How to Know You Need a Crawl Space Dehumidifier

Humidity seems so minor a concern that making changes to your home on its account may sound superfluous. However, its muted presence belies the significant threat it poses to a structure. Given enough time, excessive humidity in your crawl space can cause your home’s doors and windows to swell, its carpets to reek, hardwood flooring to buckle, and a bevy of other problems. Should you see any such issues arising, turn to NV Waterproofing & Foundation Repair for professional dehumidifier installation services.

 

Since 1986, NV Waterproofing has provided homeowners with wet basement solutions, foundation crack repairs, drainage system installations, and more. We commit to not only getting our job done right but also delivering outstanding service and top-notch products. Use our options to invest in your home and protect your family’s future. Call our office today at 1-703-690-3889 to learn more about our services or request a free, no-obligation cost estimate.

 

Below, we outline the indicators that your home’s crawl space could use a dehumidifier:

The Signs of a Wet or Damp Crawl Space

To begin, you should know that your crawl space’s air will always have some amount of moisture in it. But that amount—known as relative humidity—can be controlled. To do so, you must first determine whether your home’s crawl space has an excessive amount of water vapor.

 

As you might expect, high relative humidity creates problems in your crawl space. Yet it also leads to issues in your home’s upstairs living spaces, including:

• “Sticking,” or swollen, doors and windows
• Smelly, damp carpets
• Buckling hardwood flooring
• Condensation/frost on the inside of your home’s windows
• Development of rot and mold
• Increased energy bills
• The appearance of dust mites (a common indoor allergen)
• Aggravated asthma and allergy symptoms

How could all these effects arise from moisture in your crawl space? The answer lies in how air moves through your home: the stack effect. When warm air rises from your crawl space, it carries moisture and particles upstairs with it. While that air eventually escapes through the roof or attic, its excess moisture and particles attach to the materials in your living space. Moreover, your home’s occupants breathe them in.

The Problem with Air Vents

Homebuilders and designers have known for decades that excess humidity creates problems for structures. To resolve this issue, they began installing vents into the walls of crawl spaces to “air out” the space, and the practice endures to this day. However, air vents worsen crawl space humidity problems.

 

Consider the effects of outdoor air in your crawl space during different seasons. For instance, hot summer days in the mid-Atlantic tend to have high humidity. When that hot and humid air enters the dark space beneath your house, it is cooled and the space’s relative humidity rises. Cold air holds less moisture than warm air; thus, the relative humidity rises when the air temperature drops.

 

From this point, we can extrapolate the effects of other seasonal conditions. On mild spring and fall days—with temperatures in the mid-70s—the outdoor air entering your crawl space is still cooled, raising the relative humidity. Even if outdoor humidity is low, it can still cause crawl space problems: mold and fungus grow and thrive at 70% relative humidity, which mild air helps your crawl space reach.

 

Wintertime offers little reprieve. Since the outdoor air tends to be cooler than the crawl space, it cools the crawl space climate and allows water to evaporate from the dirt floor. Moreover, the cold air from the vents cools your home’s flooring and drives up your heating bills.

What a Dehumidifier Provides

A dehumidifier alone cannot solve your crawl space’s humidity problems. It works within a system that should include a crawl space vapor barrier along the floor and walls as well as airtight vent covers to block out air. With those in place, your crawl space will have protection from outdoor air and water vapor.

 

Nevertheless, a SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier offers climate control for the crawl space air. The system will neutralize any outdoor air or water vapor that penetrates the barriers and vent covers. Moreover, its capabilities far surpass those of one-room dehumidifiers common in households. It offers the best measure of protection against mold, condensation, and humidity’s other ill effects.

Dehumidifier Installation Available Now from NV Waterproofing!

While humidity can threaten the wellbeing of your home and its occupants, you need not suffer its issues. Reach out to NV Waterproofing & Foundation Repair for crawl space dehumidifier installation and more waterproofing services. Our service professionals have outstanding reputations for customer satisfaction and industry expertise. Indeed, their work has earned us the Super Service Award with Angie’s List multiple times in the past ten years. For more information and a free estimate, call us today at 1-703-690-3889 or visit our website!