What kinds of things around your home come to mind when you think of odor, staleness, mold, and mildew? Chances are you think of a bathroom towel that has been let to sit while it was damp for too long, or discovering your loaf of bread has gone moldy inside the condensation-filled wrapper.

The key connection to make here is that they are both attributed to the collection, and prolonged exposure to, moisture! Bacteria and a host of other gross things form without fail in environments like those. This is especially true when there is no ventilation system. Now, ready for one more? Think about all the stagnant places in your home that moisture can get into and apply what we know about moisture and bacteria. Yuck!

Rooms like bathrooms and laundry rooms are usually more secluded than other rooms of our homes. They also deal with a lot of water and have a higher potential to breed mold and mildew for this reason. Like with the towel and bag of bread, there is little to no movement of air that would otherwise keep things clean and dry.
One example that can oftentimes become one of the worst affected areas of your home is the crawl space. If left unencapsulated, heavy amounts of moisture can seep in through the ground, foundation, and walls of your crawl space. It will accumulate there without being alleviated by proper airflow.

What is worse yet is that, just because your crawl space is separated from you by your floors, doesn’t mean that the rest of the air in your home is also separate. The air in an unencapsulated crawl space and all the bacteria in it can very much make its way into your living areas.

Many homeowners don’t realize the importance of encapsulating their crawl space to prevent moisture intrusion. Sealing a crawl space is done by lining the ground, foundation, and walls of the crawl space with a high quality vapor barrier sheeting. This enables the inside of the crawl space can remain clean and dry.

Now you might think to yourself, isn’t the bag around the bread like the vapor barrier sheeting? It still molded inside the bag! The reason for that is the complete lack of airflow from inside the bag to the outside.

Once a crawl space is encapsulated, a dehumidifier or other ventilation system is installed to keep drawing out any natural moisture from inside the home. This moisture can reach enormous amounts without an encapsulation installation! Dehumidifiers, however, do not work to purify the dry air that is released back into the home. Air purifiers are usually used to address this issue.

Most people that are unaware of a third and much more effective option often choose either a dehumidifier or air purifier for their crawl space, or both! We are here to tell you about an alternative to those costly-to-run units. This option is known as a ventilation system.

Ventilation systems not only work more efficiently but can do the job of an air purifier and dehumidifier all at once! A ventilation system works by drawing the air down into the basement or crawl space from the higher levels of the home. It then eliminates it through a vent to the outside. This keeps a cycle of dry, clean air flowing throughout the home while removing the excess moisture and air pollutants from the inside.

Our team of specialists has selected a ventilation system to install in basements and crawl spaces. This unit has gained a great reputation for being able to work 7x as efficiently as middle line dehumidifiers! It also costs an average of $2 to $5 a month in electricity as opposed to nearly $2 a day of most other brands of machines!

Give Barrier Waterproofing Systems a call today at (615) 257-1060 | (931) 536-1168 to schedule an evaluation of your basement or crawl space and to perform a much needed encapsulation or ventilation system installation!

This post was originally published on 4/24/2020 and updated on 10/12/2021 for accuracy and a larger scope of information.