Efflorescence on basement walls — the salt that water leaves behind.
Chalky white mineral deposit on basement masonry. Harmless on its own, but a clear telltale that water is moving through the wall. We document the deposit, trace the source, and tag severity in the same-evening report.
Lake-belt salt blooms tell the story.
Efflorescence is the visible footprint of liquid water moving through the wall. In Eden Prairie's lake belt — Mitchell, Bryant, Round, Staring, Riley — the seasonal water table sits close to the basement slab and a chronic, low-grade moisture gradient drives the salts to the interior surface. The deposit itself is harmless. The pattern of where it shows up is diagnostic.
Six bloom patterns we tag.
Where the deposit appears tells you what is causing it. Cove-line blooms read differently than full-wall blooms — and a finished-wall ghost reads differently than either.
Light scatter
Isolated specks across an otherwise dry wall. Common, low-concern. Wipe and watch — track for change between visits.
Cove-line band
Heavy bloom along the wall-floor seam. Hydrostatic pressure under the slab. Drain-tile health is the question.
Vertical track
Bloom following a single column or crack pathway. Discrete water route — usually a hairline crack or tie hole.
Full-wall bloom
Heavy, contiguous deposit across an entire wall. Chronic saturation. Hydrostatic intervention required.
Concealed (thermal-only)
Active moisture behind drywall or paint. Not visible to the eye, clear on thermal and moisture meter.
Recently cleaned ghost
Wall wiped before listing. Faint mineral haze remains. Confirm with thermal — was the source ever fixed?
Where blooms run heaviest.
Lake adjacency and wall material drive the rate. Use this to read the report — and to set expectations before the inspection.
| Area | Wall type | Likelihood | Severity tilt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Lake adj. | CMU block | Near-ubiquitous | Major+ |
| Round Lake area | CMU block | Very common | Monitor / Major |
| Riley / Staring adj. | Block / poured mix | Common | Monitor / Major |
| Cedar Forest | Poured | Light scatter | Monitor |
| Bearpath / Hennepin Village | Poured | Rare; tracks cracks | Monitor |
| Eden Prairie Center area | Block / poured mix | Common | Monitor / Major |
Three steps. Patterned, traced, recommended.
Photograph and pattern
Every wall photographed at fixed scale. Bloom pattern classified — light scatter, cove band, vertical track, full-wall, concealed thermal, ghost. Coverage estimated as percentage of wall area.
Source the moisture
Thermal scan to find concealed moisture behind finishes. Pin-meter readings on suspect surfaces. Exterior walk to correlate with grading, downspout discharge, and below-grade water management.
Severity, source, fix
Each finding tagged Critical / Major / Monitor with a plain-language recommendation tied to the upstream water source — grading, downspout, drain tile, or crack remediation. Same-evening report.
Seeing white deposits in a basement you're considering?
Two-minute quote. Booking this week. Same-evening severity tagging.