Springtime Blunders - Warmer Weather Can Cause Crawl Space Issues in East TN

It's the first day of spring, the sun is peeping out, and the dreariness of winter is a thing of the past. While the promise of warmer weather is exciting and a source of happiness for many, spring also brings many misfortunes – annoying allergies, unwanted critters, and excessive rain to name a few. As temperatures rise, so does the humidity level, especially in the South. Because warm air holds more moisture than cool air, the relative humidity of the air in your crawl space increases, which can lead to an increase in condensation and moisture in your crawl space.

Most people fail to realize that damp crawl spaces attribute to many common springtime ailments, and that there are solutions to these problems.

Check out this list of common springtime woes, and how you can avoid these issues this spring!

1. Allergies almost always come with changing seasons, and pollen isn’t the only problem.  The number one allergen is dust mite droppings. Dust mites are parasites that live off of dead skin cells, and they thrive in your bedding, carpet, and furniture. When you breathe in dust mite droppings, your allergies and asthma are provoked, and you are destined to live an uncomfortable life for the next several months. The good news is that there is a solution that doesn’t involve incessant amounts of allergy medication, tissues, or sneezing. Dust mites don’t drink water – they absorb it from the air around them. For a dust mite to survive, it needs over 50% relative humidity. What does this mean for you and your crawl space?  It’s very difficult to keep your home at a low humidity level and dust mite-free when you have a dirt crawl space underneath. Your crawl space produces the humidity necessary for these allergy producing parasites to thrive upstairs.  Dry out your crawl space, and you’ll inevitably get rid of your pesky dust mite problem.
   
   
2. Pests come out as the weather gets warmer. Termites, spiders, mice, snakes, and all kinds of creepy critters thrive in humid, dark, and damp spaces, just like the crawl space under your home.  One way to keep the amount of unwanted critters invading your home at all-time low is to make sure that the moisture in your crawl space is kept at bay. Most unwanted pests love damps places, so if you dry up the moisture, you’ll get rid of the pests.
   
   
3. April showers bring May flowers, but can also bring many unwanted foundation and crawl space issues. Extreme rain and flooding not only increases the humidity level, which in turn attributes to the first two issues discussed earlier, but can also wreak serious havoc on your home’s foundation. 
   
   
4. If you have any wood and dirt in your crawlspace, you have the perfect recipe for a mold infestation. If your home has a musky smell, you might have a mold problem.  When something is made of organic material and is placed in a wet environment, mold will grow on it. You cannot control the fact that your home is made of wood and other organic material, but you can control the amount of moisture in your home by waterproofing your crawlspace.

The common solution to all these problems is to get rid of unwanted moisture, and the best way to do this is to have a professional company waterproof your crawl space or basement.

As the weather warms up and the flowers start to bloom, many start sneezing and bugs start crawling. If you begin to notice musky smells, termites, or allergies, you might have a moisture issue underneath your home that overtime can affect your foundation and cause many other structural issues.

If you’re experiencing any of these problems, call Master Services for a free consultation!

Master Services is the premier crawl space, basement waterproofing, and foundation repair expert in the East Tennessee area. They also offer other solutions to these common crawl space problems, like dehumidification and moisture issues.