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.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Michael Church, crawl Space Ninja, continuing that
misconception series.
And today I want to talk aboutis removing standing water.
All you need to do to controlhumidity.
Stay tuned.
If you're in a situation whereyour crawl space is flooding
constantly, maybe you're on thecoast, maybe you're near a flood

(00:22):
plain, maybe you've got a bigpond outside or you've got poor
yard drainage and every time itrains pretty good, you've got
flooding coming into the crawlspace because the foundation
drain has failed over the years.
If you live in an older home,that's pretty typical.
A lot of crawl spaceencapsulation contractors will
come in and they will justinstall either a sump pump and

(00:44):
or a french drain and maybeinstall a proper vapor barrier.
But most of them don't even gothat far.
And then they make this claimthat, hey, if we address the
standing water, you're not goingto have a humidity problem in
the crawl space, so the thecrawl space will dry up.
Well, I just want all of you toknow that that is very

(01:05):
misleading.
Okay, addressing the standingwater, not that standing water
doesn't create a humidityproblem, but that alone may not
be the only source of humidityin your crawl space.
Remember, you've got theoutside humidity trying to come
in, you could have condensationfrom the dew point where the hot
air of the crawl space ishitting that cold duct work and

(01:28):
that's creating humidity.
You could have a leak fromabove that you don't even know
about, creating a humidityproblem.
And besides that, if they do aFrench drain at a sump pump and
then don't properly install thevapor barrier and we've done
some videos about that, abouthow you should attach the vapor
barrier to the wall to keep itfrom shifting during flooding if
that vapor barrier starts toshift, that can expose the earth

(01:50):
and then the earth can give uphumidity even whenever the earth
is dry.
So there are several differentplaces that can cause humidity
problems and I encourage you ifyou're talking to a crawl space
encapsulation contractor and allthey want to do is just install
a water management system tocontrol humidity, that is not

(02:12):
going to do the trick.
You're going to need some otherthings sealing the vents,
dehumidification, proper vaporbarrier, insulation to make sure
that humidity is controlledproperly.
Even some exteriorwaterproofing may be needed on
the outside.
That should all be discussedand be part of the plan to make
your crawl space worry-free.
Michael Church, crawl SpaceNinja.
We hope you make it a happy andblessed day.
We'll see you later.