During these cold winter months, the midwest experiences a lot of ice, rain, snow, freezing, and melting. Moist conditions can severely impact the integrity of your home, especially if coming from your crawl space.
The crawl space is typically that empty space that keeps your home from resting on the ground as well as provides shelter for wiring conduit and plumbing. The problems that arise with the crawl space are that one, often they are not properly sealed and two, most owners don’t enter or even think about the crawl space since there is not enough overhead space to allow walking.
Because of this, the space can easily become damp and humid during the winter without anyone knowing. The consequences, however, can be detrimental to the structure of your home. If damp conditions aren’t improved, it can cause:
- Mold and mildew
- Rotting support beams and floor joists
- Unwanted pests such as termites, mice, cockroaches, spiders and more
Since the airflow in your home generally spreads upwards, whatever might be in your crawl space can travel throughout your house, such as mold spores and odors. If animals have access to the crawl space, they may try to travel upstairs for warmth and food. Dampness can also weaken the strength of the beams and joints on which your house rests on, becoming a serious danger to those inside.
So, as a homeowner, what actions can you take to prevent water in your crawl space? Dry Basement®Foundation Repair has gathered a few useful suggestions.
5 Steps to a Dry Crawl Space
1. Inspect Your Crawl Space
- Check out your crawl space for signs of moisture and pests and make sure any crawlspace entrances are tightly sealed and shut. Doing regular inspections and making sure your home is sealed off from water and critters is very important for your foundation. Be sure to do this as soon as possible, because you never know when bad weather will strike.
2. Clean Out Gutters
- Keeping your gutters clear of debris means that water can flow freely away from your home, rather than collecting near your foundation. When it pools near the base of your home, it can often cause foundation damage, flooding, and wet crawl space.
3. Close Crawl Space Air Vents
- Originally, air vents were seen as a way to allow air to circulate through the crawl space. However, we now know that it is just another way for water and moisture to enter your come. If you haven’t closed your air vents yet this winter, we highly suggest you do. You can even look into sealing your vents to ensure the crawl space stays warm during winter and cool in the summer.
4. Encapsulate Your Crawl Space
- We offer an encapsulation system that covers the dirt floor and foundation walls in your crawl space. All of the seams are sealed, creating an impenetrable barrier against moisture and pests. It also reduces entry points for radon, is environmentally friendly, and is fire retardant.
5. Install a Dehumidifier
- Another important step in keeping your crawl space dry is installing a dehumidifier. Dry Basement® actually uses a dual system that both dehumidifies and works as an air filter. It removes up to 400% more moisture than the average crawl space dehumidifier without using any extra energy. In addition, it can remove mold and dust particles down to 2 microns.
- Installing a dehumidifier also makes your heater and air conditioner work more efficiently, since drier air is easier and less expensive to heat and cool.