Water in the crawl space beneath your home can lead to damage and other issues that can impact your home, its value, and the health of your loved ones. Crawl space waterproofing helps seal your crawl space and protect it from flooding. As your Western Pennsylvania foundation experts, we’ve seen the havoc standing water can cause, so let’s talk about prevention, mitigation, and repairs that help you keep your home dry and safe.
A Forgotten Part of Your Home
Many people don’t find out they have water in their crawl space until it becomes severe enough to cause other problems. That’s because the crawl space, unlike basements, is often difficult to access and not large enough to use for storage or utility. Out of sight, out of mind. That’s why the common dangers of crawl space moisture often turn out to be the first indicators you see.
Water in your crawl space can lead to:
- Pests – When water is added to the dark, undisturbed places under your home, it creates the perfect environment for rodents, reptiles, and bugs that want a comfortable place to live with plenty of food and water.
- Foundation Damage – Water can loosen the soil your house sits on, rust metal, and cause wood to deteriorate and rot.
- Increase Utility Bills – Aside from potentially indicating a leaky pipe running up your water bill, the higher humidity caused by standing water can force your HVAC system to work harder to heat or cool your home.
- Mildew and Mold – Mold and mildew are attracted to moisture and sodden biological materials, like the wood under your floorboards and in your crawl space.
- Foul Odor – All that damp, stagnant moisture can begin to smell unpleasant, and the vapors from it can seep up from your floorboards into your home.
- Medical Risks – Mold, mildew, vapors, and increased humidity can all cause medical issues in susceptible people and pets, including respiratory, nerve, and circulatory damage.
Sources of Water in Your Crawl Space
Water in your crawl space can come from several sources, and identifying the culprit can be just as much about the process of elimination as it is about investigation. While some of these causes may be instantly verifiable, others can be almost impossible to verify as the source of the moisture without extensive monitoring. In most cases, comprehensive crawl space waterproofing is your best mitigation option.
- Leaking Pipes – The space under your house is filled with pipes, hoses, and tubing, routing clean water around the home and wastewater toward the septic or sewer system. When these pipes crack, leak, or break, they can lead to a flooded crawl space.
- Seepage Through Cracks – Cracked foundation walls can allow moisture to enter your crawl space when too much runoff accumulates next to your foundation’s walls.
- Damaged Vents – Cracked, damaged, or missing crawl space vents can let rain and water pooled next to your home directly into your crawlspace.
- Condensation – Cracks, vents, worn gaskets, and missing caulking let moist air into your crawlspace, where it becomes trapped before condensing out of the air and pooling under your floorboards.
- Ground Moisture – If the ground your home sits on becomes wet enough through improper drainage, water can be forced up and out of the soil inside your crawlspace.
What to Do When You Have Water in Your Crawl Space
Once you know there’s water in the crawl space under your home, it’s time to act. The longer it goes unmanaged, the greater the risk to both the property and the home’s occupants. It’s also important to get a professional crawl space waterproofing contractor involved as soon as possible to verify the cause of the water, evaluate the damage, perform repairs, and prevent future water collection under your home.
- Remove Standing Water – Use a Wet/Dry or Shop Vacuum to remove standing water. This clears the area so you can work and may help you identify the root cause.
- Identify the Source of the Water – Look for easy entry points water can use to get into your crawlspace. Dripping, obvious signs of wall seepage, or the whistling of air moving through a gap around a pipe from the outside.
- Seal Gaps and Cracks – Small gaps and foundation cracks can often be sealed with caulking, concrete patch, or other appropriate sealing material. Larger gaps need professional attention to ensure the job is done right and issues don’t reoccur.
- Improve Exterior Drainage – Make sure your yard is properly graded, gutters are clean and in good repair, and that ground moisture is being contained or directed away from your crawl space walls. For excess water management, consider installing French drains that can move more water away from the home to natural drainage faster.
- Install a Vapor Barrier – This ground cover is installed directly over the ground inside your crawlspace, covering it entirely to prevent moisture vapor from turning into pooled water in your crawlspace.
- Install Active Drainage – In some cases, active drainage in the form of a sump pump may be needed as part of a crawl space waterproofing plan. The sump drain collects water at the lowest point of your crawlspace, and then a powerful pump moves the water out and away from your home’s foundation.
- Contact a Foundation Professional – Even if you decide to handle most of the job yourself, a foundation expert should still inspect your crawl space to ensure there aren’t deeper issues putting your home in jeopardy. Peace of mind is priceless.
Professional Crawl Space Waterproofing
We have the tools and experience to help you protect your home, and there’s no cost to you for an initial inspection. We’ll schedule a time to visit your property, inspect any existing damage, design a tailored crawl space waterproofing plan to keep water out of your crawl space for good, and give you a written estimate that lays out your options. Our team stands by your side every step of the way, working to minimize the intrusion on your personal space, restore your foundation’s integrity, and give you peace of mind backed by American materials and our reputation for quality. Set up your no-cost, no-obligation inspection from A.M. Wall Anchor & Waterproofing today.
