Sometimes we concentrate so much of our attention on the inside of our home or on maintaining the lawns and plants, that we do not give a lot of thought to the attic, crawlspace, or basements. Attics and basement might be frequented regularly enough to realize when there is a potential problem, but who ever wants to voluntarily go under the house into the crawlspace. No one unless they think there might be a big reason too.

Sometimes if a homeowner gets a mice or snake problem, they could look into the crawlspace to check it and possible place poison under there to rid the home of rodents or other unwanted guests. When they do this they might discover a few things they wish they had not seen. There might be standing water underneath the house because of a plumbing leak or water seeping in around or under the foundation. There could be moldy spots where a dryer or heating vent has come loose or a spraying pipe leak has damaged a wood area.

Any of these situations do not bode well for the home or the owner. If the earth under the house is exposed, many people put down plastic and leave the vents under there open to help dispel moisture from humidity. This goes work in many cases, but if you still have water coming to the crawlspace this will not help too much because the water can lie on top of the plastic instead of being contained underneath it. There must be actions taken to stop the water from coming in. It can be a good idea to call in an inspector to help you determine what the best solutions are for your particular problem.

Once you have your crawlspace properly insulated to keep moisture from penetrating surfaces, this will not be the complete end of your worries. Proper insulation does not mean you should never have to go under there again. Although your might have plastic down, other insulation added to the under side of your sub flooring, and your pipes well insulated too, you still need to conduct occasional inspections.

Heating and dryer vents still might need maintenance occasionally and plumbing needs to be inspected as well, especially during the winter time if it gets below freezing frequently where you live. The more crawlspace precautions you have taken, the less likelihood there will be for problems to develop and the less frequently you will have to go under there.