Water Damage/Basement Flooding Issue

Hello All,
New here and have a question to ask. We live in Colorado and as a result, had some minor flooding as a result of all the rain we had recently. Our basement is unfinished, just concrete floor, but we do have some noticeable cracks in the floor. Not caused by the flooding, but I believe just normal settling of the house over the years. Been here since 1992. Anyway, after any water damage, I have notice in some of the bigger cracks, that a crystal like substance has develop on top of the concrete. It kind of looks like ice crystals that form in a open container of ice cream that has been in the freezer. I don't believe this to be mold, but not really sure what it is. I can scrape it up and using my vacuum get rid of it. But I'm curious to know what it is and how to prevent it from coming back. I don't know if it is caused by the type of soil we have or what. I would like to take care of this before I start moving things back in.

 

Welcome to the forums.

You're right......it's not mold. It's the minerals in the water and your soil. The water carries the minerals in and when it evaporates...... the mineral salts are left behind.

As long as the water has the ability to leach up thru the cracks..... I don't know of much of a way to stop it. They make paints and other products to seal the cracks that may or may not work.

One way to control water inside the house is to make sure all surfaces outside as well as downspouts are pitched away from the house.

 

What Causes Efflorescence and How do You Remove it? - Concrete Construction, Efflorescence, Bleeding, Cementitious Materials And Pozzolans - Concrete Construction

 

I live in CO also and we have a lot of very alkaline soils along the front range. I suspect that is the alkali leaching thru the cracks. Also the cracks in the concrete are likely caused by expansive soils, which we also have a lot of. Depending on site soil tests, many new houses now have framed basement floors rather than concrete.