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Old 05-27-2009, 06:35 AM
 
9,196 posts, read 24,942,559 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sacredgrooves View Post
Closed, year around, end of discussion. Anyone saying otherwise (this is region specific not nationwide) is incorrect. The humidity in our area pulled in through the vents during the summer months wreaks HAVOC on the crawlspace environment.
You obviously know what you're talking about - but that's never stopped me from spouting off anyway. I have a hard time believing that a crawl space is so air tight that closing the vents is going to have much of an impact on the basic humidity levels in the air under the house. How would unconditioned air under the house have a different (i.e., lower) humidity level than the air around the outside of house?
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Old 05-27-2009, 06:49 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
12,475 posts, read 32,249,243 times
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From what my inspectors say...closing the vents, without any air flow, will cause moisture, allowing mold to grow.

I keep my vents open year round and have never had any problems with mold. If the vents were meant to be closed year round, why do we have them?

Vicki
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Old 05-27-2009, 07:01 AM
 
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What about fan exhausting air out at a certain temp/humidity level?

Last edited by zinner; 05-27-2009 at 07:21 AM..
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Old 05-27-2009, 06:10 PM
 
31,683 posts, read 41,045,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sacredgrooves View Post
Closed, year around, end of discussion. Anyone saying otherwise (this is region specific not nationwide) is incorrect. The humidity in our area pulled in through the vents during the summer months wreaks HAVOC on the crawlspace environment. You do not have to take my word on it, I only own a company that mitigates crawlspace issues, and inspected 7,000 of them with our home inspection biz.
Try Advanced Energy and see what they have to say....they are actual house scientists with a fantastic study performed on this very subject in our region with 6 identical houses.
Close your vents, especially in the summer.
Great link and great information.
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Old 05-27-2009, 06:14 PM
 
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I am new to crawl spaces etc and this is my second summer. I did a lot of reading and the link from Sacredgrooves is excellent. I know from my neighborhood that the houses are not on the same playing field for potential crawl space problems. At least from my understanding. Perhaps someone can share the different things that can contribute to crawlspace problems. Does the height of the crawl space impact? What about the slope away from the house? What about how well the ground perks around the house? What about the quality of the drainage system? What about shrubs blocking the crawl space? What about anything else you can think of?
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Old 05-27-2009, 06:25 PM
 
Location: At the NC-SC Border
8,159 posts, read 10,931,523 times
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I leave mine open year round unless we get bitter cold weather risking pipes freezing. If vents were better closed all the time, why bother installing them in the first place
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Old 05-27-2009, 06:31 PM
 
Location: Middle Creek Township
2,036 posts, read 4,397,317 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR View Post
If the vents were meant to be closed year round, why do we have them?

Vicki
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poggly Woggly View Post
If vents were better closed all the time, why bother installing them in the first place
From what I read, it is old school to keep them open. It has been discovered recently that having them open actually causes more problems than it helps, but building codes have not caught up to the concept.

Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR View Post
From what my inspectors say...closing the vents, without any air flow, will cause moisture, allowing mold to grow.
What I am hearing is that more airflow will pull more moisture out of the ground and into your house.

I AM SO CONFUSED!!!
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Old 05-27-2009, 07:15 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
12,475 posts, read 32,249,243 times
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If you close the vents in the summer, the moisture and condensation from the ductwork will cause mildew, which leads to mold.

We USED to say leave the vents open in the summer and closed in the winter but I have 3 different inspectors that say leave them open year round.

Vicki
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Old 05-27-2009, 08:18 PM
 
31,683 posts, read 41,045,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR View Post
If you close the vents in the summer, the moisture and condensation from the ductwork will cause mildew, which leads to mold.

We USED to say leave the vents open in the summer and closed in the winter but I have 3 different inspectors that say leave them open year round.

Vicki
Yes it seems you offer another variable. The concern not just about outside air but also the concern about moisture from your duct work. I have a fairly tall one and my insect guy checks for moisture when he sprays and so far bone dry.
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Old 05-27-2009, 08:22 PM
 
Location: North Raleigh
578 posts, read 3,081,729 times
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The problem, as with all things, is there's too many "they" people with differing opinions. And with opinions that change over time. The classic being "Dont be butter, eat margarine! Oh crap, did we say eat margarine with all that transfat! Go eat some butter!"

Really, for every expert with one opinion you surely find another (or more) with the exact opposite.
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