3 IMPORTANT REASONS TO WATERPROOF YOUR HOME'S CRAWL SPACE
Because a crawl space isn't exactly a gathering place in your home, it's likely out of your mind more often than not. Your home's crawl space, however, serves several important functions. Your home's crawl space may house insulation, electrical systems, and ductwork, and it provides an important buffer between your property's potential ground moisture and the base of your home.
Since your home, and everything inside, rests on top of it, problems within a crawl space rarely stay localized to that area alone. An improperly or incompletely sealed crawl space can spell major issues for you and your home down the road.
To save yourself a significant headache, consider these three major benefits of sealing up and repairing any crawl space issues before a small dilemma becomes a bigger one.
1. It Reduces Health Risks
Crawl spaces are dark, damp, and often filled with stagnant air — conditions that encourage the growth of undesirable microorganisms. When a crawl space accumulates moisture, mold and mildew will inevitably begin to grow.
Your crawl space is home to important pipes, ducts, and vents, and when spores from mold, fungus, and mildew growth infiltrate these systems, they can seriously compromise the air quality in your home. If you notice a musty smell or if anyone in your family develops unexplained allergy-like symptoms, respiratory problems, worsened asthma symptoms, headaches, or flu-like symptoms, it could be time to call an expert to take a look underneath the house.
2. It Deters Unwanted and Destructive Pests
Pests take up residence in your home for the same reasons you do: shelter, food, water, and safety. Pests like rodents look for dark and damp hideouts that allow them to come and go relatively undetected. Your crawl space is the ideal spot for many pests, such as:
- Rats
- Mice
- Cockroaches
- Termites
- Ants
- Beetles
- Wasps
- Crickets
Pests are unlikely to peacefully set up camp and reside in your crawl space without consequences. Rodents, for example, chew on electrical wires, while termites are capable of notable structural damage if an infestation reaches critical mass. Once these pests are inside the structure of your home, they may even make their way into other areas of the building.
Crawl spaces that have been properly sealed and treated are far less susceptible to pest infestations, as many of the conditions that entice pests to enter in the first place will be either reduced or eliminated entirely.
3. It Could Save You Some Money
Ultimately, waterproofing your crawl space is a far less substantial financial investment than handling expensive repairs and replacements to crucial structures in your home.
Moisture and humidity within a crawl space don't only encourage mold growth or invite pests. Moisture damage, especially in such a large and essential space, can cause structural damage to the entirety of your home. If anything is stored within your crawl space, it's susceptible to damage as well.
Moisture accumulation has an effect on the temperature of your home, too. An excess of humidity below your home will affect the temperatures in the rooms above. When a crawl space is adequately treated and secured, you're a lot less likely to rack up your utility bills as you crank the temperatures up or down to compensate for the extra cold or heat that rises from beneath you.
Your home's crawl space is an integral part of its structure. Taking measures to seal the area not only protects the space itself, but it also protects the investment of your entire home. For more information on waterproofing and sealing your crawl space, call Rite-Way Waterproofing to go over your waterproofing options and to schedule an appointment.
