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No matter how fastidious you are about cleaning your home; few people remember the crawlspace under the house. This area is one of the worst areas in your home to neglect. If you were to inspect your crawlspace now, you would probably find that any insulation remaining is torn up, soiled with rodent droppings, debris left behind, and even rodent bodies. Vermin can chew through the crawlspace walls and nest there. This causes more problems than the obvious filth left by rodents. It means that your Vapor barriers have been compromised and excessive moisture in the space can lead to mold, bacteria, and rotting wood. This can cause your vents to become misaligned, or blocked completely. If you notice any of these problems around your vents/crawlspace, you need help immediately!
Signs of Animal activity
Wet or moldy smell, signs of dampness or mold
Vapor barriers needing replacement
Animal, moldy/musty smells
Severe Allergy symptoms
Water leakage
Bugs appearing from the space
What a dirty crawlspace can mean for your home
Your crawl space is more than a negative space that runs through your home. It can have a major effect on your home in numerous ways. Consider the facts before you ignore your crawlspace hygiene.
- Inferior Air Quality
Did you know that about 40% of the air in your home comes up through your crawlspace? A dirty, crawl space with improper seals or insulation can be home to an unsavory lot of pests and allergens. Humidity levels in your crawl space allow the growth of mold and mildew attracts bugs and encourages bacterial growth. An open space encourages vermin to move in and set up nests. A Dirty crawl space is an invitation for bugs, vermin, germs, allergens, and other toxins to pollute your home. The effect on your family can be tangible. Look for an increase in allergies, worsening respiratory problems like asthma, more colds, and flu like symptoms, and possible depression of your immune system.
- Elevated cost of Energy
An improperly insulated crawl space can allow warm or cool air of to escape your home. Because so much of your homes air comes up from the crawl space, your air unit will have a hard time keeping the temperatures regulated. This will result in unevenly heated drafty rooms, and higher energy bills. A properly insulated crawlspace can affect your bill by as much 60%!
- Damage to your flooring and baseboards
The prescience of constant moisture in your crawl space can severely damage the actual structure of your home. Mold, weak spots, and rot in your load-bearing beams, subflooring, and baseboards can cost thousands in damages. You may have to replace entire sections of wall and flooring. Cleaning and insulating your crawl space is a much more cost efficient plan!
- Who wants bugs!
Insects, vermin, and other pests are attracted to moist, dark, warm spaces that are near to food. This makes an your uncared for crawl space ideal for pests, such as bats, rats, mice, squirrels, roaches snakes opossums, ants, roaches, spiders, and other creepy things. They can t wait to tear open your insulation, barriers, chew up any exposed wires or pipes, and poop and pee all over the inside of it. Remember 40% of your air is blowing through that!
If you are ready to improve your air quality, lower your energy bills and enjoy a cleaner more hassle free home, call professional service and have you crawlspaces serviced today! Enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing you are doing everything you can to give your family a safe and clean home.