no windows to full walk out with huge windows - which is what we ended up with. Our basement acts more like a first floor.

[VT_born]

Basement humidity which provides a good mold growing environment can be an issue in VT. Mold growth is easily prevented by running a dehumidifier.

[looking4home]

Originally Posted by Hopes

This year has been the worst year because our rainfall has topped the charts. The ground is completely saturated and it keeps raining.

I thought it was a good summer? Are you referring to this past spring?