Dealing with Crawl Space Moisture

Even after you have encapsulated your crawl space, dampness can collect below a home. Houses naturally draw air in from the lower levels, bringing in air from the outside through your crawl space. This is known as the stack effect, and it can raise the relative humidity levels throughout a whole house. Up to 40% of the air on the first floor can come from the crawl space below.

This is a huge problem in the more humid summer months. Every degree that air cools, its relative humidity raises by 2.2%. So, when warm air is pulled into your cool crawl space, the additional moisture will condense on your air conditioning ducts, the floor joists and even the Vapor-Bright System. Wood and water are a bad combination, since all it takes is a little moisture on an organic material for rot and mold to take over. To add to the problem, the humid air is also drawn up and into the home via the stack effect. This brings mold spores and musty smells up into the living areas.

There are only two ways to remove the dampness. You could heat the air to lower the Relative Humidity – and pay the money for your air conditioner to fight the heater in your crawl space (while the moisture STILL condenses on your cold ducting) – or you can attack the problem directly with a sophisticated and appropriate dehumidifier.

Most dehumidifiers, however, are simply not up to the job. The small coil of a regular dehumidifier is inefficient at pulling moisture from the cooler, crawl space air, so it has to run longer and work harder. Additionally, many dehumidifiers are extremely inefficient in their own right and do not deal significantly with filtering the air.

The Right Equipment For Dehumidification

Ultra-efficient residential dehumidifier guaranteed to eliminate basement mold and mildew problems. The Santa Fe can remove more than 100 pints of water per day for the same cost as operating a standard dehumidifier. In a finished basement, the Santa Fe can be located out of sight and ducted to provide air circulation and humidity control to the entire basement.

Compact and powerful dehumidifier for basements and crawlspaces. Can remove 90 pints of water per day (@ AHAM) and operate down to 55 degrees F. Excellent choice for mid-sized basements and crawlspaces.