Drying out a crawl space

[Charlie]

Folks - had the main water line come apart on me under my house. Wife, bless her, managed to get the water cut off after 30 minutes. Of course, this left a large amount of water under the house, which has since been pumped out (same day). The next morning, there was no standing water under the house, though the dirt was muddy (not deep, just wet dirt).

This house was built in 1989, so it has good ventilation around the foundation. I want to make sure that I drive out all of the excess water and moisture. I've already removed the soaked installation. Since I live in Ga., our humidity is a little high at the moment, so I don't see any hope for a de-humidifier to keep up. How to dry out the crawl space? I could rent a forced air heater (kerosene) to really warm up the crawlspace plus fans. I want it dry before I put the plastic back down....

Suggestions?

Thanks.

[Joseph Meehan]

I would try to force (fans) air in and out of there.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Good venting. Forced air in/out by a fan?

[aemeijers]

I'll second that. In the 100+ year old building I work in, roof and plumbing leaks are near-constant occurances. The greenshirt guys keep probably a dozen high-pressure fans around just to blow dry wet carpets and dead spaces, ranging from 12-inch ones in plastic housings that look like hair dryers, to a couple 48" ones that look like what balloonists use to inflate canopies before they light off the burners. I presume rental place will have them. You'll likely need several, blowing in on one side, and sucking out on the other.

aem sends....

[valvejob]

I agree.

Your rental place has some powerful fans just for that purpose. They move a lot of air and will dry it out in no time (24 hours).

Assuming that it remains really humid and you are still worried, then just stick a window AC unit in a vent hole and run it for a week or so.

[John]

I'll second the venting. It shouldn't take too long.

I bought this house two years ago with a soupy crawlspace, mainly caused by a hole in the wall caused by roots, hidden behind a large plant. I waterproofed the outside, put a layer of vinyl on it, and let it air. I just used a $10 Wal-Mart fan. One day I blew in, one day out. This made sure it sucked where it wouldn't blow, and then blow where it wouldn't suck, if you know what I mean. It took a while, but it's dry now.

It had to have been wet for years. The floors in the house are uneven, probably caused by wetness under floor supports. Get yours before this happens.

John

[Roy Starrin]

There are also power vents available for your crawl space

and elsewhere. Google: foundation power vents