For quite a few years, I lived with a damp basement.

There was always moisture on the floor and walls, and we struggled with mold and mildew growth. The space smelled musty. I finally got in touch with a contractor who specializes in basement issues. He installed two separate sump pits and a dehumidifier. The basement dried right up. The unpleasant odors went away. We suddenly had access to more square footage of living space. At the one end of the basement, I put down a rug and added a couch, table, chairs and a television. It’s a great spot for the kids to hang out with friends, do homework and play video games. At the other end of the basement, I set up a home gym. I laid mats down over the cement floor and invested into a treadmill, rowing machine and incline bench. I hung up a punching bag and added a set of hand weights, wobble board, foam roller, kettlebells, medicine ball and resistance bands. For six months, I enjoyed exercising in my home gym. There was plenty of room to warm up, stretch, lift weights and get a fantastic workout. I spent at least an hour in the basement everyday. Then my area got hit by a big storm. There were high winds that knocked down tree branches and power lines. We were left without electricity for three days. The combination of downpours and snow melt resulted in widespread flooding. Because we had no power, the sump pumps were not operational and the basement filled with several feet of very dirty water. It ruined the carpet, the couch, chairs, rowing machine and treadmill. The exercise mats and all of my equipment was damaged. Everything was covered in mold and mildew and had a nasty smell.

Steam rooms