Most Asheville, NC, homeowners don’t spend much time in their crawlspaces, especially if they’re damp and dank. However, good airflow is an excellent solution to counteract those problems. Here are three reasons why it’s wise to ventilate your crawlspace.
Helps Maintain Structural Integrity
Your home’s foundation consists of support structures such as joists, beams, fasteners, and concrete walls. Lack of crawlspace ventilation creates ideal conditions for biological growth and termites.
If your home’s support structures become exposed to these conditions, they can fail over time. For example, rotting wood joists can break, concrete and brick can begin to crumble, and floors might begin to sink or cave in. Proper ventilation reduces these risks and helps ensure your home rests on a sturdy foundation.
Reduces Health Risks
About half of the air you breathe in your home comes from the crawlspace. When biological contaminants develop in that area, your HVAC system is likely to suck up spores each time it runs.
As the spores distribute with the conditioned air, they can trigger headaches, sneezing, eye irritation, allergic reactions, or asthma attacks. Adequately ventilating your crawlspace reduces the likelihood of the above problems and enhances your home’s indoor air quality.
Protects Your HVAC Efficiency
As already noted, inadequate airflow leads to an increase in pathogens. The pathogens can find their way into your insulation. Wet or damaged insulation is ineffective at sealing air leaks and retaining conditioned air inside your home.
In fact, damp insulation loses up to 40% of its R-value. That means your HVAC system must work overtime to compensate, leading to decreased efficiency, higher energy bills, and premature aging of equipment.
The technicians at Gentry Service Group have extensive experience solving indoor air quality problems, some of which are related to uninsulated crawlspaces. Give us a call today to learn more. Since 1963, we’ve delivered exceptional services and products, and always place the needs of our customers first.
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