Raleigh, NC Crawlspace Repair and Crawlspace Dehumidifier
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Dehumidification is the process of taking out moisture in the air. This is very important for areas with high humidity, because there is a higher chance for molding and even water damage to take place. No one wants to have to deal with water damage in their homes, especially when its in such an unsightly place as a basement or crawlspace. But let's just say that you’re unlucky enough to have a disaster strike, and you have a serious flooding issue going on down in your crawlspace. You’ve gone through the whole process of draining all the puddling water that’s going on down there, but now you have to deal with the fact that there’s still water and dampness down there which is just begging to create a disgusting, not to mention dangerous, moldy mess that could release harmful spores and particles into the air that could seriously hurt you and your families air quality. No one wants to breath in any nasty stuff that could get us sick, especially not you or any of your family members. One thing is for sure though: you have a damp and dank crawl space that needs to be dried out and taken care of, and you want to know how to take care of it. Let’s dig right in!
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What is dehumidification process?
Like I said before, there is something to be said for having a clean and dry basement! No one wants to get sick from some nasty scary mold that's lurking under your basement, so taking precautions to prevent a problem from happening in the first place, or taking care of a disaster area is the smartest idea to keep you and your family safe. The dehumidification process has a few steps involved. First, all standing water must be removed from the crawlspace, if there is any to begin with. There's no reason to keep the air dry, if the floor isn’t even dry yet. Another really important thing that needs to be taken care of is to insure that there isn’t any mold already formed or forming in your crawlspace. If there is mold in your crawlspace, that’s what needs to be the first thing to take care of. There is nothing more dangerous and ellusive to a home and its owners than random molds sprouting out of nowhere. Once the mold is taken care of, if it’s even there in the first place, and there isn’t any standing water in the building then it is time to either bring in a dehumidifying unit, that is available for rent. Or you can have your own unit installed in your crawlspace. If you live in an area that has high humidity, I would personally recommend working with a permanent unit in your crawl space, because it will save you money in the long run. With a permanent unit you save on the issue of keeping your crawlspace actually dry and clean. Although it is a lot cheaper to just rent a unit for one time use, if you live in a wetter climate it might be a smarter idea to just install the permanent unit. The unit itself is basically a vacuum that sucks in the moist air in the basement, and dries it out before redistributing it back into the crawlspace.
How long does it take to dry out water damage?
Water damage is one of those things that takes a longer amount of time to fix the more water that builds up down there. The longer you wait to deal with the problem, the longer it takes to fix. With a small leak that is found almost immediately and fixed quickly, it would not take nearly as long as a completely full and soaked to the bone flooded crawlspace. Some serious damage can take up to four weeks to completely repair. Not only should we worry about all the mold that will definitely start to build up if left unattended. It’s very important to keep things clean and clear in the basement, because it is really important to keep your crawlspace free of spores for your own health. On average it takes about two to three weeks to completely repair a fully flooded crawlspace. To avoid this amount of time being taken out of your life, I would recommend checking your crawlspace often, and installing a dehumidifier unit to permanently take care of the problem of wet air.
Do I really need a dehumidifier in my crawl space?
Owning a permanent dehumidifier unit is optional, but everything in your home is optional. I would seriously suggest owning a permanent unit because, in the long run, it saves you thousands of dollars. When you have to constantly shell out five hundred dollars to rent a unit for only a few days or even hours in some cases so that you can not have a soaking wet crawlspace, it’s really not worth the amount of money paid out. I firmly believe that the more humid the climate, the more that you need to be careful about what's going on in your crawlspace. So, for those of us living in the Raleigh area, we know exactly how humid things can really get. There is a serious need to keep your crawlspace dry, and owning your own dehumidifier unit does the job for you year round with little to no worry on your part. So, to answer the question, “Do I really need to have a dehumidifier running the show in my crawlspace?” yes, I really think you need to have something down there as an extra line of defense for you and your family's sake. Keep your homes air clean, and empty of gross spores and bacteria, and keep your crawlspace dry with this simple fix.