Whether you’re doing spring cleaning or moving into a new home and wanting to do some inspired decorating, it can be difficult to enjoy your spruced up residence with a wet crawlspace. While a crawlspace is supposed to act as a buffer between the earth and your home, it unfortunately can become a trap for moisture that can then affect your indoor environment. But you don’t have to let your crawlspace become swamped with groundwater whenever it rains, nor do you have to settle for living with the musty smell of a damp crawlspace. By taking action to make your crawlspace dry, you can enjoy a breath of fresh air in your beautiful home!
Why Does My Crawlspace Get Damp?
Crawlspaces, especially vented crawlspaces, can become traps for humidity. It’s not just when humid air flows into your crawlspace, but also when your crawlspace becomes flooded with water after a heavy rain. But whether it’s because of rain-related flooding, or just leaky plumbing, that water doesn’t just go away—it evaporates, filling the crawlspace with more humidity. But the moisture in your crawlspace doesn’t just stay there. Due to the difference in air density in your home and its surrounding environment, there is something called the “stack effect”. This effect helps drive natural ventilation, which means that moisture in your crawlspace air is getting sucked upwards into the rest of your home and your living spaces.
But that’s not all that may be in your crawlspace air…
What’s in a Wet Crawlspace?
A wet crawlspace is more than just a space plagued with moisture problems. When a crawlspace has lingering moisture, it can attract other sorts of trouble. Here’s a list of common problems associated with wet crawlspaces…
- Mold growth
- Wood rot in wooden structures such as crawlspace floor joists
- Pests such as termites, ants, dust mites, and rodents
Wood rot in your wooden structures can compromise the structural integrity of your home. You may notice bouncy floorboards, your crawlspace floor joists can begin weakening and sagging, and your walls may even start to experience weakening supports and peeling paint. Termites and ants can also wreak havoc on your home’s wooden supports. With a source of moisture like your crawlspace, these insects may decide to colonize within your home and begin spreading outwards to the rest of your home.
Mold growth and dust mites are a bane to those with allergies. As mold spores and dust mite feces are brought up by the stack effect, they can agitate those with allergies and even agitate asthma symptoms. Finally, there’s the smell that comes with mold growth—the earthy, musty smell of mold can spread throughout the rest of your home if the situation becomes severe enough in your crawlspace.
How Can I Keep My Crawlspace Dry?
Keeping your crawlspace dry may require proper crawlspace encapsulation and waterproofing by a professional. If your crawlspace is vented, it will need to be sealed so that it no longer is letting outside air and humidity in, to ensure proper moisture control. You may also require foundation repairs should it be responsible for any groundwater intrusion. For the waterproofing and encapsulation, there are a number of components that may be used to secure your crawlspace against invasion moisture…
- Vapor barrier linings
- Vent blocks
- Drainage channels
- Sump pump
- Dehumidifier
- Drainage matting
Together, these elements can keep outside moisture from entering your crawlspace and affecting your living spaces. In turn, by keeping your crawlspace dry, all the problems of a damp crawlspace can be prevented, which means saving on repair costs.
A Wet Crawlspace Requires Professional Solutions
It can be difficult to take on a wet crawlspace in a DIY fashion. Also, certain aspects of a dry crawlspace, such as a high-capacity waterproofing system, require a professional touch to ensure that they work as intended and remain effective for a long time. To ensure that your crawlspace is getting the solutions it needs to keep your home safe, dry, and healthy, it is highly recommended that you contact a professional crawlspace encapsulation and waterproofing specialist for an essential home improvement project like this.
Cover photi by todd kent on Unsplash
