White Washing Basement Walls
In Philadelphia, there are many a damp basement. And people are determined to keep the dampness at Bay. The dampness creeps from the soil and through the lime and clay mortar that holds the foundation stones together. I've seen people paint the walls with white drylock paint or apply acrylic exterior finish stucco. Those solutions never end well since they hold the moisture in the foundation wall, causing deterioration or mold just behind the paint or stucco. There are some better products that allow the wall to breathe, but I prefer whitewashing basement walls if the parging is in good shape. Whitewash allows the walls to breathe and it doesn't trap water behind the whitewash application. With whitewash, moisture just appears as a darker spot on the wall which will appear or disappear depending on how much it rains and wicks moisture into the foundation. And that dark spot allows the moisture to evaporate from the surface. There are various recipes that can be found onlin