Here in the Metro Atlanta area during the months of May – September, we have unusually high humidity compared to the rest of the country. It is no big deal to have 80% humidity or higher on any given day. It’s even worse after one of those “pop up” showers we get all summer long. The air is thick and muggy and it affects almost everything, including vented crawlspaces. One of the most common statements customers will make during the initial service request is that “the house smells musty, like dirt.” If the crawlspace humidity is high, the wood under the house is staying damp most of the time. As with anything else that gets wet, it starts to stink. Wet dirt, dogs, clothes, and crawlspaces…they all start to stink. Mold in the crawlspace can put off a smell that can get into the house also. Most of the time, when odor is an issue in the crawlspace, humidity control is the solution. That’s where crawlspace encapsulation is great solution to this problem. Rather than having the vents of your crawlspace open, they should be closed. In the summer months the temperature in your crawlspace will naturally be cooler than the outside temperature which causes the humidity inside the crawlspace to be higher than what it is outside. Leaving the vents open will only make the humidity higher inside. For example, if the outside temperature is 95 degrees and the humidity is 45%, this doesn’t seem too bad.
However, by venting this air into the crawlspace, the crawlspace temperature would easily be as low as 80 degrees and the humidity level would jump to 73%. Mold growth and musty odors begin to occur at a 55-60% humidity. If high humidity is causing an odor issue for your home, the practical solution is to control the humidity. Call one of our team members to find out how we can help! 678-871-7890