Dry a damp basement - Quick fix needed

[Michael B.]

Do you guys have any suggestions on how I could get a damp basement dry for a section 8 inspection. I don't want to go "all out" and put in a drain tile system right away just to pass this inspection. I want the house to be rented out first. We already put DryLok on the walls to keep water from seeping in. I need a quick fix to get it to pass and then I'll get a drain tile system in spring. 

[Daryl Luc]

If a dehumidifier doesn't do it, then you aren't going to have a quick fix.  Not sure if you're experiencing puddles that you can see, or just a humidity that can be felt, or worse smelled.

In my experience, dampness can come from several locations at once, especially the older the property.  Concrete floors are permeable unless the pour was done since 1978 and the contractor used 6mil visquene as a moisture barrier over the gravel.  Go to the big box and buy a roll of the heaviest plastic they sell, it should be 6 mil or thicker.  Cut a 3 ft x 3 ft square and using furnace tape preferably or duck tape if that's all you have, tape the plastic to the floor by sealing it all around the edges.  Give it 24 hours and pull it up.  If there's water formed on the side touching the concrete, you have a floor that is passing water up into the space.

If your house is one that has red clay tile (again probably pre 1975-78) then you should see trails across the floor where they have collapsed and created a flow issue. That situation can also create streams and pools under the floor.

In freeze thaw locations with high clay soil, you can get as much as one inch gap between the outside wall and the soil all around the foundation.  When the wet season returns, the soil expands and in some areas enough to crack the foundation wall, even if poured instead of block.  The only way to solve that...dig away the soil and re-partch the exterior using today's technology. 

My point is that if you haven't brought in an expert to evaluate (not all foundation salesmen are experts!), then you may be fixing the wrong problem.  It might cost you a couple hundred dollars to find out, but it could be the best money you've spent.