I get a fair amount of calls from homeowners with various descriptions of crawl space odors.  One homeowner was complaining about an odor coming from his crawlspace, so I was able to refer them to a local contractor who I’d had experience with in the past. The contractor headed over to the home and reported finding an old rusty drum of oil stowed away in the crawl space. The home was old and no one knew how long it had been down there, but thanks to moisture in the crawl space, the barrel had finally rusted through. The odor of exposed oil was being drawn into the home via stack/chimney effect.

To maximize energy efficiency at home, houses with crawl spaces should insulate, seal, and dehumidify this often neglected space. | Image Source: Stego® Industries, LLC

When homeowners want to prevent energy loss and reduce utility costs, they’re apt to replace drafty windows and doors or insulate walls and ceilings, but the crawl space may not immediately come to mind. Compared to the rest of the house, the crawl space is seldom seen, rarely used, and often neglected. And that neglect is a shame, because your crawl space is actually quite crucial to the overall energy efficiency of your home.