Winterizing Crawl Spaces: Insulation Essentials
The crawl space under your home makes your space vulnerable to many risks. A properly winterized crawl space can keep the floor of your home warmer and reduce the risk of mold or mildew under your living space.
Insulation is key
Your crawl space can allow cold air to flow under a section of your home. While ventilation is critical to preventing moisture buildup, excessive airflow or insufficient insulation can add to your discomfort and raise your heating costs.
Before you reduce any airflow or add insulation yourself, you need to have a professional from a company such as SafeBasements review your crawl space. A lack of airflow during warm weather or excess moisture exposure during spring rains could do a great deal of damage to your home.
Ventilation concerns
A crawl space expert can look at many of the risk factors that an improperly cared for crawl space can create. Too much ventilation can cause a draft and leave the space above the crawl space cold. It can also put any plumbing under the home at risk.
Too little ventilation will increase the risk of moisture condensation, bacterial buildup and mold growth. Depending on the location of your crawl space and any drainage issues around your home, you may need to bring in soil to change the flow of rainwater around your house.
You may also need to pipe in warm air to heat up your crawl space at certain points in the year. Warm air from your furnace can protect your plumbing, dry out the space, and warm up the room above the crawl space. Your repair professional can help you discuss this addition with your HVAC team to keep your home safe.
Reduce the risk of pests
Depending on the age of your home, it's possible that your crawl space has been invaded by insects and other pests. If you've changed your landscaping and have mulch up against or close to your crawl space ventilation, pests can quickly transition from cool, moist mulch to a cool, moist crawl space.
Crawl space vents, like attic vents, need durable screens to prevent rodents from entering the area. Unfortunately, rodents with a screen of plantings around your crawl space vents will have plenty of privacy and a quiet, dark place to work on chewing through your vents. If you notice a big increase in rodents or bugs in your home, it may be time to call a company like Innovative Basement Authority to check out your crawl space.
Luckily, crawl space problems can be resolved quickly. But you may not realize there's a problem until you have a serious infestation or mold issue. Look for more tips on crawl spaces and insulation on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
