How do I Stop Water Vapor from Entering My Basement?

Standing water in your basement isn’t the only thing you should worry about as a homeowner. Humid air promotes mold growth and wood rot, so a damp basement can still cause structural damage even when it’s safe from flooding. To truly have a healthy basement, you need to make sure that water vapor has no way of getting inside. Water vapor doesn’t just come from the moisture in standing water, it can also come from the soil outside. Because the soil that surrounds your basement has clay and retains water, the moisture from the groundwater is able to seep through the concrete, which is a porous material.

Vapor barriers are the best way to stop water vapor from entering your basement. They are made of polyethylene, a synthetic plastic with dense molecules capable of blocking off water vapor. Our WallSeal™ Basement Wall Vapor Barrier is 20-mil in thickness and has a built-in anti-microbial coating to discourage mold growth. That is partially what sets it apart from a regular sheet of plastic: normal plastic cannot withstand years of water exposure, so it will potentially harbor bacteria, which mold can feast on. With WallSeal™, you never have to worry about having a bacteria-infested sheet on your walls.

Our vapor barrier is made with multiple layers for two reasons: to make sure that the water vapor has a difficult time passing through and to guarantee that the sheets themselves are not damaged. Polyethylene is an incredibly resistant material on its own, much more so than plastic. While a simple scrape with a sharp corner can create a tear in a normal sheet, WallSeal™ is durable and capable and puncture-resistant. It can also work in tandem with our BasementGutter™ interior drain to catch all the moisture that seeps through the wall.