How Healthy Spaces Battles Water in Your Home

Once in a Dr. Who episode, Dr. Who said, “Water always wins.” At Healthy Spaces, we agree that when a home has a leaky crawlspace or basement, water will win – costing your family money in home damage and potentially making people sick. But with crawlspace treatment, the water battle can be turned.

The first crawlspace problem: groundwater leakage.

Why do crawlspaces and leaky basements often smell dank? They smell wet because they are wet. Where does that moisture come from? It comes from the ground and outside air.

When a crawlspace has a dirt floor, the earth is often damp. This is especially true during rainy spring in the Midwest. Whether a crawlspace is in Owensboro or Henderson, KY; Evansville or Newburgh or other cities in southwestern IN; or southern IL, spring rains often bring spring flooding and saturated ground. Water problems are worse in low-lying areas.

Sometimes the dirt floor in a crawlspace is pooled with puddles, or is flooded, the water vapor evaporates in the crawlspace air.  If insulation has been installed in the floor or crawlspace, if it’s wet, it can get heavy and wet. When insulation is wet, it does not serve its purpose. When paper-faced insulation gets wet, it becomes a breeding ground for mold.

Outside moisture can also seep into the house through crawlspace walls.  How does it seep through those walls? Imperfect mortar joints, inadequate footing drains and exterior wall coatings all let water ooze into crawlspaces Plumbing leaks in the crawlspace can make these problems worse.

Solutions for Groundwater Leakage:

Healthy Spaces tackles crawlspace makeovers with military precision, launching an attack against the water a step at a time with a proven system that works.

• Sump Pumps. Healthy Spaces technicians install well-designed, reliable sump pumps that include an airtight lid and a floor drain in the lid. The pumps include backup battery systems.
• Sump pump discharge lines. Healthy Spaces sump pumps use well-designed discharge lines that are customized to each location. The Healthy Spaces discharge lines include patented IceGuards so there is no problem of frozen discharge lines in winter months.
• Soil grading improvements.  Proper grading of soil helps water flows from the house
• Gutters and downspouts. Well designed gutters and downspouts add another front in the battle.

Next week – how a crawlspace makeover improves air quality in your home