Crawl space, from the term itself, does sound like a dark, filthy space that may be home to all kinds of creatures.
Does that make you cringe?
When was the last time you checked that small space under your home?
Just like most homeowners, it has probably been years since you last looked at that dim and creepy space underneath your house. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you get all sorts of problems in the long run.
There are lots of problems that can surface from an unattended crawl space. Here are some of them.
After a rainstorm, it’s highly likely that moisture will build up in your home’s crawl space. When moisture is present, it can cause wood and insulation damage. If you don’t fix it right away, it can cause moisture to make its way into your home, resulting in mold infestation.
Moist areas in your home can be the perfect breeding ground for creepy crawlies, including spiders, rats, snakes, termites, and other nasty pests. Pathogens from droppings and urine can affect the quality of indoor air in your home, causing health problems caused by bacteria or viruses from these animals. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a deadly disease caused by rodent droppings. When you or a family member comes into close contact with infected animals or their urine and feces, you can contract this disease.
Vents in an unclean crawl space can let polluted outdoor air inside your home, carrying dust, dirt, moisture, droppings, and chemicals that can cause a myriad of health hazards. This usually happens when ducts in your crawl space are poorly installed and are not insulated.
Your home’s crawl space is like the ‘gut’ of your home. Because of this, it’s important that you maintain its health as part of maintaining your household’s health and safety.
Mold infestation is one of the problems that an unclean and poorly insulated crawl space can cause. This can be hazardous to you and your family’s health. This is especially true if you have someone in the household with allergies.
Because a crawl space was designed to have open vents that lead air in and out of your home, it can cause polluted air to circulate throughout your household, bringing along bacteria and viruses with it, which causes different diseases. Condensation can occur in that open space underneath your home when warm outside air gets inside the vents, letting moisture to accumulate. When that happens, it can affect the quality of air and bring different kinds of diseases in your home.
Aside from health issues, a dirty and poorly insulated crawl space can lead to structural damage in the long run. This is because moisture, when left undetected, can sit stagnant for a long time. This can cause major damages to your wood beams that provide foundational support for your house. Once structural damage starts to ensue, termites, who love to eat on deteriorating wood, will also begin to live in your crawl space, causing more damages that can be too expensive to repair.
To help you ensure that you don’t have to worry about this crawl space issues, contact 911 Remediation today.
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