When your oldest daughter’s friends came to visit the summer after their first year in college, they were in love with the basement. Although your basement is not the kind of place that many of the people in your neighborhood would think much of, when the college friends from the south visited the midwest they could not get enough of spending time hanging out in the cool basement. Even though the space is unfinished, it is a far cry ahead of any of the crawl spaces that these southerners have back home. The fact that your basement is a walk out is also pretty novel.
As the southern college friends and your family compared stories, it became even more clear how different the homes are between the two locations. While you consider your basement too cold much of the year and spend little time in that space, those from the south talk about the work that is involved in crawl space moisture removal back where they live.
Crawl spaces that are not properly cared for can become a breeding ground for mold and mildew. Paying close attention to crawl space moisture removal, however, can keep these spaces safe even in the most humid of climates. Crawl spaces are designed so that there is easy access to the plumbing and electrical wires. In places that are prone to high water tables, sump pump installation is often done in basements, if they are allowed, or crawl spaces. With additions like crawl space insulation or crawl space vapor barrier, property owners can avoid problems that can actually be dangerous to your family’s health.
Consider these facts and figures about the need for crawlspace and basement waterproofing services and the impact that they have on the nation’s economy:
- 93% of chronic sinus infections have been attributed to mold, according to the Mayo Clinic.
- 98% of all homes with basements will experience some type of water damage at one point or another.
- 27 million homes in the U.S. have crawl spaces.
- 15% to 20% of new homes continue to be built over crawlspaces.
- 100% of all types of mold have the potential to cause some health effects, according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). These effects can range from minor to severe and even lead to death in some rare cases.
Summer and the high levels of humidity are just around the corner. Is your home ready? do you have the proper crawl space moisture removal systems in place?