How to dehumidify and prevent further water damage in a basement apt?
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Yes, the window does look small to me. I am wondering how much of a barrier to getting out quickly that pipe may be. Before you make the basement suite your primary residence, I urge you to make sure that you can quickly and easily open this window, and that both you and your child are able to exit through it. As a safety concern, practice it first.
Yes its required by most city codes there must be an egress/exit window in a basement apartment in case of a fire in the home. This requires you to dig down outside ,,,, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmnk8p4fQ5k
There should also be smoke and gas alarms, and carbon monoxide if gas furnace.
To dry out faster, use fans and open that window and put a small fan in the window to exhaust the air out.
If that was flooded, I would also make sure its mold free cause it will cause you and your child lots of health problems. You can buy mold foggers.
Don't understand the living room ceiling related to your basement apartment. But usually once its dried out, remove/cut out plaster to a square or rectangle and use drywall to fix the ceiling.
Get that nasty carpet up and out! It's holding all sorts of unhealthy molds & spores. Scrub & seal the floors, use area rugs for now. You can use a dehumidifier (machine -- rent or buy). They work best with your windows closed & heat up to 60+ degrees F. Find your sources of moisture/flooding/water invasion and fix it first.
Do you own this home? This should be covered by homeowners insurance or is the responsibility of your landlord.
There will be local city codes regarding basement apartments... even if YOU are the homeowner and will be living there.... safety first.
You do need to address the moisture issue... you may need to waterproof the foundation from the outside... and/or put in a "weeping tile" to move drainage away from the foundation and the house.
a new sub floor and in floor heating would make a big difference toward keeping the basement warm...
HomeAdvisor.com or Angieslist.com are free referral services that reference check and verify the companies and people they recommend...
I would get a foundation specialist to evaluate the house... and give you information on what needs to be done... it may be simple or not... but it could be very necessary if you plan on living in the basement with your child.
1) Find out what leaked into that ceiling and stop it. Remove all rugs, carpet and wet flooring. Then use fans to dry and dehumidify.
2) Decide how the space is heated. Basements often have no heat source. You may use electric baseboards or (vented) gas space heaters.
Can you clear the area outside of those windows to get light and air in? There could be a health issue with mold so you have to be sure you dry it out very well and remove all the mold areas. A Dehumidifier will help, then the ceiling probably needs to be removed until you are sure it is dry and there is no mold. Drywall the ceiling, paint and it should ok once the dampness is gone. Having windows that open and supply air will help, too. Good luck.
Check to make sure you do not have BLACK MOLD,BEFORE YOU MOVE IN!