A challenging area for many homeowners to keep dry and odor-free is crawl spaces.  

Often left unfinished with exposed walls and sometimes even dirt floors -- and almost always unventilated and neither cooled nor heated – your crawl space can be a magnet for indoor moisture. 

If you’re not monitoring and correcting dampness in your crawl space, your home can be susceptible to:

• Musty odors
• Humidity seeping into the living area
• Higher utility bills
• Condensation on vents and ducts

Natural airflow patterns, called the “Stack Effect” draw the air from the crawl space into your home. If your crawlspace air is damp, musty, they will eventually wind up in the rest of your house. The importance of controlling moisture in a crawl space can hardly be overstated. The safety of your home and your possessions can all be at risk.

If the floor of this space was never finished and is still simply dirt, that can be a big contributor to crawl space moisture, but it’s an easy and inexpensive fix. Simply cover all exposed soil with 6-mil-thick polyethylene sheeting (available at most home-center stores). Overlap the plastic about 6 inches, and allow it to spread up the walls a few inches. Use rocks or bricks to help hold the plastic in place.

Even with the floor covered, you may still have a moisture problem. Assuming you have no leaks or flooding issues, the simplest way to dehumidify your crawl space is with DampRid Hi-Capacity Moisture Remover.  

Lasting up to six months for a 250-sq.-ft. area, convenient, non-electric, and cost-effective DampRid Moisture Absorbers are great for, preventing musty odors and keeping humidity levels at or below 50% - as recommended by the EPA, the American Lung Association, and American Medical Association.

So dry out that damp crawl space with DampRid!