If your floors stay damp and covered with mold most of the year and you don't understand why, check your crawl space for excess moisture. Crawl spaces can become damp over time. If too much moisture builds up inside your crawl space, it can travel upward into your home. Learn more about damp crawl spaces and how you can improve the condition of yours below.
How Can Crawl Spaces Be Damp and Moldy?
Crawl spaces build up with moisture and mold for a number of reasons. Water can trap inside a crawl space during the rainy season or summer. Underground water can also release moisture into a crawl space. A leaking water line or plumbing pipe may also create high levels of moisture inside a crawl space.
Each of the problems above can wreak havoc on your crawl space throughout the year. The dampness inside your crawl space can slowly creep into the living spaces in your home. If moisture remains in your home for a long period of time, it may eventually lead to mold growth.
Mold travels quickly once it forms in a damp location. The moisture trapped on the surfaces of your floors will attract mold throughout the year. Mold will eventually spread to other locations around your house.
You can protect your entire home from mold damage by sealing your crawl space.
What Do Remove the Dampness From Your Crawl Space?
In order to seal your crawl space properly, you must find and eliminate the source of moisture inside it. You can try to find the water source yourself, or you can hire a contractor and allow them to find and eliminate the moisture for you.
A contractor will examine the plumbing pipes inside your crawl space to see if they show signs of leakage. A contractor may also check the dirt inside your crawl space for puddles of water. If leaking plumbing pipes caused the dampness in your crawl space or mold on your floors, have a plumber repair the lines immediately.
If puddling is the source of your problems, a contractor will go ahead and use a process called encapsulation to barricade your crawl space. Encapsulation allows a contractor to completely seal or isolate your crawl space from everything around it, including the floors above your crawl space and the soil beneath your crawl space.
After a contractor encapsulates your crawl space, they'll control the moisture levels in it with fans. The cool air blowing through the crawl space keeps warm air and mold spores from settling inside it.
Learn how to protect your crawl space from moisture by contacting a contractor—such as MPHI Home Specialists—soon.