The Problem with Dirt Crawl Spaces

There are numerous reasons why dirt crawl spaces are never a good idea, but the most significant one is the amount of moisture that comes from the ground and the outdoor air.  The problem boils down to having moisture inside of a building—a building made entirely of organic materials.  The moisture that comes in to the dirt crawl space causes mold and rotting wood, resulting in bigger issues involving the home’s stability and the quality of air in your home.

The exposed earth in your crawl space contributes a lot of water vapor into the air.  The earth is damp, and as the damp soil dries into the house, the water vapor moves upward with it.  This is a continuous never ending cycle because it is impossible to completely dry the earth beneath your home.

There are other ways water may enter a home, including groundwater leakage in the crawl space.  Groundwater seeps and leaks into the crawl space from under the footing or through cracks in the walls.  After it enters the crawl space, it just lays there in puddles, slowly evaporating upward into the home.

Having a dirt crawl space costs more in heating and electric bills in the long run because it’s harder to heat/cool damp air.  The smarter option is the have a CleanSpace Encapsulation System installed in your crawl space in order to completely seal it off from the earth and prevent any of the above problems.