Basement and Crawl Space Moisture: What Works

Even when a homeowner doesn’t have a wet basement or flooded crawl space, the problem of basement and crawl space moisture is a housing epidemic that has cost homeowners millions of dollars every year. While waterproofing the basement or crawl space from flooding is an important first step, it can only transform a wet space into a damp one.  As moisture is allowed into the home through the air and porous dirt and concrete, it causes enormous damage throughout the home. Basement Systems has three golden rules to keep basement and crawl spaces healthy.

1. Keep Basement and Crawl Space Air Inside the Home

Excessive humidity is damaging and expensive to the home and everything organic inside. As humidity enters from the damp ground through the porous concrete of the basement wallsand floor, a damp, musty environment is formed in the basement. When this moisture is trapped under carpet or behind drywall, wood, or fiberglass, mold has everything needs to establish itself. Additionally, this humidity also makes it possible for the same mold to grow on anything else organic in the basement, including cloth, cardboard, wood, leather, wallpaper, many types of insulation, and paper.

Mold produces millions of spores and releases them into the air. These spores will get everywhere, including upstairs in the main area of the house. The reason? As warm air rises in the house, it leaves through the upper levels of the house. As it does, the air from the basement will be pulled up to replace it. Anything in that air- including humidity and mold- will be pulled up with it. If anyone in your home has allergies, asthma, or sensitivity to mold spores, this is something to be concerned about! Humidity being pulled up into the air makes the air in the home more difficult to heat and cool, leading to increased heating and cooling bills.

In 2003, a product debuted that includes a fan encased in a tall sheet metal cabinet. When humidity levels rise in the basement, it turns on, blowing the humid air outside. According to the dealers, new, dry air will be pulled from the upstairs and the basement or crawl space will be drier.

The fact of the matter is that because basement air typically is cooler than the air in the upper floors, it tends to also have a higher relative humidity level. As air is blown out of the basement and new warm air is pulled in from the outside, the relative humidity of that air is also raised. And didn’t you pay to condition the air that you’re now blowing out of the house?

The best way to take care of your basement and crawl space is to keep the air inside the house. Encapsulate the crawl space with a tough vapor barrier like the CleanSpace crawl space encapsulationsystem. With a 25 year warranty against rips or tears, CleanSpace is tough enough to keep your crawl space free of moisture. Combined with airtight EverLast Crawl Space Doors, the area will be sealed from outside air.

2. Eliminate Crawl Space Vents

Crawl space vents are a relic in the housing codes. Originally, they were intended to give the moist, humid air of a crawl space a way to escape. Remember that air warms and rises through the home in the summer and is pulled upwards from the crawl space into the home. New humid air from the outside enters the basement, and as the air cools in the crawl space, the relative humidity rises. Excess moisture is deposited on all cool surfaces in the area, including wood, metal, and foundation walls, and the crawl space area becomes soaked.

In a crawl space, the rot and degradation of the area can become extensive, affecting floor boards and wood support beams. This moist, rotting wood becomes the perfect habitat for termites, carpenter ants, beetles, and many other pests. Rodents and other animals will also enter to live and die there. Insulation begins to decay and fall off the crawl space ceiling, and eventually the area will have to be cleaned and repaired. A filthy, miserable job like that isn’t going to be cheap!

In the winter, when humidity in the crawl space isn’t as damaging, another expensive problem comes to light. Air is still entering through the crawl space vents, and this cold winter air will begin to cool everything in the area. This means that all hot air vents, hot water pipes, water heaters and floor boards are cooling and adding to heating costs.

3. Eliminate Humidity in the Basement and Crawl Space

The only effective way to remove basement humidity is to install a reliable basement dehumidifier. Unfortunately, many models will simply not work. For example, dehumidifiers that drain into a collection tray will fill up and shut down every 12 hours or so, needing to be emptied 14 times a week! If they’re only emptied once a week, then 93% of the time, it’s not doing its job. Meanwhile, the water from the tray is evaporating back into the home.

Rely on a basement dehumidifier that’s powerful, self-draining and energy-efficient. The one-time investment of a highly-effective Energy Star rated model that’s powerful enough to remove all excess humidity in the basement while draining the condensation away on its own is invaluable. There are even models that will filter particles and odors out of the air as they work, keeping the air both dry and clean.  To take care of basement and crawl space humidity, Basement Systems recommends the SaniDry Basement and Crawl Space Dehumidifier. This Energy Star rated dehumidifier can remove 100 pints of water per day from the area with a self-draining design that does not need daily, weekly, or even monthly maintenance from you!

Basement Systems’ international network of basement and crawl space experts has saved homeowners more than 4.6 million dollars in natural gas, electricity, and heating oil costs each year! And we know we’ve also saved our customers much more than that in expenses in rot repairs in mold remediation. If you’d like to learn more about saving money and preserving the well-being of your home, call us today for a free crawl space or basement estimate!