My basement has a few issues. I have tons of bugs in there, efflorescence on the floor and walls, it tends to be damp, and my sump pit recently overflowed during a storm.

I tried to address the dampness with a dehumidifier and by painting the walls and floor with a sealing paint, the name/brand of which escapes me. I thought that worked fine, but I noticed later that there was white stuff on the walls, and it had appeared on the floor where it meets the wall. (I didn't even know what the white stuff was till I read this board and learned about efflorescence.) On the floor the paint had actually been pushed up and chipped away where the efflorescence appeared. On the walls the efflorescence is coming in at the mortar joints.

The storm was a doozey and I don't think it will be an issue I need to regularly worry about. However, I didn't have a sump pump before, but I bought one now and put it in with flexible hose as a quick fix if needed. My question about the sump is that the pit has a pipe with an elbow which opens straight up in the middle of it. The pipe leads back under the floor of the basement. I don't have a clue what this is. My dad thinks I am not supposed to have a pump. Any ideas?

Oh yeah the bugs, I'm guessing from other posts this means there are probably cracks outside I'll need to fix. That would mean doing the hose test on the walls would be a good thing, right?

I want to thank everyone who posts to this, even before I posted this note I learned alot.

THANKS!

The "white stuff" is most likely efflorescence, as you surmised. There are chemical efflorescence removers available, which will safely remove it. All it is, really, is salt. It isn't mold or anything dangerous.

BUT, the fact that efflorescence continues to appear means either of two things: your house is still new, and construction moisture is escaping from the masonry, or: your house is older, and moisture is getting INTO the wall from somewhere, and causing the efflorescence.

I will leave the rest of the comments to LicensedWaterproofer.

Richard thanks for your input. My house is about 40 years old. Means I probably have some digging to do, right?
I also am hoping to hear from LicensedWaterproofer.

I think that either the foundation has cracks outside, or else whatever dampproofing was put on 40 years ago was either too thin, or has deteriorated. My family built a house in 1954, and my brothers and I got the job of applying the dampproofing, and let me tell you, that basement will NEVER leak!

But an apartment house in which I occupied the bsement apartment leaked in one area in heavy rains, and when they dug down to the footing, I saw that the dampproofing was only a thin spray coating, and was worthless. There were no cracks, but the contractor applied waterproofing shingle underlayment to about 8 or 9 feet of the wall, running down and over the top of the footing, and it never leaked after that.

Your doing something right, The efflorescence is a sign that the air in your basement is dryer than the foundation. Moisture will always migrate from wet, to dry.Although your foundation should be damp-proofed, there are other things to consider.
Do you have gutters? If not, maybe you need them.
If so, check the gutter leads. They should extend at least 8' beyond the house down hill.
Is the grade sloped toward your house? It should slope away.
Is there landscaping against your house. Trees & shrubs should not crowd the foundation or siding.
I grew up in the trenches of the Poconos during the 80's building boom & learned exactly what not to do when it comes to building a house. It led me into the restoration career for which I do now.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chaser,

Thanks Chaser,
I do have (leaky) gutters, the grade does slope away from the house, but there is a flower bed right up against the house. I never knew that would be a problem. I would have thought that would help prevent moisture from building up next to the house, because the flowers would use it.

Tbill, If your house has a sump pit, it should have a pump in it. Change your flex hose to a permanent PVC outlet with a check valve. Next, my last house was nearly 100 years old and, when I moved in, had rotting gutters and lousy/missing downspouts. Replacing those did wonders for drying up the small river of running water on my basement floor. The downspouts should extend several feet away from the house (and don't forget to clean the gutters out once or twice a year...)

The flower bed shouldn't be a bad thing, as long as the bed and yard are sloped away from the house. If not, perhaps building up the flower bed might help. Make sure the soil doesn't touch the siding, though. Six inches of bare foundation is, I believe, a recommended minimum.

Re: bugs, I've had great success with a product called "Home Defense" (also tried and rejected the copy-cat products). It can be used along the foundation of the house outside and inside the house - basement rafters along the walls etc. Close as many bug entries as you can find, but realize that they WILL find a way in. Good luck.

The bugs are the result of the excessive moisture in the basement. They do not drink they absorb moisture that is present. Once dry they will go away.
Water Baement water issues are caused by many issues. Almost all of the times its exterior grading, gutters and leaders, porches and sidewalks driveways pitched towards the house. But you may have another issue going on. As homes age the drainage system that was installed fills with silt and begins to clog. as this happens the water no longer drains away from the foundation and begins to build in the block walls. By sealing the walls with water proofing you have effectivaly developed a build up of water within the block wall. This is not good as it will lead to additional settlement of the foundation and deterioration of the block. When water proofing companies do their thing they drill out the bottom of the block to relieve this build up. If you have a open floating slab you can take a small star chisel and hammer and open up the block near the bottom by the floor. Be ready for water to drain out of the hole. If the water is not draining out of the slot along the floor most likely the drainage system has failed with silt and will need to be replaced. When replacement of the drainage system takes place be sure they install cleanouts to allow for cleaning if any silt builds up.
Beware of water proofing contractors. Their prices vary quite a bit. Get several estimates and watch for the high pressure,sales pitch. Prices vary but should be in the area of $45 per foot.
Good Luck