Mold and Water Damage in Crawl Spaces

In many older houses, one can observe that crawl spaces used in the rooms that were extended beyond the main foundation of the house, on added on rooms and sometimes entire houses built on a crawl space with an exposed soil bottom. There are two reasons behind this type of construction. The first reason is that it was less expensive to build because less excavation and smaller and foundation walls and the other is that wood framed floors made more comfortable living spaces. Concrete floors were not very popular in the past due to the cold, hard surface. A crawl space provides a natural insulating air barrier between the ground and living space. There are several instances that water damage and molds have started from crawl spaces. The reason behind this is that in some homes, crawl spaces are rarely accessed or used. Thus, unintentionally, we overlook its functionality and its maintenance as well. Just like every other part of the house, a crawl space should be given the same attention as well. When neglected, a crawl space that is not properly moisture controlled can cost you a lot of money. Your home will be susceptible to rot, molds and insect damage. In addition, a non-moisture controlled crawl space is energy inefficient, which translates into higher heating and air conditioning bills. If the air conditioning units or your heating system is located in the crawl space, it may be damaged due to high moisture content.