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Home Repair Remodeling Basements

How to get rid of moisture odor downstairs

8 months ago

A neighbor wants to get rid of the constant musty smell in his downstairs (especially during rainy periods). The smell is especially noticeable near the one smooth concrete wall that has dirt behind it. He coated this wall with sealant, which helped only a little. It would be too much effort to excavate on the exterior at this wall, so the question is what to do on the inside of this concrete wall.

I suggested rigid foam board (XPS such as Foamular or Polyiso) glued directly onto the interior wall followed by furring strips or metal hat channel (creating ~1" air gap) and then moisture resistant sheetrock (option 1). The stairwell runs against this wall and we don't want to make it much narrower, so we will probably use 1/2" foam board and 3/8" sheetrock. It's Texas, so insulation from the cold is not of primary importance.

The builder doing some other renovation on his house has a bunch of Delta MS dimpled drainage membrane from another job and suggested putting this on the wall first. It sounds like a good solution to keep moisture out. So I was thinking put this on first, then the foam board directly on top of the Delta MS membrane, then air gap and sheetrock (option 2). But the Delta service rep suggested that foam board was not necessary and could be a fire hazard. So the current plan is the dimpled drainage membrane, then an air gap with furring strips or hat channel, then sheetrock (option 3).

One thing to keep in mind is that he is not going to remove the stairwell or remove any flooring, so the dimpled membrane will stop at the floor or stair level. It will not extend below the floor to a french drain the way it would if it were installed on new construction.

Which of these options is best?

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Comments (5)

PRO
Lomo
8 months ago
Only way is to get rid of the water from the exterior.
millworkman
8 months ago
Getting past the concrete thru the wall you will never eliminate the odor. It is moisture and you may end up making the entire situation worse as the moisture will still get in and not be able to dry.
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Charles Ross Homes
8 months ago
To be sure, keeping the moisture out of the concrete foundation wall by suitable treatment on the exterior would be the most effective moisture management strategy. The Delta dimpled mat is great for that. On the interior, not so much. Given the constraints, I'd apply the most effective moisture-limiting coating available to the interior surface of the concrete wall and then work to decrease the relative humidity in the space in order to minimize the potential for mold/mildew to grow. To that end, try to keep the relative humidity at 50% or less. That will make the entire space healthier and more livable.
A Mat
8 months ago
In the winter I use a dehumidifier, in the summer I use a box fan. Mold grows on my things if I do not lower the humidity.
aquaverde
Original Author
8 months ago
Thank you for the replies! Maybe we need to re-think this.

I'm not sure if the exterior of this wall has any moisture barrier on it. Since the downstairs sits underneath only about 2/3rds of the upstairs, this particular wall is not on the perimeter of the house. Instead, it is like a beam under the center of the house, and about 7-8 ft tall.

He is also planning to take steps to reduce moisture on the exterior of this wall (under the house) by installing a french drain around the perimeter of the house and adding a few ventilation holes on the sides of the perimeter foundation just above the ground level.

The musty odor is only near this one wall. The other rooms downstairs have sheetrock over the concrete (I assume with an air gap and bat insulation between the sheetrock and concrete wall) and do not smell bad.

I was assuming our proposed solutions would allow moisture to either a) dry slowly in the air gap without entering the interior space (option 3), or b) stay in the concrete and eventually dry to the exterior in the summer when the dirt dries out (option 1). Maybe these aren't good assumptions.

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