water damage?

[MisterG56]

Hello,
I am a new homeowner and have a lot of questions so I joined this forum to ask about the things that I just can't find information on anywhere else. So, let's start in the basement...

House was built in '92. Not sure if the wall-to-wall carpeting is original or not, but it is at least a few years old, probably 5-10 if I had to guess. It is in pretty good shape, except for the border on the exterior walls. On almost all of the exterior walls, there is a faint discoleration, which looks like the start of mold growth. It also feels very slightly damp, but it's hard to tell - it might just be cool since it's underground but if it is wet it is only very slightly. I live in a very dry climate, so my concern is that I am getting water seepage and it just takes a long time to accumulate - years just to build up this ~1" stain. Gutters are clear and don't drain right next to the foundation, and the landscaping grades away from the home. There are, however, window wells. So while the basement floor is about 5-6ft underground, it is only 2-3ft below the bottom of the window wells. The "mildew" is not worse under the window wells though, it is pretty even all around the exterior walls.
I have not pulled up a corner to see what it looks like below the carpet, but I will. In the meantime I am wondering if this is normal or what, if anything, I can do about it. The interior walls do not sweat/weep.

Please let me know if you have any ideas or experience related to this, or if any extra information would be helpful and I will gladly supply it.

Thanks in advance...

[pushkins]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your home purchase.

What you may need to do is as simple as adding a dehumidifier to the basement, it may well have an internal moisture issue that can be dealt with easily by the dehumidifier.
I always advocate that basements regardless of being finished and used or concrete floor with block walls should be heated and cooled, you don't have to keep them at the same as the rest of the house (controlled by restricting vents) but by allowing the air to be conditioned it can remove unwanted moisture.

Pull up the offending edges of the carpet, look for any mold that might be under the edges of the areas in question, the more mold the higher the moisture problem.
Do you know if there is an perimeter drain tile around the house, often they drain out to the street ?

[sherllin]

Hi!
Heartiest Congrats from my side also. well Pushkin is saying the right way to get rid of this water damage. moisture issues can be sort out with the help of dehumidifier. As you can solve it by urself then its ok. but i would suggest you to do contact with a water damage restoration company.so it will sort out permanently.

[luigi]

There are many issues to think about when you are dealing with a wet basement. The main issue is if you are getting actual water in the basement or just condensation/moisture. If you are getting humidity/condensation in the basement, then you need to move the air around with a fan as well as a dehumidifier to dry the air. If you dont move or dry the air, the moisture will accumulate in the walls, floors, ceiling & or porous items. When this happens, mold forms due to the lack of dry air, light & a moist area for the mold to grow. I would suggest leaving the dehumidifier on a self setting to come on & off as needed dependant on the humidity level desidered. If water is entering the basement area from the outside, then you must find where it is & eliminate the source of the water entering the house. Could be leader drains from the gutter leading the water back towards the house foundation. Could also be poor drainage away from the house. There are other factors to consider: cracked foundation, high water tables, no waterproofing on exterior foundation concrete, landsscape/topography of the water towards the house.