Q. I recently read that foundation vents should be closed in summer and opened in winter.
The opposite is stated in our Town & Country Homes manual that came with our home, built in 1996. I installed two fans and placed another layer of heavy mill plastic over the existing plastic. The crawl space is dry but still has a musty odor that seeps up into our ranch home living area.
We have five duct outlets in the crawl space that keep the area 62 to 68 degrees in the winter.
I have sealed them during the air-conditioning season for two reasons: 1) the musty odor comes out of the living-area duct outlets when the air conditioner is running and 2) the temperature is 62 degrees in the crawl space and 78 degrees in the house.
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Thomas Zens, Naperville
A. Adequate ventilation is needed year-round to maintain fresh air flow in a crawl space. Make sure there is enough ventilation–1 square-foot vent for every 150-square feet of area–and the vents are not obstructed from the inside or outside.
The air needs to circulate in the open area to evaporate moisture and prevent mildew. The plastic that covers the ground should be a barrier to the ground moisture. And the crawl space should be graded to allow any ground water or seepage to move toward a drain.
If you see lots of spider webs, there may be a source of moisture in the crawl space. Check under the plastic.
If you find a puddle, you’ll need to find out if water is coming in from plumbing leaks or from outside sources such as downspouts.
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