My hygrometer is showing blank lines, what should I do?

We often provide a hygrometer free of charge to allow customers to monitor the humidity levels in their crawl space. The Thermapro 60 comes with a remote sensor located in your crawl space as well as an indoor display.

The most common reason that your hygrometer is showing blank lines is that the batteries need to be replaced in either the remote unit in the crawl space or the display unit or both! Triangle Crawl Space Solutions is happy to do this during our annual maintenance visit but many homeowners elect to replace the batteries themselves.

We normally mark the location of the remote sensor with a brightly colored piece of survey tape to make it easy to find but it should be located either on a floor joist or a pier in the crawl space. Changing the batteries is simple and most of the time the unit will reconnect to the display automatically but if you need further assistance, check out this video from ThermaPro or give us a call!

Go to Dehumidifier Page

Back to FAQ

Do I need a new electrical outlet for my dehumidifier?

Your dehumidifier requires a dedicated GFCI protected outlet for proper installation. Many homes have a GFCI outlet already installed in the crawl space and we may be able to use the existing outlet.

If there is no outlet we can have one installed (or have an existing outlet converted to GFCI) by a licensed electrical contractor as part of our quote.

Our preferred partner for this work is Dynamic Electric, located here in Hillsborough. If you prefer to do this work yourself or hire another electrician to do it we are happy to work with your schedule.

Anytime we use an existing outlet there is a chance that there is not enough available current for the requirements of your dehumidifier. In these cases, your dehumidifier may cause the GFCI to "trip" and you may need to have a dedicated outlet installed after our installation.

Go to Dehumidifier Page

Back to FAQ

I have standing water in my crawl space...Can you help?

Absolutely! Regular standing water creates the highest risk conditions for a home to develop mold, dry rot or other issues and time is often of the essence.

Sometimes standing water may be simply due to a very heavy rain event like a hurricane or summer storms. It may simply recede on it’s own (often before we can arrive with a sump pump) but regular occurrences of standing water or water that does not go away should be addressed.

Call us for a free estimate and one of our Certified Water Restoration technicians will evaluate and provide options to eliminate standing water in your crawl space.

Solutions may include:

• Installation or replacement of a vapor barrier

• Installing a dehumidifier to control moisture

• Trenching moisture away and installing a sump pump

• Encapsulating or sealing the crawl space

• Landscaping or other moisture control methods on the exterior of the home

• Waterproofing or repairing foundations and access doors

Back to FAQ

Is 50% of my indoor air really coming from my crawl space?

There is a lot of discussion about crawl space air polluting the air inside your home. Some claims say up to 50% of the air in your home is "dirty" crawl space air.  While for certain there is some air transfer between your crawl space and your home, the 50% claim is exaggerated and doesn't account for insulation, flooring, and other barriers that are in between your crawl space and your living spaces above.

This claim is mostly based on something called the stack effect. Everyone understands that hot air rises and cool air falls. The stack effect is most often associated with how draft works in a chimney but also can be applied to how air moves through your home. In the winter, warm air rises first to your second floor and then is lost through leaks in the roof and ceiling insulation, this change in pressure pulls air through your home to escape at the roof. In the summer the process is reversed as cooled air from the HVAC system seeks to "fall" as a result pushes warm air upward. This is why upstairs bedrooms are hotter than lower levels in the summer. In both seasons, this change in air pressure pulls air from the lowest point, your crawl space, so there is some air transfer but a claim of 50% is drastic.

If your crawl space is musty smelling, dirty and moldy and you are experiencing the same musty odor or seeing health related issues with mold or asthma inside your home then certainly your crawl space might be one place to start addressing this problem.

 Back to FAQ

What sort of maintenance does my dehumidifier need?

MERV-8 SANTA FE FILTER

Like any household system, your dehumidifier requires some simple maintenance to perform at it’s best. We recommend at least an annual service. Some homeowners elect to perform this maintenance themselves but we will also send a reminder email each year if you would like to have Triangle Crawl Space Solutions perform this maintenance for you.

Cost for the annual maintenance visit is $169. 
What’s included:

• Installation of new air filter

• Dehumidifier- check for proper operation

• Clean P-trap

• Check drop and positioning of drain line

• Replace sensor batteries in crawl space (if hygrometer is present)

• Visual inspection of general crawl space conditions

• Spot check Water Moisture Content of floor joists
  

Request Maintenance

Back to FAQ