Why Does My Basement/Crawl Space Smell So Bad?
Have you been experiencing a musty smell in your home and can’t find the source? The answer likely lies beneath your home in the basement/crawl space. An unfinished basement/crawl space provides the perfect environment for unwanted pests to live and die, for mold and mildew to grow and spread, and much more.
The first step to fixing the basement or crawl space smell issue is to identify what’s inside the basement or crawl space that is causing the foul odor.
What’s in your crawl space?
- Trash & stored items: Check your crawl space for junk that shouldn’t be there such as old paint cans or trash left behind by previous homeowners or contractors.
- Rodent droppings & urine: Droppings left behind in the crawl space by unwanted pests & rodents can get into the air vents. In addition to creating a smell in the crawl space, this affects the overall air quality and can spread diseases that make you and your family sick.
- Mold: Musty smells inside the home could be caused by mold inside the crawl space.
- Sewage: As expected, a sewage backup in the crawl space will cause an extremely foul odor. If a clog forms in the main sewer line, water can back up in the pipe and spill into the crawl space. This can lead to serious damage such as mold growth or damage to wooden support posts. In addition to this, the contaminated soil can release toxic fumes into the air which can enter your upstairs living area and make you sick. If you’re dealing with a sewage leak, it’s important to have it taken care of by a professional ASAP.
- Organic Matter: In a dirt crawl space, the soil contains organic matter such as leaves and manure that decay and emit odors. In an unsealed crawl space, the odors can travel their way up into the rest of the home.
How does air and odors from the crawl space enter the rest of my home?
Studies show that as much as 50% of the air you breathe inside your home can come from your crawl space. Air from the crawl space gets upstairs in one of two ways:
- The stack effect pulls air upwards into the upper floors of the home from the crawl space. It escapes out of the upper levels as warm air rises and fresh air must replace the air that escaped. Much of this air comes from the crawl space through holes around wires and pipes, joints in floorboards, and through duct chases.
- Ducts in the crawl space provide a direct route for the air in the crawl space to enter the rest of the home. Leaky return ducts suck damp, smelly, mold air from the crawl space into the duct system and blow it back into the upper floors of the home.
Working with Jersey Shore Crawlspace Enhancement
At Jersey Shore Crawlspace Enhancement, we have protected families and their homes for over 20 years. Our skilled technicians are adept at identifying issues that lead to foul odors in the crawl space and can help to make the entire space clean and healthy.
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