The thing about crawl spaces is that you are only checking them some of the time, so some issues might accumulate in them over long periods. Such problems may happen whether you are a first-time owner or not, so you should be aware of these things.
You should be aware of many things, like clearing animal waste out of your crawl space or addressing mould and water damage that might eventually damage the structure of your home.
To know more about what you can do about them, continue reading.
Crawl Space Problems And How To Avoid Them
These are the most common crawl space problems that you may find in your home:
Musty smells
When you have a crawl space problem, among the first things you will notice is a musty smell. A mould or mildew buildup mainly causes it and can worsen if left untreated.
This problem, in particular, is essential to address immediately because it may have detrimental effects on your family’s health. It can cause itchy skin, cough, wheezing, and red eyes if you are allergic to mould. People with asthma are also prone to developing a severe reaction from the spores.
The worst thing about it is that it is not visible that the air you are inhaling might be infected. Almost 40% of the air inside your home usually originates from crawl spaces, so you need to ensure that they are clean and not contaminated.
Cold floors
If your constructor designs your crawl space well, you might end up suffering from cold floors. If you find yourself tiptoeing around the home when you are not wearing slippers, you might have this problem.
Crawl spaces have to be well insulated at all times. Heat naturally rises, and this can leave your crawl space cold, thus affecting your floors. It can be quite uncomfortable and even lead to other problems like frozen pipes. They can then burst and result in a more severe flooding problem that can affect your walls, foundation, and furniture.
Uneven floors
Uneven floors are indications that there is a problem in your home’s foundation. If you are a first-time homeowner, you should check for uneven floors before moving in. this can help you determine the problem immediately.
High energy bills
If you have noticed that your bill has been going up lately, then it must have something to do with your crawl spaces. You may not see it, but your HVAC system might be working very hard to warm cold areas in your home, including your crawl space.
You can do some things about this, like insulating the crawl space properly or restructuring it together. You will need to pay for the repairs needed, but it will be much cheaper than having to pay extremely high energy bills during winter.
Standing water
Another common problem for crawl spaces is standing water. If this lasts for a long time, it can eventually damage wood beams and foster mould growth. You can also end up suffering from water damage.
Wooden structures sitting on the water for longer periods are susceptible to rotting and warping. Unfortunately, you are likely only to notice it when the water has already done a lot of damage to your crawl space.
You should never allow stagnant water in this area because it may cause several problems in the future that you don’t want to deal with.
Hire a repair service to solve this issue so the damage can stop and will not affect other parts of your home.
Mould growth
Suppose you checked your crawl space and saw mould growth, it is important to find a way to solve this problem immediately. It can be a health hazard and help the buildup of moisture in this area from humidity and flooding.
Unattended mould growth can also cause growth in other places of the house when the spores continue to spread. It would help if you found the root cause of the mould before you can solve it, so contacting a professional is the best way to go. Targeting the root of the growth is better so it would not grow back after removing them.
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Sagging floors
No one wants to have their floors move down whenever you step on them because it is an indicator of sagging floors. This is one of the results of damaged crawl space, but other factors may also play into this situation.
Sagging floors can also result from water damage, poor soil compaction, termites, failing support beams, foundation cracks, and poor foundation installation.
The worst of these causes is poor soil compaction, as it will eventually cause serious damage to your home’s foundation. The deteriorating wood beam supports due to moisture in the crawl space must be addressed immediately.
If you are unsure which of the following causes this problem, you should call an expert for an inspection, and they will inform you what you can do to solve it.
Pests
Pest infestation is another common problem with crawl spaces that homeowners need to notice. Usually, you will find clues of this issue from small droppings around the house and the sight of small holes in the walls. It can be insects feeding on your wooden foundation or rodents.
Insects, most especially, find it very easy to hide in plain sight, and crawl spaces are the best environment for them to grow in number unnoticed.
In these cases, an infestation expert will help you with the best way to get rid of the pests. You will also need to inform your workers about what kind of pests-caused damage during repairs.