I have a basement that I would like to start a grow. The problem is, every time it rains, water runs through the basement through cracks in the wall and is pumped out with a sump pump. There is a channel around the perimeter of the room so the ground where I would be growing doesn't actually flood, but there is a constant flow of water when it rains. My main concern is mold or mildew. Would I be able to seal up a section with heavy plastic for a grow room ? or would I be better off with a grow tent ? or would heaters and fans help ? Any advice would be appreciated....
As long as the water in the room isn't standing (meaning sitting there for a long time) and it dries pretty quickly you should be fine. If anything it will just increase the humidity. My one concern would be what if it rains insanely hard and floods? Can you post a pic of the place so I can see what you are working with?
If it doesn't flood like the first reply states, all you have to worry with is humidity from the constant water evaporation. You can overcome that with pleny of air circulation. High humidity will adversly affect your flowering plants and reduce the life of any carbon scrubbers you're using. Since you haven't started yet....get a remote temp/humidity monitor. They're like $20 at any electronics store or even Walmart. Monitor the conditions for a while before you start so you know what you're dealing with, understanding that you'll be adding heat and humidity with lights and watered plants.
I would repair the cracks in the wall. Water coming through cracks in the wall is not normal. A sump is a hole below the foundation, when water level rises that hole fills with water and the sump pump carries the water out of the hole and outside the house. This prevents the water level rising above the concrete floor. If the water rose above the concrete floor you would normally see water come in from the seams where the floor and the walls are joined, or from the floor itself.
There is alot of bad info here. Please do not tell him to grow in there people. What are you thinking? Have you ever grown pot before?????????? Do not grow there, tent or not. You will be asking for crop failure. Fans will spread mold and mildew faster, heaters will intensify humidity most likely, and a dehumidifier will be useless in this situation. The only way growing in that basement is possible, is to dig out around the basement, fix the blocks, coat them, put up a membrane, waterblok the interior, and add fill around your house to make a grade so the water runs away from your house. If this sounds like too much, do not do it. Find another location to grow. The last thing you want is to have a nice crop, very close to harvest, and you come in to find mold up the wazoo all over your prized buds. Failure. Waste of time. Waste of money and electricity. THere is one other option. Construct a box for the grow and do it sealed with AC and a dehumidifier and augment with CO2.