What Are Dust Mites-And What Do They Have To Do With My Crawl Space?

According to building scientists, over 50% of the air you breathe on the first floor of your home comes from the crawl space. 

That's a big problem if you have a wet crawl space. Why? It's easily the best environment for America's #1 indoor allergen, dust mites, to thrive. 

Why Dust Mites Love Your Wet Crawl Space

Dust mites don't live in your crawl space, so you might be wondering why they're at all related.

First, where do they live, you might ask? These microscopic parasites live off skin flakes that you shed. They live in your bedding, your carpet, and your furniture. Dust mite droppings are tiny and float in the air, where they can breathed in and aggravate allergies and asthma. 

Because they're so tiny, you might wondering how they got there in the first place. It starts with your crawl space. 

If you have dirt crawl space—meaning there's exposed earth—then there is water vapor accumulating in your crawl space. This is especially true if your crawl space has ventilation. As water in your surrounding area sinks deep into the earth during all kinds of weather, water vapor will rise back up into your crawl space. Without a sufficient way of separating this water vapor from your home, that humidity will continue to build in your crawl space. It's simply very difficult to keep your house dry when you have a dirt crawl space under it. 

Now, consider this: Like mold, dust mites need over 50% relative humidity to live. While they don't live directly in your crawl space, they like your crawl space because it has life-giving humidity that allows dust mites to thrive upstairs. By drying your crawl space, you can dry the home enough to kill off the dust mites. 

How Do I Dry My Crawl Space? 

It starts with a crawl space encapsulation—and we know for a fact there's no better crawl space encapsulation system than CleanSpace©. Its heavy 20 mil thick liner is over twice as thick as industry standard liners, and it's manufactured in 7 layers to optimize puncture resistance, flexibility, and brute tear resistance. Lastly, it's manufactured with an antimicrobial additive called "UltraFresh" molded right into the material. The results? An attractive, bright, tough crawl space liner that is vapor-proof and warrantied by us for over 25 years against rips and tears! Homeowners with a CleanSpace© encapsulation system can even start using their crawl space for storage, which might've been unthinkable before our CleanSpace© installation. 

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