Your crawl space foundation is much different than the basement foundation. Crawl spaces typically have dirt floors, whereas basements use concrete slabs. The space is dark, often so small an adult cannot stand up inside. The crawl space protects the home against flooding and other damage that can occur if the main living area touches the soil. However, damage is possible if humidity levels climb too high or water damage occurs.
Proper Humidity Levels in Your Huntsville Crawl Space
Maintaining humidity levels at about 55% keeps the air healthy and dry. This benefits everyone in the home since there is less risk of allergy-like symptoms. The home itself is protected against substantial damages, including mold and mildew, wood rot, insulation damage, and pest infestations.
How to Maintain Proper Humidity levels in Your Huntsville Home
Maintaining proper humidity levels can be tricky since it is already so humid outside. Professional guidance provides the most satisfactory results to homeowners who maintain proper humidity levels in their crawl space.
A digital thermo-hygrometer can help determine the humidity levels in the crawl space, but they do not help dehumidify the space. Hygrometers cost as little as $20 and can save you from the headaches of crawl space damage.
Other strategies that can help combat crawl space humidity include:
- Repair plumbing leaks and drainage issues. Improper sloping of the ground outside the property often causes standing water and other water-related problems. Ground slopes that lean toward the house can be a big problem that causes future problems until the issue is corrected.
- Ground moisture evaporation can also be a cause of high humidity levels in the crawl space. A hygrometer can help detect ground moisture evaporation problems.
- Improper ventilation can also lead to damp air. If your crawl space already has moisture problems, this certainly ensues a big problem on your hands. Higher than average humidity levels in the crawl space combined with improper ventilation increase the temperature by 22 degrees or more, resulting in major problems. The resolution is to install proper ventilation in the crawl space.
- Talk to the experts at Southern Crawl Space to learn more about sump pumps, vapor barriers, and our LumberKote polymer sealant, all products designed to protect your Huntsville crawl space against high humidity levels.
Southern Crawl Space offers moisture control services, including basement and crawlspace waterproofing, drainage system installation, and vapor barrier installation. SCS guarantees to fix your moisture issues permanently. Our trained team of technicians utilizes only the best solutions for your basement or crawlspace. We are proud to offer Lumber Kate™ and MaxxBarrier™ waterproofing sealers by WatsonSeal. We are Alabama’s ONLY Watson Seal Authorized Dealer.
If you have a service request, give us a call. We will happily provide a free inspection and service estimate.
