Crawlspaces
Damp air under a raised floor comes up into the house.
Many Charleston houses sit on piers or a low foundation. Whatever is in the air under the floor moves into the rooms above it.
What we read
Four things we read under the house.
A crawlspace needs its own readings: a logger under the floor, beside the one in the room.
- 01
Humidity and temperature
Logged for 48 hours, beside the room's own logger.
- 02
The ground
Whether bare earth is giving off moisture, and whether a cover is there.
- 03
The vents
Whether they are open, blocked or letting in more than a dehumidifier could remove.
- 04
Ducts and insulation
A cold duct sweats when it passes through humid air.
The work
Order of work under a house.
In this order, and we measure again after each step that matters.
- 01
Step 1: Close what lets the damp in
Seal vents, cover the ground, fix a gutter that empties at the foundation.
- 02
Step 2: Insulate and seal ducts
So a cold duct isn't sweating in damp air.
- 03
Step 3: Add a dehumidifier if the numbers still say so
Sized to the closed space and drained to a place the water can leave.
- 04
Step 4: Measure again
Two weeks later, and we send the new readings.
Questions
Crawlspace questions.
Does my crawlspace need to be closed in?
Not always. We read it first. If the air under the floor is damp and the vents are letting more in than a dehumidifier could remove, closing it in is the first step. We tell you what we found either way.
We had water in the house. Can you help?
Call a water-damage company first to dry the structure. When the house is dry, we can read it and tell you whether it needs help staying that way.
Does a dehumidifier remove mold?
No. It lowers humidity so conditions are less friendly to mold, but it doesn't remove mold that is already growing. If you can see mold, ask a mold professional to look at it; we are not mold remediators.
Read the crawlspace first.
A logger under the floor costs us an afternoon and tells you which problem you have.