Strong odor from encapsulated crawspace, what should I do?
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3 yrs ago I had my crawspace encapsulated because of moisture and mold problems. A year later I started smelling an odor Ike cat pee underneath in the crawspace. Today the odor is so strong it is coming up into my living area. The installer said it is not the materials because he has done hundreds of homes with no complaints. I've researched some and found out that at least 5% of homes encapsulated have this problem, but no one has posted a solution. Has anyone experienced this and if so what did you do?
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Lots to read here. No real solution. No one really knows the cause. As a former homebuilder, I would not do it and would advise anyone not to do it. If the crawl spaces were meant to be encapsulated, I would have built them that way.
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/community/forum/general-questions/36399/strong-odor-after-crawlspace-encapsulation
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/odors-smells-encapsulated-crawlspaces-michael-masserang
https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=147850
Foundation areas are meant to have ventilation to keep them from becoming too moist & causing mold issues. It sounds like you have a feral cat issue? If so, you will have to find where they/it are entering & screen off. The odor would have to be handled by spreading lime under the building. Good luck.
Make sure there is not a leaking pipe, especially a drain pipe. I know someone that happened to. Also, could be mice. Check for small holes where small animals might be able to get into.
Find a way to vent, maybe a cross vent from two sides of the structure. Baking soda is inexpensive and may be a way to tone down the odor where it is entering into the house. Good luck...mold is scary and should always have an eye kept on it.
Thank you Lynda, but my crawspace is completely sealed. Haven't had any mice or very little spiders and such. The odor changes with the temperature, the hotter it is the worse the odor.
A crawl space must be ventilated to prevent an accumulation of moisture that leads to mold and fungal damage. The government actually has specifications for how much cross ventilation a particular size of crawl space must have. Also, a crawl space that you cannot crawl into is not a crawl space....it is trouble!!!