My crawlspace STINKS this year. Does one have to spend 1500.00 on a commercial grade dehumidifier, or will a 300.00 unit do the job? And what is your opinion on vents? Open or closed? Does season matter?
The instruction manual that came with my home said that the vents should only be closed when the temp dips below 20f.
Cleo, Is it possible that a small animal...cat, rat, bird, snake...died in the crawlspace? Like Hugh, my builder recommended the vents stay opne until it freezes to help control the humidity. Good luck getting if straight..
humidity buckets you can go to Lowes or Home depot and get some cheepy little buckets of this dehumidifier stuff, all you do is open the little buckets and place them around the crawlspace and in a day or so you go take them out and throw them away. usually they are like this jell stuff and when they are done doing there job they turn into a liquid. i use this every now and then usually after a humid season. they really work and they are fairly inexpensive. good luck. GAM
Awesome, thanks GAM! Yeah, Hat. I checked for dead animals, but found nothing. I will double check before I go to Lowe's. It has just gotten progressivey worse over the past few years, and this summer even though it was not as hot or humid as in the past - UGH! It is wafting up into my screened-in porch and ruining my "me time". It has never smelled out there before.
another suggestion Cleo, is if you have an outlet anywhere near where you could place a small fan in the space to move the moisture and humidity. If it circulates, it tends not not cause as much a problem. We have a small box fan that is placed near a venting outwards so that it moves some of the air in the crawl.
I agree. That along with the buckets will expidite the process. try some febreeze to inhance your me time.
Open unless it is going to get really cold. You get moisture when they are closed and it causes mold/mildew.
I was patrolling the grounds today, and noticed that a few of my vents were closed. Particularly two that are right under the screened in porch, in that corner. That would explain my funky porch, if they have been closed all summer like I think they have been -because I had to climb on something to reach them. Still no dead animals! I will let it air out naturally for a few weeks, then look into those buckets. Thanks again
Are those buckets you are talking about called "Damp-Rid"? They are blue and I know Lowe's sells them in the cleaning supply isle. They work great also in closets and places where moisture builds up.
Cleo, Do you have plastic down on the ground in your crawl space? That has really helped me with ours. Sherry
