Moisture Control and Your Arkansas Crawl Space
Your Arkansas crawl space is probably more important to your home than you think! Your crawl space has the potential to affect your whole house, so it is best to know exactly what is going on. If you suspect that there is moisture in your crawl space, it's best to call in a crawl space specialist immediately.
Moisture vs. Your Crawl Space
Moisture in your crawl is very serious, as it can lead to musty smells, rodents, health issues, rot, and structural damage down the road. Moisture will create a perfect environment for the mold, fungi and wood-destroying insects. Mold’s goal is to consume all dead and organic materials. Organic means that the item was once living. This means that your floor joists provide the perfect food for it to continue to grow and thrive in your crawl space.
How Moisture Enters
Moisture tends to enter a crawl space through the dirt floor or through vents. Originally vents were implemented in crawl space because the thought was that crawl spaces would benefit from circulating outside air in the same ways that above-grade spaces do. However, crawl spaces are located underground, unlike other rooms in the home. This means that they maintain a cool environment year-round. When warm humid air touches a cold surface, it can drop some of its moisture on that surface as condensation.
Dirt crawl spaces are notorious for being damp and humid. This is due to the moisture from the earth that is entering directly through the soils under your home. When the air sucks the moisture from the earth, this moisture contributes to the humidity levels present in the space.
Keeping Moisture Out of Your Crawl Space
To avoid moisture’s negative effects on your crawl space, it should be completely sealed and isolated from the ground. As building codes continue to improve and evolve, the main type of moisture control for a crawl space is increasingly becoming the installation of a vapor barrier system.
A vapor barrier is typically a plastic or foil sheet that will seal the crawl space from the earth and outside air. It's typically installed on the floor and walls of a crawl space. When installing a vapor barrier, it's important to make sure that the contractor uses a durable liner that will not rip when it is crawled upon for maintenance and servicing of your pipes, wires, and utilities.
When holes are punctured in a vapor barrier, moisture can seep in, rendering the barrier useless. Conversely, when you have a durable vapor barrier installed, the crawl space becomes an added storage area – as you now have the peace of mind of knowing that your storage items will stay dry.
When you get your crawl space repaired, it's vital that you choose a contractor that you're confident in. You want to fix your crawl space one and for all, so it's best to find a company that has the products, experience and best practices you need to do the right job.
At Clean Space Solutions of Arkansas we specialize in crawl space moisture control Arkansas. We have the experience you need to fix your crawl space moisture problem once and for all!
