Many homeowners have a laundry list of home improvement tasks that need to be done. It’s a common belief that investing in your home can get expensive – there is no question about it! You may find yourself considering what is most important to be completed? What will be worth the investment?
Your crawl space can be vital to the strength of your home’s infrastructure and the health of the air in your home. When it comes to crawl space cleaning costs, there is a way to get the most out of your money.
Your crawl space requires occasional cleaning and maintenance to ensure the health and safety of your family. A crawl space cleanout is not just an opportunity to tidy up the space beneath your home, but it can also help you identify other issues in your crawl space like flooding, mold, or pests. Crawl space maintenance is especially important in Marysville, Washington, and the rest of the rain-heavy Seattle area, where homes are often built on wet, loose soil.
Choosing the right crawl space cleaning company, however, presents a challenge in today’s market. Professionals in our industry tend to downplay crawl space cleaning costs in their original estimates, which makes it difficult for homeowners to follow a realistic budget. At Crawl Pros, we strive to quote jobs as accurately as possible without compromising quality. We even offer a lifetime warranty on our work to ensure the results live up to your expectations.
To provide even more clarity in the process, we’ve put together this guide to budgeting crawl space cleaning costs — specific to our clients in the Seattle area, but relevant to everyone we work with in the PNW.
Do I Need a Crawl Space Cleanout?
We know better than most how easy it is for homeowners to overlook problems in their crawl space. Crawl space issues are one of those out-of-sight, out-of-mind things that so often get overshadowed by the more visible items on your to-do list; however, if ignored, crawl space issues can be very costly to fix at a later date.
With that in mind, here are a few signs that your crawl space needs cleaning:
- Leftover Construction Debris – Unfortunately, crawl spaces are sometimes used as a construction worker’s trash can. When construction debris like insulation, 2x4s, and bricks are left behind, they act as the perfect living space for unwanted pests in your crawl space.
- Damaged Insulation – The insulation in your crawl space can get damaged over time. Rodents and other pests love warm, soft environments for nesting, making damaged insulation the perfect place for them to call home.
- Damaged Vapor Barriers – A vapor barrier is a layer of plastic that covers your entire crawl space, installed to control the relative humidity in the space. A torn or damaged vapor barrier can mean a crawl space that is too moist, increasing the risk of mold, pests, rusty ductwork, and poor indoor air quality.
- Bad Smell – Musty, gross smells lingering in your crawl space are caused by a number of issues — anything from rodent droppings to mold to sewage backups. Trust your sniffer and contact a professional if your crawl space smells funky.
- Duct Issues – The ductwork in your crawl space greatly impacts the energy efficiency and air quality of your home. Luckily, you don’t have to be a professional to tell if the ducts in your heating system weren’t put together correctly; keep an eye out for unsealed ductwork in your crawl space, or ducts being held together improperly with duct tape.
Although homeowners can often identify problems in their crawl space on their own, the solution to these problems almost always requires the help of a professional crawl space company like Crawl Pros. But how much can you expect to pay for it?
Crawl Space Cleaning Costs in Marysville, Washington
Crawl space cleanouts are not just a basic material cost, and the reason so many crawl space cleaning companies struggle to provide an accurate estimate is that they don’t take all of the factors into consideration when quoting jobs. If you are looking for a broad estimate on crawl space cleaning costs, check out this resource that provides cost estimate ranges for a variety of probable situations and services.
Conversely, the Crawl Pros team in Marysville has been trained to examine the whole picture, determining just how many professionals are required to complete the job and providing as accurate an estimate as possible. There’s no funny business with us; once we provide a cost estimate, we stick to that price. When you are ready to contact a professional for a crawl space cleaning, our team at Crawl Pros is happy to provide you with a free estimate.
The cost of your crawl space cleaning depends on several factors:
Crawl Space Size – Our crawl space cleaning cost estimate will depend heavily on the square footage of your crawl space. Keep in mind that this estimated price goes off of the square footage of your crawl space, and not the square footage of your home overall. For example, your crawl space will be much larger in a one-story rambler than it will be in a two-story Craftsman with the same square footage — two architectural styles commonly found in the Marysville area.
Crawl Space Clearance – It ain’t called a crawl space for nothin’. Crawl spaces with low clearances (requiring crawl space professionals to work on their stomachs) will require a larger team to deliver timely results. The more time and employees necessary, the larger the cost.
Type of Soil – The type of soil we’re working on can also impact the amount of time it takes to clean the crawl space, which, in turn, affects the cost. It’s much easier to work on firm soil, for example, than it is to work on jagged rock, sand, or to clean up materials in a crawl space that’s too wet or already flooded.
Crawl Space Access – How our team can access your crawl space also impacts crawl space cleaning costs. Crawl spaces that can only be accessed by going through the house will likely end up costing more to clean than crawl spaces that have outside access points because they require our team to take additional steps (and spend additional time) to protect the inside of your home. The size of the crawl space access also plays a role in estimating costs; if your crawl space is only accessible through a small entry point, it’ll presumably take more time to get in and out of the space, thus costing more.
Difficult Environments –Half of the work that comes with crawl space cleanouts is identifying other issues present in your crawl space, if any. If your crawl space is already flooded or infested with rodents, for example, you’ll not only be quoted for additional services like water removal & remediation, mold remediation, or rodent removal services, but the estimated cost of your crawl space cleaning is also likely to go up. Taking good care of your crawl space can end up saving you in the long run!
Available Equipment & Materials – Some crawl space cleaning companies say they’ll match their competitors’ prices even though their equipment and materials prevent them from offering the same quality of work. Be sure to ask about what’s included in estimates, and be weary of companies that don’t have a good understanding of local building codes or offer lesser-grade equipment and materials.
Crawl Pros considers each of these factors when estimating crawl space cleaning costs. We strive to provide thorough inspections, setting realistic expectations so you’re never left disappointed.
Are Crawl Space Cleaning Costs Worth It?
You’re asking a biased source, but we’ll do our best to explain fairly. At the end of the day, it’s important to consider a different question: “How much are you willing to pay for peace of mind?”
Damp, low-trafficked areas, crawl spaces are a breeding ground for problems. Though some of the issues don’t require immediate attention and are only cause for minor concern, there are plenty of advantages to keeping your crawl space clean and free of debris — everything from improving the air quality of your home to keeping out pests to promoting energy efficiency. As far as costs go, it’s easier on your pocketbook (and less stressful overall) to maintain a clean, healthy crawl space than it is to fix one with lots of issues.
Contact Crawl Pros For Crawl Space Cleaning Costs & Services You Can Trust
Is your crawl space due for a crawl space cleaning? Whether it is time for regularly scheduled maintenance or you have reason to suspect a problem in your crawl space, contact the experts at Crawl Pros in Marysville.
Are you located in an area outside of Marysville? Our team services locations all across the Greater Seattle area – including all of the way to Bellingham! Our team also serves the Greater Portland area.
Our estimators will arrange a set time to arrive at your home, conduct a corner-to-corner inspection, and then present their findings, recommendations, and crawl space cleaning cost estimate to you in the comfort of your own home. Schedule your free consultation by filling out the form below, or calling us at (866) 789-3599.