Crawl spaces are prone to issues with water damage, mold growth, or pest infestation, and these issues can impact the air quality inside your home. Crawl spaces promote air circulation that can sometimes seep into your home through the floorboards. If the air quality in your crawl space is poor, it’s likely to cause air quality issues inside your home.
Its easy to ignore your crawl space since its not technically inside your home, but its important to keep up with maintenance to prevent any issues from getting worse over time, which they will if left untreated. If you’ve ignored your crawl space for quite some time, its a good idea to look out for certain symptoms that could lead to more serious issues.
Common Crawl Space Problems
Here are a few of the most common signs of crawl space damage in the areas around Atlanta that our crawl space mold, flooding, and damage prevention systems can stop before they turn into huge issues:
Crawl Space Flooding
Flooding in your crawl space could be a sign of waterproofing issues. Outside water could be funneling in through either cracks in your foundation, crawl space vents, doors and hatchways, or the most common catalyst, the ground itself. If you’ve noticed any signs of water in your crawl space, your crawl space may need an inspection to determine where the water is coming from and how to prevent it.
Moldy Crawl Space
Mold inside your crawl space is an issue that will undoubtedly get worse if left untreated. Damp environments are highly susceptible to mold growth, and we have plenty of humidity in Georgia that can cause crawl space humidity to rise every spring and summer. If you notice any mold in your crawl space, it’s a tell-tale sign you likely have a moisture issue.
Musty Odors In Home
If you notice musty odors inside your home, it is likely a sign of mold or mildew issues in your crawl space. The air circulation in your crawl space acts in a manner that’s called The Stack Effect. This means that musty air lingers in your crawl space before exiting up through the floor joists and then through your home itself.
Moist, humid air enters your crawl space in warm months through your vents and foundation walls before rising to the warm air above. An unkempt crawl space can thus impact the air quality inside your home, so it’s important to repair any moisture and high humidity in your crawl space because it directly results in your home and family’s health and safety.
Sinking Floors
The floor joists in your crawl space can weaken over time from water damage and moisture or high humidity exposure, causing the floors inside your home to sink or sag. If you notice any seemingly sloped or unlevel floors inside your home, you could have structural issues in your crawl space below.
Humidity
A humid crawl space is typically a sign that too much moisture is entering your vents and foundation walls, which are either concrete, stone or brick and therefore porous. As is the case with any crawl space issue, crawl space areas damaged by high humidity can worsen over time. After addressing any water issues and sealing or encapsulating your crawl space, you’ll need a high-perfoming dehumidification and air filtration system to effectively monitor your foundation’s relative humidity and prevent future moisture build-up problems from occurring.
Bugs in Basement or Crawl Space
If you notice an increase in unwanted visitors, it could be a sign of crawl space moisture issues. Bugs love to live in dark, damp places, and thus obviously find musty crawl spaces to be particularly attractive habitats. Like with any ecosystem, little bugs entice bigger bugs, and bigger bugs serve as a tasty meal for rodents, which attract bigger rodents or snakes. This is a huge problem to have underneath your home. Fortunately, we can help make your crawl space clean, dry, and safe permanently. If your crawl space is clean and dry, critters won’t find any reason to live there. And if it’s sealed, they can’t get in. Don’t take bugs lightly. They only mean one thing for your crawl space, and that’s bad news!
Call AquaGuard for Crawl Space Repair in Atlanta
Spotting early symptoms of crawl space issues can save you time, money, and headaches in the long run. By regularly checking your crawl space for problems, you can protect your home from hazardous air quality and structural damage. Need a second opinion? Contact the experts at AquaGuard today to schedule your free crawl space inspection so our Atlanta crawl space mold, flooding, and damage prevention experts can get to work keeping your home safe!
