If you are living in the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington area, you already know that we get a lot of rain. For most of the year, it pounds our homes with moisture and many home are equipped to handle this much water, but some are not. Many houses in the Portland Metro area have inadequate gutter drains or just retain ground water that accumulates underneath the home in the crawlspace. Water in the crawlspace can become a big problem. If left untreated, it can lead to mold, rotting structural supports and many other issues. So, let’s suppose that you have a crawl space that has standing water and discuss what a typical drainage solution will likely consist of.
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Simple Steps To Stop Water From Ruining Your Home
Do you have water in your crawl space? If you so, you may be putting your home at significant risk. Water is the enemy of your home and can lead to conducive conditions that may create mold or even worse, major structural damage. Your home is not designed to have standing water present and it should be a high priority to make sure it doesn’t have to. Here are some simple steps that you can take to make sure that water is not ruining your home:
1) Take a look at your crawl space.
Most water issues in your crawl space can be corrected easily if they are caught in time. A flooded crawl space can do significant damage if left alone, while quick intervention may avoid major costs. Most people never realize that they have standing water in their crawl space until they find a reason to go down there. Why not put it on a calendar to spend 3 minutes opening your crawl hatch and shining a flashlight down there? This simple step alone may save thousands of dollars! We recommend checking your crawl space at least every 6 months, but it becomes especially important during our rainy season. In Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington this is for most of the year, but to make it simple, check in October and February.
Is It Normal To Have Water In Your Crawl Space?
With all the rain that we get in the Portland area, is it normal to have water in your crawl space? Our homes are constantly bombarded by rainfall nearly year round, so is it alright if some of that rain accumulates under your house? The answer is a little subtle because it depends on if that accumulated water becomes “standing water” with no way out. Many crawl spaces have moisture, but standing water is a different story.
Some properties naturally slope to a low point drain and when water comes in, it eventually finds its way out. Other properties have drainage systems in place, like a sump pump, that moves the water off of the property. What it really comes down to is “what happens to the water once it gets down there”? In order for a crawl space to stay healthy, it is important that standing water is not creating a conducive condition for mold or worse, moisture may start to affect the structural integrity of the home. If you have a crawl space that collects water runoff, you simply must have a plan in place to divert it. Here are some things to consider:
Crawl Space Restoration FAQ’s
A crawl space is a dark and creepy place. It is not a place that you generally enjoy visiting, but it plays such a crucial role in the overall health of your home. Think about all the important elements of your home that are housed in your crawl space like air ducts, plumbing, insulation and the structural components of the home and you can see that it is an important area to maintain. And, since this is an area that you probably do not go very often (or ever) you may have significant issues down there that you don’t even know about.
Crawl spaces do not get contaminated and unhealthy overnight, so it takes quite some time to get to the point where major work needs to be done. Usually by the time that we are crawled in, severe contamination has taken place. Probably the most common cause for needing a complete crawl space restoration is when rodents infest the insulation under your home. Since about 40% of the air that you breathe comes from the crawl space, you can imagine that things can get pretty unhealthy when things get out of hand.