Dehumidifiers do exactly as their name implies – they remove humidity from a room.
But what about an unusual space in your home like a crawl space? Can you use a dehumidifier in a crawl space and what are its benefits? A crawl space absorbs moisture from the ground and is notorious for mold growth. A dehumidifier is a perfect solution to rid a crawl space of excess moisture to maintain the structural integrity of your home overall.
If the climate that you live in is humid, or you have limited ventilation in a particular spot, then the air often becomes very humid as well. A crawl space dehumidifier can be quite helpful in making that area less damp and helping you eliminate mold.
Air quality is necessary for you to live comfortably, which is why you need to make sure that you can maintain a decent humidity level. This way, you can protect both your home and your health.
Moisture problems in a home tend to start from the ground up, and this is exactly why a crawl space humidifier should be considered as a good investment.
Advantages of Using a Crawl Space Dehumidifier
To dig further into the subject, here are a few benefits of crawl space humidifiers that you need to keep in mind.
It Increases the Structural Integrity
More often than not, crawl spaces have structures made from wood – structures that may also be responsible for holding the weight of your home. If the crawl space is not ventilated and the humidity goes past 70%, then the moisture will lead to condensation – which will further increase the likelihood of the wood rotting.
Rotting of the wood can happen when the humidity of a small place is even 20% and may also be the case when liquids come in touch with the wood. If the wood structure in your crawl space becomes damaged beyond repair, it can put the structural integrity of your home in danger. A dehumidifier can prevent that from happening.
It Protects Your Health
When there is a lot of humidity in the air, it makes the perfect scenario for mold and mildew. Their presence can cause a lot of health issues, from allergies to eye irritation, breathing problems, even headaches. The more widespread they are, the more health problems they can cause.
With that in mind, if the humidity levels are low, mold and mildew will not be able to form and spread throughout your house. Moreover, once you address the humidity issues, you might even make the existent mold go away. Without humidity, these allergens can’t grow or replicate, helping your health – so, this is one more reason why you need a dehumidifier.
Children and elderly people are often most affected by high humidity levels, causing irritations and skin discomfort. With that in mind, a dehumidifier makes it less livable for allergens in the air – reducing the triggering symptoms for asthma.
It Saves Energy
How often have you felt that the room was too hot or cold, but when you looked at the thermostat, the temperature was just right? Technically speaking, this has nothing to do with the temperature of the air, but with the humidity levels of the air instead.
When humidity levels are low, the place tends to feel very cold – despite the fact that you are consistently trying to warm it up. When that happens, you use your home heating system to warm up the place even more – something that would not be necessary if the humidity levels in your home were normal.
Without the increased humidity levels, the overall air would feel much warmer and comfortable.
A dehumidifier can also save you on A/C energy during summer. Many people tend to turn the air conditioning system in order to get rid of the excess moisture.
However, this will only crank up the energy bill without actually solving the problem. With a dehumidifier, you will be able to tackle the problem at the root – reducing humidity without using as much energy. This is because even an electric dehumidifier won’t use as much power as your A/C system.
It Protects from Pests
When the air is humid in a certain place, it makes it likely for pests to crawl and breed in there. These pests can be anything, from termites to rats and other hazardous crawlers. Most of the pests need a high humidity level to survive, so if you cut the problem straight from the root, you can get rid of them.
Pest infestations are believed to cause even more damage to the structural integrity of the house compared to fires and storms (combined). However, pests usually steer clear of places that have a low humidity level.
It’s the reason why you often see these pests in basements or other damp rooms; they prefer these kinds of places.
By maintaining a decent temperature level, you should be able to keep the hazards away – protecting not only your health but also your safety. The pests won’t feel comfortable anymore by hiding in your crawl space.
It Increases Comfort Levels
Most of the time, when you feel like the temperature is uncomfortable, the problem might not particularly be in the temperature – but in the humidity of the air. If the humidity levels in your home are too high, this will increase your discomfort by making you feel hot and sticky.
Some people even end up cranking up the air conditioning to rid themselves of the humidity. However, the only thing that this will do is to make you feel cold and clammy. The air conditioning system won’t remove the humidity in your home, but instead, circulate the already humid air throughout the entire house.
However, with a dehumidifier, you will be able to control that humidity – and not just pass it around the house. By maintaining comfortable humidity levels, you will make the air more breathable – not only in your crawl space but also in the rest of the house.
It Prevents Whole House Humidity
If your crawl space is humid, the chances are that eventually, that humidity will spread throughout the rest of the house. It may start with some mold in the crawl space, but the mold and odor will spread in the other rooms too.
Mold and spores spread very quickly, so before you know it, you’ll have a full-blown infestation on your hands – one that is no longer limited to the crawl space.
With a dehumidifier, you can contain the problem and prevent its spreading from the very beginning. It will rid the crawl space of all the extra humidity, protecting the rest of your house from any mold or humidity-related incidents.
It Removes Odors
How many times have you gone to your crawl space only to be appalled by the odor caused by humidity? In truth, that odor is often caused by mold, mites, and other allergens – and the more humid it is in there, the more they will begin to breed.
Add to that the general “wet” smell induced by humidity, and the result will be a very bad-smelling crawl space.
However, by installing a crawl space dehumidifier, you reduce the humidity levels of the air and make it less likely for all those smells to form. The air will feel nice and dry – and most importantly, devoid of any strange smells.
Related Questions
What Can a Dehumidifier Do for Me?
A dehumidifier can be a very efficient tool for your crawl space. It removes excess moisture and makes the air more breathable, with lower chances of any allergens forming.
What Is the Reach of a Crawl Space Dehumidifier?
A dehumidifier will not only protect your crawl space but the rest of your home as well. With that in mind, it also depends on the specifications of the dehumidifier. A small dehumidifier can reach as far as 200 sq. ft., but if you go for a bigger model, it may even dry the air around the crawl space – as well as your entire home.
Do I Have to Run My Dehumidifier Constantly?
No, you don’t need to constantly run your dehumidifier in the crawl space – not if you don’t need it. With that in mind, you should get a dehumidifier with a thermostat, to keep the humidity constant.
