Four Great Reasons Why you Should Dry out your Crawlspace

  Today I thought I would right a little checklist for all of you to think about when deciding if you need to call for a free inspection of your wet or musty crawlspace. These reasons are by no means the only reasons to consider, I’m just going to list some of the most common ones that we hear about at DryZone. Also, some of these reasons apply in the case of a wet basement so if you don’t have a crawlspace, you might want to read on anyway.

1.  Smells…

Arguably the biggest and most common reason people call us out to look at the dirty crawlspace is the smell. Things like mold, mildew, fungus, and wood rot can make the entire house smell really bad. Often times people complain of a musty smell or tell us that there “must be a cat under my house” because it smells like cat urine. As nasty as that sounds, its absolutely true. The urine smell very rarely comes from an animal; it comes from the fiberglass insulation. The glue used to hold the tiny fibers together will often times contains urea, which puts off that familiar odor when it gets wet.

2.  Cold floors…

More and more, people are starting to recognize that the open and ventilated crawlspace is responsible for a cold floor. We have found that sealing off the crawlspace and adding quality insulation can warm the floors incredibly fast. Most people will notice a difference within a few days. Imagine how much more comfortable you can be when its 30 degrees outside and you don’t even need slippers on your feet.

 3.  Allergies…

Just like smells, mold and fungus can lead to bad allergy symptoms. There are a lot of people in the world who are allergic to various kinds of mold. What’s even worse than that is that little insects are able to thrive in a humid environment. Studies have shown that dust mite droppings are the #1 indoor allergen. These tiny bugs absorb the moisture in the air through their skin instead of drinking water like you and I do. Therefore, lowering the moisture content of the air (humidity) will take care of the bug problem and lower your allergy symptoms.

4.  Energy savings…

The last reason I’ll go over is the one that effects every single homeowner. No matter who you are, you enjoy saving money. Energy costs are on the rise and that means that a less efficient home is a more expensive home. What I mean is that if your crawlspace is constantly sucking in wet and/or cold air, your air conditioner or heater will be working overtime. The HVAC unit will have to dry the air as well as cool or heat it depending on season. However, if you have dry air in the crawlspace you will have dry air in the home. This means that your HVAC doesn’t have to dry, it just controls temperature. In the long run, that means less energy usage and less spent on the heating and cooling costs.

  There are many other reasons to encapsulate your crawlspace, but this is the main reasons. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send them in. You can contact anyone at the DryZone office by sending an e-mail to: [email protected]

DryZone services the entire Delmarva Peninsula. That includes Seaford, Delmar, Dover, Harbeson, Millington, Milford, Newark, and many more cities and towns.