Moving to another house - need to clean basement

[mrblotto]

Hey hey everybody!

After getting RA'd by my lovely 3 letter employer (along with tens of thousands of others across the planet), we've decided to move back to PA after 30 yrs
Our house down here in NC sold the night before the first open house, all cash offer, and above asking price....woohoo! Finally some good news

Anyhow, we've settled on a mid 1950's story and a half that's gonna need some love. The bones are solid, just needs some (ok, a LOT) of TLC.
To that end, this is the first place I've had with a basement. It has a full basement that is unfinished. And it needs cleaned.....badly! I wouldn't say there's mold, but definitely a musty smell, and some of the cinder block that had been painted is peeling. On the plus side there's a brand new water heater down there, and soon to be new furnace and central AC too!

How would one clean up the walls? Some places say nylon brush + bleach/water combination, while others say pressure washer with bleach/water/stiff bristle push broom
It's a pretty large basement running the entire length/width of the house, so I'm leary of using a small hand-brush on something so large.

But then again, if I use a pressure washer, there will be water in the basement lol. There is a drain however, so that's good. And there are the classic 'basement windows' at the top of the walls every 10 feet or so. They can be opened to promote air movement. And we already have a few fans we can put down there too.

Needless to say, after cleaning, the walls will be DryLok'd, and a dehumidifier put in place leading to the drain.

TL;DR
-How to clean up creepy basement walls?

Thank you all......Blah-Toe

 

[Greenman]

Pressure washer would be my choice. But put the machine outside and run a long hose inside through the window. Those pesky carbon monoxide fumes will give you an allergic reaction (allergic to living).

 

[mrblotto]

Pressure washer would be my choice. But put the machine outside and run a long hose inside through the window. Those pesky carbon monoxide fumes will give you an allergic reaction (allergic to living).

Thank you Greenman. For some reason the wife is dead set against using a pressure washer.....go figure lol. So, at first we'll be using the stiff broom+bucket+bleach+cursing galore method. I have a feeling we'll be switching to the pressure washer way sooner than later!

 

[mindless1]

Then let the wife scrub till she's done or quits, meanwhile you're getting the pressure washer and she's getting out of the way or getting wet, whichever comes first.

If you use bleach, you're going to want the fans IN the windows to move the chlorine gas OUT of the basement. That stuff is worse than whatever you're trying to kill.

I'd use TSP instead of detergent so the drylok will adhere better. In other words, just bleach and water may not cut it.

 

[olds]

OP, I find that the hardest part of cleaning a basement is getting blood off the concrete floors. It tends to stick in the cracks and crevices.

But I do have a question for you. If your wife is an expert basement cleaner, why are you asking here?

 

[jmagg]

First, i would run a dehumidifier constantly to pull the moisture out of the masonry (this could take weeks or more depending). Next, I would try to slow the moisture wicking through the masonry by installing gutters, and grading water away from the foundation. Then scrape and paint.