We all have a favorite room in the house. Some people treasure a great night of sleep, so the bedroom becomes their favorite. Others enjoy cooking, leading to the kitchen becoming their preferred room. And others enjoy relaxing by the TV, making the living room their favorite place to be.
And while these various rooms provide a lot of great benefits to the people living within a home, they aren’t actually the most important section of the house.
The crawl space is the unsung hero of your home. This often-neglected area is an essential part of a successful and hospitable house.
But why is it so important? What benefits does the crawl space afford the more celebrated living spaces within the home?
Here are six factors that make your crawl space the most important section of your house:
- Structural Stability
- Air Quality
- Humidity Levels
- Reduction of Pests
- Location of Essential Infrastructure
- Barrier Between Ground Moisture and Your Home
Structural Stability
The underside of your home has a series of support beams and structures that are integral to the stability of your home. Any type of damage to these systems could make your floors buckle, become uneven, or fall through altogether.
A properly-maintained crawl space will protect the integrity of these systems. There are a series of issues and circumstances that can lead to degradation of the structural stability of your home. Your crawl space helps to address these issues before they become much larger problems.
Air Quality
Up to 50% of the air we breathe inside our homes comes directly from the crawl space. This comes either through the vents or any other small leaks that can happen through the floor or walls.
This is normal. And it is why we need to make sure the air in our crawl space is of the highest possible quality. The good news is that there are a series of protective actions we can take to keep our crawl space air as clean as it can be.
Visit Crawlspace Doctor to learn more about crawl space maintenance!
Humidity Levels
Humidity can be a big concern over the summer, particularly for those of us who live in the southern states. It can make something as simple as walking the dog a terrible chore if the humidity levels get too high.
And just how humidity can negatively impact our experiences outside the home, humidity can have effects on the inside of our home as well. A properly-maintained crawl space will control this moisture that can have a wide range of negative effects on our health as well as the structure of the home.
Reduction of Pests
Spiders, cockroaches, mice — we don’t like to think about these creatures around or inside our homes. However, they are going to show up if the conditions provide everything they need to survive. This includes the basic necessities of food, water, air, and shelter.
And it just so happens that improperly-maintained crawl spaces will often provide all of these necessities to pests. Old insulation is a favorite hideout for mice. Damp, dark areas are a favorite for cockroaches and spiders.
However, a clean crawl space will give these creatures a reason to go elsewhere and diminish their appearances in the living spaces above.
Location of Essential Infrastructure
Your crawl space serves a lot of tangible purposes beyond humidity and air quality control. This space is often utilized to house many of the essential aspects of a properly-functioning modern home.
This includes the ductwork that connects your HVAC system to the various vents throughout your rooms. The plumbing that connects all the various sinks, toilets, and anything else that involves running water often uses the space beneath your home to make these essential connections. Electrical wires will also use this space to provide electricity to the various areas within your home.
Barrier Between Ground Moisture and Your Home
And in a basic design sense, the crawl space is what separates your home from the ground beneath. This can help avoid terrible circumstances such as flooding. It also provides the ability to keep the essential pipes, ducts, and wires off of the ground.
A little extra space can be extremely helpful when it comes to our relation to the dirt beneath us.
Crawl Space Maintenance Is Important
Proper maintenance and upkeep is important to ensure your crawl space remains healthy. A well-functioning drainage system in your crawl space will help control humidity levels to reduce mold and wood rot growth, as well as preserve the quality of air that inevitably makes its way into your home.
Crawlspace Doctor provides a variety of services to help keep your crawl space in top condition. Are you in need of crawl space help in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, or Indiana?