Water Damage Restoration Services You Might Need When You Find Water And Mold In Your Crawl Space
Posted on: 10 June 2021
Water damage in the crawl space of your home can be serious since you may not notice the problem right away. This gives the damage time to spread and get worse. You may rarely go in your crawl space, and when you need to do so, you might be shocked to find mold, rotting wood, and standing water. Here's a look at what might be involved with water damage restoration in your crawl space.
Identify And Fix The Reason Behind The Problem
The first step is to figure out why water is in the crawl space. It might be dripping from a plumbing pipe or the water could be rolling in due to a drainage problem. You might need help from a plumber or a drainage contractor to keep water from flowing in the crawl space. Stopping the water is important so the water damage restoration company can dry out the space and restore the damage.
Address Mold Growth
If your home smells musty and you don't know why, a water-damaged crawl space might be the reason. One of the big jobs a water damage restoration company does is cleaning up mold. They may have to physically remove mold in the crawl space and on the floor or behind the walls in your home above since mold spreads. Mold that can't be removed may need to be sealed and covered.
Replace Rotted Wood
The top of the crawl space makes up the bottom of your floor above. If the wood ceiling of the crawl space is rotted, your floor may sag. Even if your floor looks okay, if the bottom is rotting, it needs to be replaced. In addition, the water restoration company may need to replace other wood building parts in the crawl space that have started to rot due to excess moisture.
Dry Out The Crawl Space
Once water has stopped flowing in, the area has to be dried out. This may involve temporarily increasing ventilation or setting up a dehumidifier to pull moisture out of the air and building materials. However, moisture vapor will continue to fill the space if your crawl space has a dirt floor.
Your water damage restoration professional may recommend that you encapsulate your crawl space. This involves putting a vapor barrier over the floor and walls so moisture and vapor can't get in the crawl space any longer. It may also be necessary to condition the space or to run a dehumidifier all of the time so the encapsulated area stays dry for the long term.
Drying out the crawl space has many benefits. It reduces the risk of mold, eliminates foul odors, and stops damp wood from attracting insects. Most of all, it protects your home from dangerous structural damage.
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