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In most climates, contractors recommend closing your crawl space vents in winter. Keeping them shut protects your crawl space from freezing temperatures, pests, and cool breezes that can lead to chilly floors in your home. However, it's often best to speak with a local crawl space team about your specific design and its relationship to the winter season.

In most cases, standard homeowners insurance policies cover water damage from sudden, accidental damage, like burst pipes and leaking appliances. However, water damage caused by flooding, groundwater seepage, or heavy rain is likely to be excluded from coverage. Check your policy to be sure, as some plans include opt-in flood insurance coverage. Certain companies also allow homeowners to add an optional water backup endorsement to a policy.

While water in your basement is unlikely to make you sick unless it’s coming from a sewage backup, mold is likely to start to grow in wet areas within 24 hours, and mold can make you sick. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), inhaling mold spores can cause allergy symptoms, including runny nose, itchy eyes, difficulty breathing, wheezing, and itchy skin. Individuals with pre-existing respiratory issues like asthma and immunocompromised individuals are at an elevated risk of symptoms when inhaling mold spores.

Ductwork sweats for the same reason you might find beading on your windows or why cold drinks drip in the heat—temperature difference. When you see your ductwork and you notice sweating, that's a sure sign that your system is not operating anywhere close to peak efficiency. The best way to keep ductwork from sweating is to wrap it in inadequate insulation.