What’s That Smell?

Have you noticed a strange and maybe even foul odor in your home lately? This anonymous and unpleasant scent that is suddenly infiltrating your home may be coming from your crawl space. It’s a common occurrence in Florida due to our warm and humid climate. Crawl spaces are meant to protect your home, not harbor odors!

Here are some common causes of crawl space odor:

• Rodents or other animals. Crawl spaces provide a nice home for animals, especially in inclement weather. Rats will move in and often die in crawl spaces. Stray cats also love crawl spaces and will make it their home. And that means urine and feces which both create a very foul odor.

• Moisture or standing water. Moisture is a big culprit when it comes to creating odors. It could be a result of damp soil, standing water, or plumbing leaks.

• Signs of mold or fungus. Our Florida humidity provides the right environment for mold and fungus growth that create strong musty odors. Couple that with the fact that concrete foundations will crack over time and moisture will seep into those cracks and voila! You have mold. And mold will grow and spread quickly and can cause illness.

• Debris and poor ventilation. Debris can collect in and around crawl spaces. Factor in humidity and the result will be mold. Add poor ventilation to the mix and you’ll find that bacteria is thriving and causing quite a stink.

What’s the solution? First step is having a professional come out and inspect your crawl space. They will discover what the cause of the odor is and even better, will know how to eliminate it.

We have run into customers that have tried to remedy the situation on their own by spraying air fresheners. That’s just a temporary fix and the odors will come right back.

Worse yet, some homeowners decide to just ignore the problem. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. In fact, the issue will most likely get worse and became extremely noticeable. And as is the case with everything, when a problem gets worse, it costs more to fix it.

Don’t spend another day wondering what that smell is or where it’s coming from. Call us and one of our experienced technicians will determine the cause and propose a solution. We’ve seen it all, know the proper ways to deal with it and will make your home odor free!

(Outgoing links go to our sister company: Crawl Space Odor Eliminator)