For one Huntsville couple, moving into their two-story Alabama home was an exciting time as they entered their early retirement. Built in the year 2000, the home featured three porches. They imagined how wonderful those porches would be for lounging on beautiful spring and summer days in the South.

Winter rolled in and the couple noticed some things about their home they had not expected. The home was hard to heat. Floors remained cold, although they had been warm in the summer. And the air felt moist. One of the owners began to constantly struggle with sneezing and having a runny nose. 

Shipshape Installed a Diagnostic System

Learning that humidity and poor cooling and heating performance was a common problem in the area, the couple called Shipshape to install a diagnostic system to monitor humidity and temperature in the home’s crawlspace, which was originally vented to the outdoors. To the couple’s surprise, Shipshape recorded 90%-100% relative humidity at an average temperature over 70°F for over a month straight, setting the stage for a mold problem.

Crawlspace Humidity & Potential Problems

When a crawlspace uses vented airflow to the outdoors, humidity in the home can rise. This is known as the Stack Effect, where airflow is drawn up from the home foundation, through the house, and out the attic. Higher humidity is an invitation for a mold problem as well as higher cooling and heating bills, wood rot, termites, and pets. 

The Homeowners and Shipshape Took Action

With Shipshape’s diagnostics in hand, the homeowners scheduled an inspection with a Shipshape dealer partner. What they found was alarming:

• Mold problem on several wood beams 

• Leaky ducts blowing conditioned air into the crawl space, forcing molding crawlspace air into the home

• New termite run with rotting wood, making it easier for termites to get into it

• Standing water due to poor drainage

• Fiberglass insulation that increases humidity, creating dust that irritates lungs and nasal passages

The Mold Problem was Resolved—Thanks to Shipshape!

Facing the potential of many more expenses down the road, the homeowners chose to address the mold problem, standing water, and other issues. Initially, they were quoted $15,000 for repairs, which dwindled down to $10,000 due to the ability to monitor the humidity, temperature, and the results of the encapsulation and performance of a dehumidifier. Also, rain gutters were cleaned, alleviating water issues. The crawlspace encapsulation alone is expected to save an average of 18%-32% on heating and cooling bills, provide higher air quality, and avoid costly mold damage. Even better, floors are now cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Keep Your Home in Shipshape

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Shipshape is the intelligent way to protect your home, networking all of your home’s critical systems together so that it’s smart enough to notify you with diagnostics and recommended actions—keeping mold problems and other expensive repairs out of your future. Request a call from a care specialist for a home that’s smarter, safer, more reliable, and more efficient.