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Covering the dirt floor in your crawl space with a vapor barrier helps insulate the space and improve the air quality in your home. It protects your crawl space from pest infestations, excess moisture, and mold growth. It also makes the crawl space less dusty, which means there’s a lower chance of dust mites breeding and causing allergic reactions in your home.

You don’t always need to install a dehumidifier in your encapsulated crawl space, but it might be a good idea in certain instances. If you notice obvious signs of condensation, mold, or musty smells permeating from your crawl space, a dehumidifier can help. It’s ideal for homes in humid areas.

In a worst case scenario, structural damage like rust on metal beams, rotting wood, and swelling on doors and windows can signal moisture problems that would benefit from a dehumidifier.

Yes, basement insulation needs a vapor barrier due to its susceptibility to moisture seeping in from the outside of the house. You should install a moisture barrier before you install insulation or purchase insulation that comes prebuilt with a moisture barrier to avoid water damage in your insulation and costly mold and water remediation expenses. 

Since basements are prone to water and moisture issues and the resulting problems can be expensive to repair and potentially damaging to your home, basement waterproofing is almost always worthwhile. Even for homes that haven’t experienced water infiltration, waterproofing the basement is insurance against facing expensive repair bills in the future. All basements will leak at some point, so fixing drainage issues and taking steps to prevent moisture and water infiltration is wise.