Why Removing Standing Water Won't Solve Crawl Space Humidity Issues

Can simply removing standing water solve your crawl space humidity issues? Michael Church, the Crawl Space Ninja, is here to bust that myth wide open. He provides invaluable insights into why tackling standing water alone is far from sufficient. Michael discusses the multiple hidden sources of crawl space humidity—from outside humidity seeping in, to condensation from ductwork, to unseen leaks. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why a comprehensive approach is necessary for effective control of crawl space humidity.

Learn why sealing vents, installing proper vapor barriers, and using dehumidifiers are crucial steps you can't afford to skip. Michael shares practical advice on exterior waterproofing and how to have meaningful conversations with crawl space encapsulation contractors. Gain the knowledge you need to ensure your crawl space remains dry and healthy, and find out why just managing standing water is a misleading simplification. Tune in and empower yourself to make well-informed decisions for a worry-free crawl space environment.

Check out Michael's book, "Crawl Space Repair Myths-Busted" now available on Amazon!

Need help: https://crawlspaceninja.com or https://diy.crawlspaceninja.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Michael Church, crawl Space Ninja, continuing that misconception series. And today I want to talk about is removing standing water. All you need to do to control humidity. Stay tuned.

Speaker 1: 0:15

If you're in a situation where your crawl space is flooding constantly, maybe you're on the coast, maybe you're near a flood plain, maybe you've got a big pond outside or you've got poor yard drainage and every time it rains pretty good, you've got flooding coming into the crawl space because the foundation drain has failed over the years. If you live in an older home, that's pretty typical. A lot of crawl space encapsulation contractors will come in and they will just install either a sump pump and or a french drain and maybe install a proper vapor barrier. But most of them don't even go that far. And then they make this claim that, hey, if we address the standing water, you're not going to have a humidity problem in the crawl space, so the the crawl space will dry up. Well, I just want all of you to know that that is very misleading. Okay, addressing the standing water, not that standing water doesn't create a humidity problem, but that alone may not be the only source of humidity in your crawl space. Remember, you've got the outside humidity trying to come in, you could have condensation from the dew point where the hot air of the crawl space is hitting that cold duct work and that's creating humidity. You could have a leak from above that you don't even know about, creating a humidity problem. And besides that, if they do a French drain at a sump pump and then don't properly install the vapor barrier and we've done some videos about that, about how you should attach the vapor barrier to the wall to keep it from shifting during flooding if that vapor barrier starts to shift, that can expose the earth and then the earth can give up humidity even whenever the earth is dry.

Speaker 1: 1:56

So there are several different places that can cause humidity problems and I encourage you if you're talking to a crawl space encapsulation contractor and all they want to do is just install a water management system to control humidity, that is not going to do the trick. You're going to need some other things sealing the vents, dehumidification, proper vapor barrier, insulation to make sure that humidity is controlled properly. Even some exterior waterproofing may be needed on the outside. That should all be discussed and be part of the plan to make your crawl space worry-free. Michael Church, crawl Space Ninja. We hope you make it a happy and blessed day. We'll see you later.