Here are some facts you need to know to protect your home from water damage:

• Unwanted water can enter your home through many paths

• The amount of unwanted water you should allow in your home is zero

• Unwanted moisture will cause damage and the damage may happen quickly or slowly

• Either way, the damaged caused by unwanted water can be financially catastrophic for the homeowner

• Unwanted moisture, by encouraging the growth of molds, can even harm the health of the people living in the home

• You can get more information about water damage and help on how to prevent water from entering your basement or crawlspace from Everdry Waterproofing of Cincinnati.

3 Paths By Which Water Can Enter Your Basement

The first path and the most common entry point for water is the floor/wall joint intersection of your basement.

Your basement is actually built with multiple pours of concrete done at separate times. The footing for the house is built with the first pour. The foundation walls are built with the second pour. And the floor is built with the last pour.

Because each of these three structures is built with a separate pour, there is a seam between each of the three structures. Water, under pressure, has the potential to enter your basement by penetrating these seams or joints.

Path 2 is floor cracks and path 3 is wall cracks.

Concrete is composed of cement, water, and aggregates (fine and coarse sand, natural gravel, and crushed stone). Water allows the concrete to be formed into the desired shape. Then, when the concrete dries and cures, it becomes harder and stronger.

During the drying and curing process, though, it's normal for cracks to develop. Usually theses cracks don't cause any structural problems, but they can provide an entry point for water.

Even after the concrete is long cured, soil movement or settlement can cause new cracks.

Also basements are constantly subjected to the forces of hydrostatic water pressure from subsurface ground water. And many things can influence the amount of this subsurface groundwater.

If your roof gutters become clogged, for example, they can fail to move water away from your foundation. The more water you allow to accumulate near your basement, the greater the chances that water pressure creates and penetrates cracks in your concrete.

Here's the key point -- just because your basement is dry today doesn't mean it will be dry next year. Change is constant.

Protecting your basement from water damage is a continual home maintenance project.

The Bottom Line

Unwanted moisture in your basement is a direct threat to the financial value of your home and even to the health of your family.

Whether your basement walls are made of poured concrete or concrete blocks, water can find many paths into the basement.

For each path that water can take into your basement, there is a smart solution to keep the water out.

If you own a home in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, and want to make sure your basement stays dry, you can get expert advice and a free estimate at Everdry Waterproofing of Cincinnati. They can help you with basement waterproofing, foundation waterproofing, concrete foundation repair, and concrete basement repair.