Foundation seepage, basement wall and carpet in Hinsdale, IL

Mold in this Hinsdale basement traced back to water seeping in at the foundation, possibly through a crack, rather than to any single flood. When Dylan, our project manager, inspected it, the affected area was small. The scope rated the moisture Category 2 and paired the mold removal with drying.

The crew built a containment barrier with an airlock and a decontamination chamber before opening anything, and they wore protective gear for the whole job. Inside the containment they moved the contents, pulled the baseboard, and cut out the wet drywall no higher than two feet. The scope counted sixteen square feet of wet insulation, which came out and was bagged on the spot. The wet carpet and the pad beneath it were torn out. Every exposed surface was treated with a plant-based antimicrobial, the floor was cleaned, and the debris was hauled away.

Drying ran with one dehumidifier, two air movers and an air scrubber. The sill plate, the board where the wall framing sits on the foundation, held its water longest. Three days in, it still read above 250 on the meter, so nothing came out. Two days after that the highest reading was down to 217, still wet, and the equipment stayed again. The next visit, a week after the work began, ended with the equipment loaded out and the certificate of completion signed.

Removing the mold does not stop the water that fed it. A crack in a foundation wall keeps letting moisture in until it is sealed, so for a basement like this one the lasting fix is a foundation repair, and the wall should stay open long enough for the framing to dry before anything new goes over it.