Dealing With Crawl Space Moisture in Johns Creek GA 30022
The crawl space under your house is probably not something you think about. Who would want to? It’s dirty, yucky, gross, and probably full of dead insects. That, however, is exactly why you want to think about it. You see, all of those words contribute to another word, “toxic”.
You don’t have to enter a moldy crawl space to be exposed to the health hazards of crawl space moisture in Johns Creek GA 30022. The air in your crawl space gets circulated through your house thanks to the “stack effect”, which is a name for a scientific principle we should have all learned in grade school: warm air rises. The air under your house warms up, rises, and is circulated through walls, vents, and any other path it can find.
This air brings spores and other contaminants that get into your lungs and stifle your ability to breathe. It can also cause skin and eye irritations. What doesn’t get into the air you breathe will cause damage to wooden supports and joists, damaging your whole house.
What causes mold?
During warmer days such as summer, the air in your crawl space is cooler than the air outside. Warm air has more thermodynamic energy than cool air and flows into where the cool air is. The mixture of these temperatures causes condensation, which attracts mold.
The mold will look for a food source. (Remember that mold is a living thing!) It mostly feeds on dead organic matter. All those wooden supports and joists under your house make for a banquet. It will also feed on dead organic matter such as dead insects and dead animals (which often attract insects in the first place).
What to do?
The first thing to do is to have your crawl space inspected. This is so you can identify existing problems and deal with them before encapsulating your crawl space. It would do no good to seal mold and mildew into the place you’re trying to protect.
Next, hire a professional to encapsulate your crawl space. While this can be a DIY job, it’s a very involved project that requires a lot of know-how to make sure it’s done right.
Encapsulating your crawl space involves sealing off the ground and walls with a thick liner to prevent humidity from coming up through the ground. Depending on where you live, the joists and underside of the floor may also be sealed.
Next, all entrances and vents to the crawl space will be sealed up. This will block out moisture and keep insects and animals from getting in.
It may be necessary to put in a dehumidifier. This will control the amount of humidity caused the air itself.
Call a professional
While sealing a crawl space can be a DIY project for a very ambitious and very knowledgeable home owner, dealing with molds is not something to gamble with. Even just crawling under your house to have a peek can disturb spores that would love the chance to get at the moist, warm air in your lungs. Instead, contact us for an inspection and a recommendation for what to do about your crawl space moisture in Johns Creek GA 30022.
