Although often overlooked, your home’s crawl space is one of the most crucial areas to monitor if you want to maintain a healthy and well-functioning home. Crawl spaces can be the source of many issues affecting your living space including mold and moisture damage, increased heating and cooling costs, compromised air quality and even pest problems. If you’ve never considered having a crawl space inspection, it may be time to change your mind. Here’s a look at just a few of the benefits that come from having a healthy crawl space.
- Remove Moisture. A primary concern with crawl spaces is their ability to attract water. Moisture found naturally in the ground, rainwater, and condensation (which we have a lot of in Seattle!) increase the humidity in your crawl space and can in turn seep into your walls and floors, causing them to rot, sag and warp. If your crawl space is protected against moisture correctly, you won’t need to give these issues a second thought.
- Pay Less on Energy Bills. Crawl spaces that are properly insulated and maintained will prevent unwanted hot air in the summer or cold air in the winter from entering your home, meaning your heating and cooling equipment does not have to operate more than it should. Homeowners often spend an obscene amount of money heating and cooling their home, but those who maintain a healthy and insulated crawl space have reported experiencing 30-50% savings on their energy bills.
- Improve Your Home’s Air Quality. The condition of your crawl space directly affects your quality of life. Improper crawl space management can invite mold, pollutants, allergens and more to work its way into your home where you and your family members breathe them in. When your crawl space is taken care of, both moisture and temperature are controlled thus eliminating the possibilities of dry rot, mildew, mold and more. You can rest easy knowing you and your loved ones are breathing clean, safe air.
- Eliminate Pests. With a hole the size of a dime, clever critters like rats, snakes, termites and skunks can sneak in and claim your crawl space as their own. As you can imagine, the combination of rot, dead wood, animal waste and dead animals can lead to an unpleasant odor seeping up through the floorboards. Animals and insects leave droppings behind to fester and affect your home’s air quality and can curiously nibble on exposed electrical wires and insulation. When you have your crawl space inspected and sealed professionally, you are taking the best defense possible against rodents and insects sneaking into your space.
Do you want to improve the health of your home’s crawl space but aren’t sure where to start? Contact one the professionals at BelRed today to learn about what we offer including crawl space inspection, heater repair service, heat pump installation, plumbing repair service and more!
