If you’ve noticed moisture or standing water in your crawl space, you need to act fast. Water in your crawl space can lead to a host of issues in your home. It can rot wooden beams and joists, erode your foundation, and lead to mold and mildew growth, which can cause indoor air quality issues throughout your entire home.
But when you venture into your crawl space and see puddles of water on the floor or notice that tell-tale mildewy smell, you might not know exactly what to do. Dealing with a wet crawl space can be stressful, but the crawl space waterproofing experts at Total Home Performance are here to help you tackle the issue and prevent it from happening again.
Find Out Where the Water Is Coming From
Before you can remove water from your crawl space and implement the right crawl space drainage system, you need to find out how the water is getting in. There are a few common causes of water in a crawl space:
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Rain and snow: When rain and melting snow don’t drain away from your home properly, you can end up with standing water in your crawl space.
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Groundwater: Groundwater can seep into your crawl space from the surrounding soil.
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Humidity: During the summer, high humidity levels can lead to condensation and moisture problems in your crawl space.
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Leaks: If there are pipes in your crawl space, a leak can easily lead to major water issues.
Once you know where the water is coming from you can address the problem. If you have an active plumbing leak, you’ll want to fix it right away before you move forward with any other steps.
In some cases, it’s easy to find the source of water in your crawl space, but not always. If you’re having trouble figuring out how water is getting in, schedule a crawl space evaluation with Total Home Performance.
Remove Standing Water
The next step is to dry out your crawl space. There are a few different ways to remove water from a crawl space. The best method will depend on how much water you have in your crawl space and how it’s getting in. We typically use a combination of pumps, a shop vac, fans, and dehumidifiers to dry out crawl spaces.
Waterproof Your Crawl Space to Keep it Dry
Once your crawl space is dry, you’ll want to keep it that way! Crawl space encapsulation is the most effective way to keep water out of your crawl space. If you need crawl space encapsulation, we will:
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Seal all vents, gaps, and holes around plumbing or ductwork penetrations with spray foam
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Cover the floor and walls of your crawl space with a waterproof vapor barrier for complete protection
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Install crawl space drainage such as a sump pump if needed
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Install a dehumidifier to keep humidity at a consistent and healthy level
Get Help from Total Home Performance & take advantage of Rebates up to $7,500 with BGE and Delmarva!
Your crawl space may seem disconnected from the rest of your home, but it’s actually very closely linked to your living spaces. Almost everything in your house is connected and making changes in one area, like your crawl space, can have an impact on your entire home. That’s why it’s so important to take a holistic approach when it comes to home performance upgrades. When you call Total Home Performance for crawl space waterproofing services, we’ll consider every angle and provide an integrated solution that will lead to better comfort, better energy efficiency, and healthier indoor air.
Up to $7,500 in Crawl Space Rebates for Eastern Shore Homeowners
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES) offers rebates for crawl space repair and other energy efficiency services. As a certified HPwES contractor, we can help you take advantage of these rebates to save on your crawl space costs!