5 Signs Your Crawl Space Needs New Insulation

If your home has a crawl space, it may cause drafts, cold spots, and temperature regulation issues. Crawl space insulation can solve those issues and a host of other common home comfort problems. The team at EcoStar has pooled our collective experience to share the top 5 signs your crawl space needs new insulation. Here are some of the ways that products like spray foam insulation can help. 

Higher Utility Bills

Does looking at your monthly heating and cooling bills make you grimace? High utility bills are one of the most unmistakable signs that you need to improve your home’s insulation. When you set the thermostat, your furnace or air conditioner switches on to heat or cool the air to your preference. Suppose this temperature is affected by outdoor air or leaks away because of insufficient insulation or air leaks. In that case, the furnace must work longer and harder to keep the temperature balanced — resulting in sky-high bills. 

Varying Room Temperatures

Another common sign of poor insulation is varying temperatures. If you notice that certain rooms tend to be colder or warmer, it’s worth figuring out why. EcoStar can help you determine this through a home insulation inspection, but it may be easy to do a simple inventory of the room’s features, noting windows, doors, and what floor the room is on. 

The 3 M’s

Moisture, mold, and mildew are signs that crawl space insulation is needed to help regulate temperature. Crawl spaces can easily trap moisture, and they can be difficult to dry out. Mold and mildew growth can ruin insulation and affect floorboards, joists, and other structural elements. 

Air Drafts

Drafts can come from many directions: they can originate in the crawlspace, from windows and doors, from fireplaces, vents, or even ceilings. The easiest way to stop drafts is by installing spray foam insulation in wall cavities, around windows, beneath the flooring, or in crawl spaces. Spray foam acts as an air and moisture barrier and insulation material — making it a comprehensive solution for many issues. 

Outdated Material

Many modern homes are built without crawl spaces, which means the crawlspaces we come across are often in older buildings and contain materials no longer to code or are outdated because of time, damage, or pests. Insulation from the ‘60s and ’70s may also contain asbestos, a mineral that causes irreversible lung damage and cancer. 

Outdated materials can no longer do their job and are often the cause of the 3 M’s, air drafts, varying temperatures, and high utility bills. Replacing your crawl space insulation with fresh, modern materials not only eliminates these issues it also brings you greater indoor comfort, energy savings, better ventilation, and a host of other benefits. 

To learn more about products like spray foam insulation and how they can improve your crawl space, reach out to the EcoStar team, the best Spray Foam Insulation Company in the GTA.  As experts in our field, we’re happy to share with you our knowledge and experience to help you make improvements to your home.