Choosing the Best Basement Floor Sealer for Your Home
Choosing the best basement floor sealer is very important to protect your home from water damage as well as from radon gas, mold, and mildew. Concrete floors are very porous. When concrete is poured, the water in the mixture pushes to the surface, creating a network of capillaries inside the concrete, Even though these pores are narrower than a single hair shaft, they are still much wider than water molecules. Water vapor and gases are drawn through by the lower pressure inside your home. If you notice a white powdery substance on the basement floor, then you have water leaking into your home. Another telltale sign is a musty odor in your basement. If you decide to finish your basement without addressing this problem, you will be asking for mold to develop, which will create a very expensive problem for your home as well as a very unhealthy environment in which to live.
Use a Penetrating Sealer
You will have to use a penetrating floor sealer to protect your home from these ravages. It goes deep into the pores in your concrete floor and forms a protective gel that will keep water and gas from migrating up to the surface. These types of sealers dry quickly and are completely invisible, protecting the look of your concrete floor. You can apply paint or any other coating right over them.
In making your choice of sealer, look at the label and make sure that it says that it is a penetrating water based silicate sealer. Additionally, spray-on application is very easy. All of the following products will not only seal your floor from water, but they will also protect your home from radon gas that can come up from the subsurface beneath your home.
LastiSeal Concrete Stain and Sealer
One of the best sealers is LastiSeal Concrete Stain and Sealer. It will waterproof and stain your concrete in one step. It will penetrate two to four inches, and it comes with a ten-year waterproofing warranty. It is non-toxic and non-flammable, and is available in 36 earth tones and colors. It will seal and beautify your floor in one easy step. You can also buy LastiSeal Brick and Masonry Sealer, which is appropriate to waterproof not only concrete, but also bricks, pavers, and stones. It can be purchased with a flat or a satin finish, and includes a ten-year warranty. It does not come in colors, but acts as a primer for paints, making it easy to spray paint your basement floor any color you choose.
Dryway Water Repellent Sealer
DryWay Water Repellent Sealer can be used more broadly than just in your basement. It can protect your driveway, outdoor concrete, and bricks from rainwater and contaminant spills. It is also completely resistant to freezing and thawing damage, so if your basement is not heated, this is an excellent choice.
IonBond Armor Subsurface Sealer
Ion Bond Armor Subsurface Sealer will form a waterproof barrier in the subsurface beneath you concrete or masonry floors. This is the best choice to protect against water pressure from the sides as well as below. It will even seal through latex paint.
