How Can Humidity Ruin a Crawl Space?

Excess humidity is not something many homeowners consider to be much of a problem. However, it can extensively damage your Twin Cities’ home if you continue to let it linger inside the crawl space. For one thing, the crawl space is already quite small. Having humidity constantly flowing into this space can create all kinds of issues. Mold and mildew spores tend to grow a lot faster in humid conditions, for instance. Similarly, pests of all kinds tend to be more drawn towards crawl spaces with humidity or moisture issues more than other homes.

It does not help that the Twin Cities’ humidity levels tend to fluctuate between 60 to a little over 70 percent humidity all year along. For context, a healthy indoor humidity level for all homes should range around 30 to 50 percent, at most. Any humidity levels over that range will entice mold, mildew, and pests to settle in your Minneapolis or St. Paul home.

There is another form of damage that excess humidity can cause in the crawl space as well. You might notice that your Minneapolis or St. Paul home becomes a lot warmer or more humid than it used to during the summer. This can cause you to turn your air conditioner up even higher just to combat that muggy feeling. Similarly, you might also notice that your floor downstairs has become absolutely freezing to walk along in the winter. You might then crank your heater higher in response. This is a direct consequence of the stack effect. Your energy bills may hike up as a result of your trying to stay cool or warm respectively.