For many, the summer months are a favorite time of year, but with warmer weather comes more moisture and humidity. If your house has a crawl space, then the change in atmosphere could have serious consequences for your home.
How To Control Crawl Space Moisture
A crawl space acts as a buffer between ground moisture and your house and protects against flooding by raising the floor of your home above base flood elevation. Most people don’t venture into their crawl spaces because they tend to have dirt or gravel floors and aren’t tall enough for the most adults to stand. However, it’s important to keep an eye on the condition of your crawl space as they are prone to several issues, including high humidity levels. This is particularly important in warmer places like Virginia warmer air can hold more moisture. Left unchecked, this can lead to unhealthy mold growth, unpleasant odors, wood rot, and more.
If you suspect that your crawl space is overly humid, the first thing you can do is purchase a digital thermo-hygrometer. If your crawl space humidity is above 60% you’re at risk for damage.
How Does Water Get into Crawl spaces?
There may be several reasons moisture is getting into your crawl space. Improper ventilation, construction errors, or foundation flaws may be to blame. Some common reasons for overly-humid crawl spaces are:
- Cracks or Gaps in Your Crawl Space Foundation may allow water to seep inside. As your home ages, it may develop cracks in the foundation. This is normal for most homes, but its important to keep water away from the wood where it can cause damage.
- Poor Drainage for Surface Water such as poor grading or debris clogged vents may contribute to water collecting in your crawl space.
- Water & Sewer Line Malfunction may be to blame. Plumbing pipes nearly always travel through a crawl space and if a pipe bursts or cracks, it could deposit unwanted moisture in the area.
- Too much water in environment like a torrential downpour or overwatering your flowers and lawn can introduce too much water into the environment at once, overwhelming your drainage systems.
How to Get Rid of Water in Your Crawl space
Now that you know how moisture and water is getting into your crawl space, it’s time to figure out how to deal with it. The best and most effective way to deal with unwanted moisture is to hire a professional to encapsulate and possibly waterproof your crawl space. A crawl space encapsulation holistically addresses potential problems with your crawl space, keeping it climate controlled and healthy. If you’re not ready or able to commit to an entire encapsulation, there are other measures you can try to address the problem.
- Install a vapor barrier. If your problem is mild, a vapor barrier will work to prevent moisture from seeping up from the ground and control condensation moisture in your crawl space.
- Install a dehumidifier. A professional-grade dehumidifier will pull excess moisture from the air and release “dry” air back into the space reducing the possibility of mold and mildew infestation.
- Insulate Your Crawl Space. Insulation protects your crawl space from becoming too moist while improving the energy efficiency of you home.
Contact Crawl Space Care for a Crawl Space Encapsulation
At Crawl Space Care VA, we take a broad and thorough approach to crawl space protection. Our family-owned business proudly serves Roanoke and the New River Valley and our technicians go the extra mile to find out the true condition of your damp, dark crawl space. Getting started with a crawl space encapsulation is easy. Contact us today to get a free inspection!