Crawl Space Dehumidifier
Dehumidify your crawlspace to feel, smell, look and BE dry!
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Mold formed on these shoes |
Installing a basement waterproofing system, doesn’t mean you can be sure of a dry basement. Even if your basement is completely free of leaks through the walls, floor and wall/floor joist, there are still three ways that moisture can find its way through your basement in the Baltimore, Washington DC and Northern Virginia areas:
- Moisture is brought into your basement from wicking, or capillary action. Although a block wall may not leak, it can still feel damp as the wicking brings water to the surface like a sponge.
- Once you’ve waterproofed your basement, water vapor coming through your walls and floor must then be treated. Though the installation of our basement wall systems and ThermalDry Floor Matting, wicking stops being a concern and water vapor transmission is significantly.
- Exterior leaking can still bring water into your basement. When the air is cooler outside than it is in your crawlspace, humidity is not a problem, but you now have the problem of cold air is coming into your home. In the summer when it’s warmer, however, air leaking into the crawl space can move a great deal of water into the basement area.
When outside air- especially humid outside air- is warmer than the air inside the crawlspace, a condensation problem is likely to occur. The reason for this is that the relative humidity of air will rise up 2.2% for each degree that it’s cooled. And because crawl spaces are below ground, they’re always cool!
To make the situation worse, the air in your home will move through like hot air in a chimney, with warm air flowing upwards to escape through the upper levels. As this happens, cooler air is pulled into the home through the crawl space, basement and outside. Air in your crawl space and basement, and any moisture and particles within, are entering your living space.
On an 80-degree day with a Relative Humidity level of 80%, air is cooled by 12 degrees as it enters the 68-degree crawl space. As a result, the Relative Humidity rises up by 26.4% (12 degrees x 2.2%). But 80% added to 26.4% is more than 100%! We can't have more than 100%, so instead the air becomes saturated and drops its moisture on your cold crawlspace walls, beams, floor, water tank, pipes, and any other cold surface. This dropped moisture is condensation. Because of this, on a hot and humid summer day, even if it’s not raining, your crawl space may be the wettest it’s been all year!
Condensation builds up on duct |
If you don’t have condensation in your dirt, cement or unvented crawlspace, you will still have a high relative humidity. These humidity levels promote the growth of mold and dust mites and cause odors, mold spores and dust mite feces to fill the crawl space air.
If you’d like to eliminate condensation, your crawlspace air will either need to be heated (expensive and a ridiculous solution in the summer) or the water will have to be taken out (easy to do with the right equipment).
Dehumidify the Best Way
To keep your crawlspace at its best, there’s no better answer than installing a dehumidification system. Basement Systems has been dealing intensely with dehumidification for over 20 years. If you want results, the only machine that is going to do the job is the SaniDry 
Basement Air System. With its Energy-Star rated efficiency, odor removing capability, air filtration up to two microns, and self-emptying drainage system, there’s nothing like it!
If you’d like a FREE copy of our crawl space book “Crawl Space Science," which discusses dehumidification and crawl space issues in detail, schedule a FREE home inspection and crawl space estimate, and we'll send one before we visit!
To read more about our basement and crawl space dehumidification systems, visit the SaniDry website!
