Moisture is the number one enemy to your crawl space. You probably know it causes serious damage that has the potential to affect your home’s structural integrity, but did you know it also leads to unpleasant odors? Yes, water causes all kinds of problems for your Charlotte or Hickory home. Dry Pro has crawl space solutions made to prevent moisture buildup. Let’s outline why these odors appear.
What Causes Musty Odors?
Water damage leads to many different issues in your crawl space, all of which can lead to nasty odors traveling up through the floor. Here are the most common reasons odors enter your home.
Mold
Mold needs two things to survive, high humidity and decaying organic matter. Water in your crawl space provides both of these and creates the perfect breeding ground for mold to grow. Water leads to condensation and water vapor in your crawl space. In turn, this leads to rotting wood which mold happily feeds on. Mold emits a musty smell and may even travel into your home and spread throughout the living space. If you notice musty smells in your house, be sure to check for mold growth.
Pests in Crawl Space
Pests are attracted to humid areas, and your crawl space offers a warm, covered shelter for critters to call home. Animals have the potential to bring disease to your crawl space, but they also leave behind waste or carcasses from prey. In the worst scenarios, animals may even decompose under your home and bring an extremely pungent smell into your home. If the musty, unpleasant odors in your home are only getting worse, you may want to hire a professional pest control service to check your crawl space.
Wood Rot
Water damage also leads to wood rot in your crawl space. When water breaks down wood, it can create a rather musty smell. Since wooden beams support your floor, the smell isn’t too far below your feet and will easily travel through the floorboards. One of the worst parts about musty smells is that your home becomes quite used to them the longer time you spend with them. You may get used to the smell and not even realize how bad it is getting. When guests come to your home, or you take an extended vacation and come back home, the smell will be instantly recognizable. Proper crawl space protection can prevent this scenario.
FAQs
Not really. Crawl space vents don’t actually help as much as people might think. In fact, these open vents actually let humid outside air into the crawl space which ends up causing the musty smells in the first place. A better option is to close the crawl space vents with vent covers. That way, humid air cannot penetrate your crawl space and cause water damage or musty smells to arise.
No, insulation only helps control temperature. Insulation might suffer from the same problems that cause musty smells in the first place. Water in your crawl space can actually damage the insulation, making it wet and inefficient. Over time, mold could form on your insulation and actually contribute to the musty smells in your home. Only proper crawl space solutions can completely prevent musty smells from building in your crawl space.
Mold is a microorganism that is capable of triggering allergies, illness, or in the worst-case scenario, hazardous breathing problems. Long-term exposure to mold damages your respiratory system, so a moldy crawl space is a health hazard. Even if you don’t spend much time don’t in your home’s crawl space, mold can still cause health problems because of the stack effect which moves mold spores into your home as warm air rises.
Explore Solutions
Dry Pro uses crawl space encapsulation to prevent musty smells from arising below your home. Using tools such as dehumidifiers, vapor barriers, crawl space drainage, and sump pumps, our team makes it difficult for water to damage wood or foster mold growth. Explore more of our solutions here and see why our team is a trusted source for crawl space repair.
Dry Pro
Crawl Space Dehumidifier
Crawl space humidity is a difficult problem to handle alone. This is why a crawl space dehumidifier is needed if you want to keep your foundation dry.
Dry Pro
Crawl Space Vapor Barrier
Charlotte, NC is one of the rainiest cities in the nation. If you don’t have a proper waterproofing solution in place, then your crawl space will be wet and humid.
Dry Pro
The CrawlDrain™ Crawl Space Drain
Discover elite crawl space solutions in Charlotte, NC. Prevent flooding and put an end to drainage problems that affect the quality of your property.
Dry Pro
Crawl Space Sump Pump System
To stop crawl space flooding and protect your home from foundation failure, Dry Pro offers homeowners the SafeDri™ sump pump, the most reliable tool for foundation drainage.
Don’t Let Musty Smells Get Worse. Call Us!
Homeowners deserve a clean space to relax in, and musty odors make that an impossible task. Don’t let crawl space problems make your home an unpleasant setting for you and any guests or loved ones. Our team is proud to serve homeowners in Charlotte and Hickory, and we’re always ready to help you. Contact us today to set up a free inspection with one of our trained professionals. To learn more about crawl space problem signs and solutions, continue exploring our website!
