Hey there, Myrtle Beach! Hey-oh, Surfside! Cool Cat dropping in virtually to give you the big news about crawl space problems and solutions. With our humid climate, it’s super easy for mold and rot to take over a crawl space. Mold and rot can create a lot of problems for your home that are often not discovered until expensive damage has occurred. Let’s take a look at some of the common problems found in crawl spaces.
Common Crawl Space Problems
In many homes, the crawl space is a damp and dirty area hiding pests, moisture, rot and frequently, structural issues. Here are some common problems found in crawl spaces:
- Mold growth
- Dry rot
- Sagging floors
- Pests including termites and wood-destroying molds/fungi
- Moldy or damaged insulation
- Flooding due to groundwater and improper grading/drainage
- Plumbing leaks
- Sump pump issues including pump failure, pump clogs or a non-stop operating pump
A damp and moldy crawl space can also be a breeding ground for dust mites and mold spores that make their way into the interior of the home and the air you breathe inside your home. Damage in your crawl space can cause high energy bills due to damaged insulation or a non-stop running sump pump. Mold and rot can also compromise the integrity of your home’s structure. Some molds are part of a class called wood-destroying organisms and can damage the wood supporting your home just as badly as a termite infestation. Dry rot also weakens wood and can help contribute to saggy or even collapsing floors in the home. That’s not cooooool!
Crawl Space Solutions
Among the best solutions to crawl space problems is crawl space encapsulation. The important thing to know about encapsulation is that all damaged wood, rot and mold needs to be properly remediated before the crawl space is encapsulated, otherwise you’ll just be encapsulating an already dangerous mess. Another option to deal with a damp crawl space is ventilation. Ventilation can be a good option depending on the other conditions impacting the crawl space. Ventilation can also be done wrong and make the problems you already have worse. It’s common to find improperly set-up crawl space ventilation that doesn’t ultimately solve the problem.
If you haven’t thought about your crawl space in a while, now is a great time to check it out while we’re all homebound. The cats over at Carolina Cool can inspect your crawl space for you and let you know if encapsulation is a good choice for your home or if there are repairs that need to be done first. They can also let you know about alternate options like ventilation if those options would be a fit for your home.
