Homes In Middle Tennessee Tend To Be Built On One Of Three Types Of Foundations:
- Basement
- Slab
- Crawlspace
What Benefits Come From Crawlspaces?
Humid crawlspaces – Homes built on a crawlspace, as opposed to a Slab or Basement Foundation, have unique properties that have made them a staple in the South for years. As air flows underneath your home in the heat of the summer, cold air from your crawlspace can help keep your home cooler throughout the hotter months of the year. Therefore, This can save money and headaches in heating and cooling yearlong for the average family.
Additionally, access to the foundation allows for easy repairs and maintenance on plumbing, heating, cooling, and HVAC. Because the homeowner can access these vital systems without the heavy effort of tearing up their floor to see under the house, Crawlspace homes tend to be the most accessible and flexible option of the three types of foundations.
What Is So Bad About Humid Crawlspaces?
When humid air sits in the crawlspace, the humidity affects everything beneath the house. Wood used in flooring can grow ripe with Mushrooms and Mold as the moisture levels facilitate a feeding ground for Fungus. As the fungus spreads, the inhabitants of the home breathe in mold spores and moisture. Therefore, can lead to a variety of health and respiratory issues.
High levels of moisture can damage a variety of components within our home. These include the insulation and the structural integrity of the home. As floors buckle, and insulation falls from the joists, the damage to your home can be time consuming and costly.
How Do We Prevent Humid Crawlspaces?
Humid Crawlspaces can be repaired and prevented through a variety of techniques. It is important to ensure you have a strong moisture barrier, this will limit the amount of moisture in your crawlspace. A Properly installed moisture barrier will help prevent water evaporating in your crawlspace. Therefore, mitigating any future issues of humidity. Ensuring that there is no standing water or water flowing towards the home will help decrease humidity in the air under your home.
There are several structural fixes that can be used to further prevent the rise of humidity underneath a crawlspace. Proper Ventilation can improve the flow of air, preventing humid air from stagnating. Dehumidifiers do a great job removing excess humidity in a crawlspace and keeping it in safe and sustainable ranges around your foundation. Sump Pumps can even further remove water from areas in your crawlspace. They do this by pumping the water away from floorboards and joists. By keeping the ground dry, we prevent the evaporation of moisture in a crawlspace and improve the overall quality of health in the home.
For those serious about protecting their home and foundation, a full encapsulation is your best defense against humid crawlspaces. By sealing the areas under the home with a strong barrier to keep out moisture and using machines to regulate the amount of liquid in the encapsulated area, we can safely and efficiently prevent the accumulation of moisture in a crawlspace and around your family. A professionally installed Encapsulation can positively impact the health and safety of everyone in the home.
Interested in learning more? Call U.S. Crawlspace and find out how we can improve the air quality underneath your home, today! Visit our website at uspest.com and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook at uspest!
