Creepy Critters in Crawl Spaces
Many critters and creatures, like this poor mouse, often find their way into crawl spaces. Mice, rats, snakes and all sorts of creatures enjoy a dark and damp dirt crawl space. Spiders thrive with so many bugs living and dying underneath a home. Inside the home, dust mites thrive living on furniture, beds, and on the carpet. Dust mites need to absorb water from the air to live. And a relative humidity of over 50% in the crawl space is perfect for these critters to survive inside your home. Droppings from dust mites are the number one indoor allergen to people with asthma and allergies.
Mold on Floor Joists
Mold is thriving on this floor joist within a crawl space. Mold and mildew will grow onto any organic materials such as paper, cardboard, drywall, plywood and framing lumber. Having control of the relative humidity in an encapsulated crawl space can prevent this growth.
Ineffective Vapor Barrier
This 6-mil vapor barrier is a common liner installed at the construction of a home. There are many gaps and holes around the foundation wall, which will allow the moisture from the earth to rise into the crawl space. These liners are not sealed to the piers or the walls and are easily torn and folded, adding to the total leakage and possible increase in relative humidity.
A Superb Dehumidifier
The SaniDry Sedona Dehumidification System is a specialized dehumidifier, perfect for keeping any basement or crawl space dry. It offers air filtration while remaining energy-efficient for homeowners. The built-in blower will remove moisture from the air and circulate the dry air in the crawl space, keeping the relative humidity under control.
Mold Growth Solution
The floor joists in this picture are clear of any mold growth. Shockwave was sprayed on to the substructure of this crawl space to kill mold/mildew.
CleanSpace Solution
The bright white liner used to encapsulate this crawl space is called CleanSpace. It is a 20-mil plastic liner used to seal off the home from the earth's moisture. The CleanSpace is made of 7 layers which make it tear and puncture-resistant while remaining durable and flexible. An antimicrobial agent called UltraFresh is used within the vapor barrier to help prevent mold and bacteria growth. CleanSpace is perfect for keeping outside water vapor and moisture from the earth from leaking into the crawl space.
