A crawl space isn’t exactly the most inviting part of the home. In many homes, especially older ones, the crawl space is a dark, scary area that’s best left forgotten. You know there are nasty things going on in there (bugs, rodents, moisture) but as long as the area is closed off you can keep the scary images out of your head (and nightmares).
Unfortunately, due to a phenomenon known as the stack effect, it’s not quite that easy to protect you and your family from the real dangers of a decrepit crawl space. Simply put, the stack affect is how air flows in and out of your home. As warm (lighter/less dense) air rises to the top and escapes, cooler air is sucked in from windows and open crawlspace vents towards the bottom of your home.
This means that as much as half of the air you breathe in your home comes directly from the crawlspace. Think about it … if your crawlspace is wet and musty so is the air you and your family are breathing. If you smell strange odors around the house you could be dealing with a serious crawl space problem issue.
The scary part about a musty crawl space isn’t necessarily the odor or the fact that dark, moist crawl spaces attract rodents and insects… the scary part is what you can’t always see or smell – dust, rotting wood, uncomfortable humidity, added energy costs, allergens, and mold.
To prevent or eliminate these health risks homeowners can encapsulate their crawl space to seal off the exposed area and create a protective defense. Encapsulation will also allow the homeowner to recover the wasted space and use it for storage. With proper crawl space encapsulation you won’t have to worry about humidity, dangerous mold growth or critters, plus you’ll improve the air quality and comfort level in your home.
If you have an older home or think you might have an issue with crawl space moisture then crawl space encapsulation is definitely something worth considering.