If you have a crawlspace, you may use it for storage, and basically for anything that doesn’t fit in your garage. Experts say that is fine, however it is important to keep your crawlspace clean. Why? Experts say, you should keep everything as clean as possible, to prevent safety problems and additional home repairs.
A few years ago, one of my neighbors homes was finished. Even though it was a new build, he wanted to have a home inspection . Low and behold, the inspector found a mold problem in the crawlspace. He hadn’t even moved in yet. Turns out when the home was being built, it was raining a lot. The wood that they used in the crawl space was damp when they hammered it in. Soon, there was mold growing all over the crawlspace. Long story short, the builder had to spend thousands to correct the problem. Then, an environmental company was called out to approve the job, and finally signed off on it. If left undetected, the mold would have continued to grow and would have cost even more money to correct.
Another big problem that can occur if your crawlspace is dirty, is that it can easily attract rodents like rats and mice. If you have rodents, there is a good chance that you might even have cats or other predators eventually making your crawlspace, their new home.
Once this happens and you have cats, mice and rats living underneath your house, you’re going to have to deal with additional problems like animal feces and decomposing animal corpses. Trust me, it happens all the time.
Even if this isn’t a big concern of yours and you’re never planning on entering your crawlspace area, if these areas remain cluttered, you could find yourself dealing with ventilation problems. In case you don’t know it, it’s very important to get rid of the moist air underneath your home, before it starts to cause wood rot or create problems with mold.