Crawl Space Repair Photo Album: Cleaning Up a Dirt Crawlspace

Many homes in the Midwest are built on top of dirt crawlspaces. Even though a homeowner might never go into their crawlspace, it should still be kept clean and protected to improve the health of the home above. Dirt crawlspaces are highways for harmful things like pests, water vapor and mold spores to enter your home.    But there is a way to permanently and properly protect a dirt crawlspace (and the home above) from these hazards. By incapsulating the space with CleanSpace™, a crawlspace can be sealed and protected from all angles. CleanSpace™ is a vapor barrier made from a tear-proof liner that gets permanently fastened across the crawlspace floor and up the walls. It is important to cover both the floor and the walls, as leaks can enter the crawlspace from many different places and if any water puddles up above CleanSpace's™ surface it can evaporate into the crawlspace air. Water vapor in the air will increase rot and mold growth in the floor joists above and can make the entire home less energy efficient. CleanSpace™ will block water vapor from rising through the ground and, thanks to an anti-microbial layer, it will prevent mold growth across its surface.   Once the area is incapsulated and any potential leaks are blocked out, a sump pump is installed to drain away any water that would otherwise build up beneath the CleanSpace™ surface. In this home, a SmartSump™ was installed to keep the area dry. The SmartSump™ is more than just a sump pump, it is an entire sump pump system. The system comes in a specially designed liner that will collect water from drainage systems as well as through the ground around the sump pit. The top of this liner is sealed with an air-tight lid that will prevent water from evaporating out of the sump pit while still allowing any water above the lid to drain inside. A WaterWatch™ alarm in the lid will alert homeowners if the water levels in the sump pit get dangerously high or if leaks begin to enter the sump pit from above the lid.    With CleanSpace™ and a SmartSump™ installed, this crawlspace is protected against all manner of hazards, including water and mold.