There are plenty of reasons why the underside of your home is humid. Some of them include standing water, moisture evaporation, and outside air infiltration. High moisture and humidity levels in your crawl space can bring about problems such as mold growth, water damage, pest and insect infestation, and wood rot. These issues can be expensive to fix, so it would be best to prevent them from happening in the first place.
So, how can you lower crawl space humidity level? To help you, here are some things you can do:
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Table of Contents
Install a Dehumidifier
When talking about high humidity issues in crawl spaces, one of the first things that comes to people’s minds is to install a dehumidifier. As its name implies, a dehumidifying system is an appliance that can remove water vapor or moisture from the air.
To ensure that your dehumidifier does its job properly and effectively, seal the vents and place a vapor barrier in your crawl space first. If not, the appliance will have to work harder to reduce the humidity level in the area, which can lead to high energy bills.
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Use a Fan
If you don’t have a dehumidifier, you can use a fan. It can help keep the air circulating in your crawl space and keep the area dry. Just make sure to use a fan that is powerful enough to cover the entire underside of your house.
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Seal Your Crawl Space Vents
Sealing your crawl space vents can help prevent excess humidity (brought about by the outside air) from entering the area. You can install a wall or barrier, a slotted vent cover, or a gasket to seal off the openings in the underside of your home.
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Install a Vapor Barrier
As mentioned above, dehumidifiers work well in reducing the humidity level in your crawl space if you’ve installed a vapor barrier in the area. It’s typically a foil or plastic sheet placed on the wall, floor, or ceiling of the underside of your home to resist moisture diffusion.
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Encapsulate Your Crawl Space
Some people believe installing vapor barriers in the crawl space is the same as encapsulating the area. But such is not the case: encapsulation is a process of lining the underside of your home with heavy-duty polyethylene barriers.
The most common types of crawl space encapsulation are fiberglass batt insulation, rigid foam insulation, closed-cell spray foam, and open-cell spray foam. Some benefits of encapsulating the underside of your home include mold and mildew growth prevention and pest and insect infestation avoidance.
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Insulate Your Crawl Space
Insulation is often thought to be the same as encapsulation. However, they actually have different functions. The latter is best for fixing moisture and standing water problems in the crawl space, while the former is a great solution for cold floors and frozen pipes in the area.
Insulating the underside of your home also helps prevent moisture issues, improve air quality, increase energy efficiency, and keep pests and insects out of the area. Some of the common materials used in insulating crawl spaces include fiberglass batts, foam boards, and spray foams.
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Install a Sump Pump
If there’s standing water in the underside of your house, you may want to consider installing a sump pump. It’s a fixture that is placed at the lowest part of your crawl space to remove groundwater in the area and prevent it from seeping through your floor. Some of its components include a sump liner, pump, alarm system, pump stand, check valve, and floor drain.
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Clear Your Gutters
Sometimes, the high moisture and humidity levels in your crawl space are caused by water that flows down from your roof toward your foundation. This usually happens when your gutters are clogged.
That said, you should regularly inspect your gutters and remove any foreign objects or debris that might be clogging them. Consider installing covers or screens to protect them, too.
Get in Touch With Your Trusted Waterproofing Company Now!
If you need professional assistance lowering the moisture and humidity levels in your crawl space, reach out to your trusted waterproofing company immediately. They can help you encapsulate the area and install a dehumidifier, vapor barrier, and sump pump. Contact them now!
