Air Leakage Brings Pollutants Inside the House

When a house is leaky, air pushes its way out of the house through the gaps and cracks in the ceiling. Because the house always holds the same amount of air, replacement air is pulled in through the bottom of the house, often times the crawlspace.

The ductwork located within the crawlspace should be analyzed carefully. We commonly see leaky return ducts that act like a gigantic crawlspace vaccum, pulling the crawlspace air into the home every time the system turns on. This suction actively pulls the pollutants found in the crawlspace up into the house. Thus, we are living in our crawlspaces!

While evaluating your crawlspace, our specialists will also be critiquing your ductwork, ensuring all potential issues are brought to light. Contact us to request an evaluation.

---

The two graphs above illustrate the ability to control the relative humidity within sealed crawlspaces, as opposed to vented ones. Because vented crawlspaces are connected to the outside, nature determines the humidity within the crawlspace itself. The red and green lines show the RH levels in the crawlspace, the blue line is the RH of the house, and the black line is the RH of the outdoors.

 

 

 

Crawlspace Concepts:

- The Moisture Problem
- Air Leakage Delivers Pollutants
- Every Crawlspace is Unique
- NC Crawlspace Building Code
- New Construction Crawlspaces

---