Water in the Crawl Space

11/6/2022 (Permalink)

Water in the Crawl Space

One of the best ways to protect your Berryhill, NC home from moisture is to make sure that it's properly ventilated. Water in the crawl space can cause significant damage to your home. The moisture causes mold and mildew to grow, which could lead to structural problems. It can also cause electrical issues, foundation problems, and even structural damage. But what if there's already a lot of moisture in your crawl space? How do you fix that? The answer depends on the source of your problem and whether or not it can be remedied.

Sources for Water in the Crawl Space

There are a number of sources that can introduce water into your crawl space.

• Your home's sump pump: Most homes have a sump pump installed to collect water that enters the foundation through basement windows and doors. If this pump malfunctions, it can allow water to back up into your home's crawl space, creating moisture problems in addition to flooding.
• A leaky pipe: Leaky pipes in your walls or flooring can also cause water damage in your crawl space by leaking down through the walls and into the dirt flooring below it. This can result in mold growth as well as other types of contamination if you don't fix it quickly enough.
• Rainwater: Some homes have drainage systems that direct all rainwater away from their foundations instead of having them keep it inside like many older houses do today—and those drainage systems may leak if they aren't maintained properly over time! This can result in excess moisture levels below ground level where no one wants them! Also, note that some areas get more rainfall than others; so even if yours doesn't seem like an area prone to average precipitation still take care not to let too much go unnoticed when considering this factor.

Inviting Critters into Your Crawl Space

Critters of all kinds like to live in damp places such as the crawl space, so it's no wonder that you might find ants, woodlice, spiders, and even mice in your crawl space. In fact, the sight of a mouse can terrify you enough to want them all gone immediately.

While these critters may not be harmful to people themselves (with the exception of some spiders), their presence inside your home can cause damage by chewing through wires and cables as they go about their business. It's important to get rid of them before they do any damage because repairing broken cables can be expensive!

Structural Issues

There are some structural issues that could occur when water sits in your crawl space: 

• Wood rot. The wood framing and floor joists in your home will begin to deteriorate after they are exposed to standing water and high humidity levels for an extended period of time. This type of damage is most common in basements and unexcavated foundations, but it can also occur in crawl spaces with poor ventilation. As this happens, structural integrity decreases and your home becomes less stable over time.
• Concrete cracking or crumbling away from the wall due to moisture entering through cracks or other defects in the foundation wall itself (such as pipes that have leaked through).
• Bricks or stone crumbling away from a masonry foundation due to repeated cycles of wetting and drying—particularly if there are gaps around pipes or plumbing vents where moisture may be able to enter at ground level before reaching higher up into your wall cavity where it would otherwise dry out as soon as it got inside (if not before).

Sump Pumps

A sump pump is the most common method used to pump out excess water and can be installed in your crawl space or outside of it. They come in different sizes, depending on the size of your crawl space. If you have a large crawl space with multiple feet of moisture buildup, you may need one that operates on larger amounts of water at once so that it doesn't clog up with debris.

A sump pump consists of a motor (that turns), an impeller (that spins), a housing (that contains these parts), and a float switch (that senses when there's too much water). When this happens, the float switch shuts off power until there isn't any more excess moisture present--and then automatically turns on again when conditions return to normal levels.

Dry Wells

If you’re not familiar with dry wells, they are underground structures that capture water from your crawl space and funnel it away from the property. This is an important step in mitigating water intrusion into your home.

There are many reasons why a dry well is necessary:

• Sump pumps may not be able to empty rainwater into a storm drain fast enough.
• Dry wells allow sump pumps to work more efficiently by keeping them free of standing water so they don't lose suction power when this happens.
• Dry wells prevent flooding in basements or other areas of your home where you don't want excess moisture collecting near foundations (or anything else).

Water in the crawl space may be an indication that you need to install a sump pump. When you have a water damage event in your home or business, it's always a good idea to give SERVPRO of West Mecklenburg a call! We will get your West Mecklenburg property back to its preloss condition quickly.