| A home inspector sees an assortment of debris | | | | They are conducive debris and can lead to |
| when he or she inspects crawl spaces | | | | attracting wood destroying organisms. Other |
| underneath homes. It seems that the common | | | | things I have seen include wood planters that |
| philosophy is out of sight, out of mind. Day | | | | always seem to belong to the homeowner or a |
| after day, I see crawl spaces that are packed | | | | previous homeowner. One unpleasant find is a |
| with clutter. | | | | crawl space that is a repository for old |
| | | | boards with exposed nails or sharp metal and |
| While many homeowners actually cause the | | | | broken concrete. These items can injure |
| problem by poor management and adding their | | | | anyone entering or working in the crawl |
| own clutter, many homeowners do not even know | | | | space. |
| the crawl space is a mess because contractors | | | | |
| and other workers have left the debris | | | | In reality, crawl space maintenance and |
| behind, after completing a project. Such | | | | cleanup is not complicated but it does |
| workers do not call attention to having left | | | | require hard work. The solution involves |
| a mess behind and I am convinced that people | | | | picking up all the garbage and removing any |
| do not go in their crawl spaces to look for | | | | unessential wood or paper scraps, including |
| themselves. | | | | old form wood. If some scrap is not part of |
| | | | the home, then remove it from the crawl |
| In crawl spaces, commonly, I find beverage | | | | space. A crawl space full of wood debris, |
| cans, candy wrappers, scraps of wood, paper, | | | | such as stored shingles, can be a fire |
| cardboard and fast food boxes. The cellulose, | | | | hazard as well. |
| wood and paper, items are the biggest worry. | | | | |