Regular crawl space maintenance is essential to avoid mold sickness – or the ailments that anyone can have due to mold build-up in the atmosphere. Crawl spaces are excellent if you have to access electrical wiring, ductwork, and plumbing and drain pipes – but they become awful when you don’t know how to maintain their cleanliness. Well, maybe it’s time for you to start dehumidification and some mold removal.
Why You Have to Inspect Your Crawl Space?
If you neglect your crawl space, it’s almost similar to ignoring a basement – meaning, various problems can happen and lead to more costly repairs. Therefore, you have to inspect and clean the crawl spaces even if they are not on your sight at all times. It is essential to clean that part of your home also if you dislike getting inside the crawl.
Inspection of your crawl space must be a regular habit, just like how you clean your basement, attic, roof, or gutters. Neglected crawl spaces can lead to multiple problems like mold symptoms inside your house. For example, you can notice an increase in dampness or humidity. As a result, you’ll have “soggy” and “squishy” floor, and other problems with mold and mildew build-up.
What Causes Crawl Spaces to Require Inspections?
Mold build-up and mildew problems are some of the reasons why the inspection and maintenance of crawl spaces is a requirement. Also, nature and normal wear and tear of your home’s systems will keep you busy in your crawl spaces. Aside from that, here are some of the causes why you need to do regular inspection and maintenance.
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Too Much Water or Moisture.
Anything that has too much moisture and water will lead to problems with mold and mildew that can cause respiratory and skin diseases. On the other hand, too much water or moisture from leaky plumbing may damage insulation and the wooden parts that support under your home.
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Pests.
All kinds of pests like water bugs, roaches, and termites can find their way into the crawl space going inside to your home. So, don’t get surprised if you have these pests in your home. It’s either you have a dirty house, damp wood under your home, unmaintained crawl space, or all of them. These factors attract various species of termites and other wood-eating insects.
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Rodents.
These are mice, rats, raccoons, and squirrels that can get inside crawl spaces because they seek warmer areas so that they can build a nest and reproduce. The problem is that these rodents love to chew on your electrical wirings, PVS, plastic plumbings, and they can even destroy your insulation.
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Plumbing, Electrical and Heating, and Cooling Problems.
Dirty and not maintained crawl bras may result in having problems with any of these home systems.
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Insulation Issues.
If your floors feel colder during the winter and warm in the summer, it could be a sign that the crawl space has fallen. It means that rodents, pests, water, or of all them damaged the crawl space leading to insulation problems.
How Do You Maintain a Crawl Space?
There are many reasons why you have to conduct regular inspections and maintenance of your crawl space. So, you have to look out for these culprits when inspecting and maintaining your crawl space. No matter how much time you spend under your home, it is essential to prevent the problems caused by a malfunction in your crawl space.
Maintaining a crawl space doesn’t only mean opening the access door and shine a flashlight under the home. You must inspect at every section in down there. Just make sure to wear comfortable clothing to protect your body. You want to wear jeans, socks, a long-sleeve shirt, gloves, goggles, and a hat. Here are some helpful inspection tips that you can follow.
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Look for signs of moisture.
Check your exterior walls and exposed wood for discolorations. Feel the walls and some endangered woods to check if it feels damp. More often, they indicate too much water presence at some point and some parts in your home.
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Look for signs of pooling or standing water.
Drainage issue is the leading cause of any pooled or standing water under the home. So you have to discover the source of the water and resolve all drainage issues.
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Make sure that all insulation under the subflooring is in good condition.
Replace any insulation hanging down or lying on the ground because it may cause drainage problems.
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Look for any signs of pests and rodents activity.
Look out for any rodent droppings and pin-like holes in exposed wood supports. It only means that some pests and rodents are lingering around.
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Check all exposed pipes, ductwork, and wirings.
Check for water leaks and properly insulated pipes. Verify each section and make sure that all ducts are not loose nor move excessively. For electrical installations, check for any cracked insulation and exposed wiring.
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Look for openings and gaps.
Turn off your flashlight and look around the exterior of the walls. Any light coming in aside from air vents means that there is a hole that you have to seal.
How Often Should You Check Your Crawl Space?
It is recommendable to make crawl space inspection and maintenance at least once every six months. However, sump pumps in the crawl space need more frequent inspections at least once or twice quarterly. If you have not checked your crawl space in 5 to 10 years, an immediate investigation is crucial. It’s better if a professional do it, they’d know the right thing to do.
What Types of Maintenance Should I Perform on My Crawl Space?
It depends on the type of problems uncovered during your inspection. Here are some solutions for every issue encountered after checking your crawl space.
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Too Much Moisture and Water Problems:
Get into the crawl space and get a complete waterproofing of every area. This way, you can seal the exterior walls and the other regions of the crawl space to keep the water low. On the other hand, you can also do encapsulation to use moisture barriers to remove moisture.
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Water Drainage Issues.
For a standing or pooling water problem, you can have a sump pump installed so that you can draw the water out from under the house. You can also solve it by elevating the landscape of your home so that there would be no standing or pooling water.
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Rodent and Pest Problems.
Cleanliness is a primary solution to this issue. For best results, you can call an exterminator to eliminate the rodents or pests. Then, you can finally make any repairs to wiring and pipes.
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Damaged Insulation.
Replacing any damaged insulation is the best solution. You can choose to add more insulation for extra protection.
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Leaky Pipes.
Call a plumber to fix all pipe leaks, and make sure that all of them have proper insulation.
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Gaps and Openings.
Waterproofing is the best remedy for all holes and opening that you found in the exterior walls of the crawl space.
Contact Zgreen Restoration Today
If you suspect mold growth in your home, don’t wait to contact us. We proudly service homes in Santa clara, San mateo and santa cruz counties. Our experts are available 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Rain or shine, we’ll remove any mold from your home and keep your home safe and dry.
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