Stagnant water or damp soil in your home’s driveway can come from a variety of sources. These may include, but are not limited to, the following.
(1) A leaky fresh water supply line, usually galvanized, copper, pvc, or pex.
(2) A leaky sewer drain line, usually made of cast iron, galvanized, clay, or ABS.
(3) Naturally high water table.
(4) Overwatering plants around your home (creating a man-made high water table).
(5) Sprinklers spraying through access space vents.
(6) Leaky pools (this is rare).
(7) Poorly directed gutter downspouts.
(8) Stream or river flooding.
Stagnant water or extremely moist soil in your home’s crawl space (under the house) can cause a variety of structural problems and health problems. Excess moisture caused by evaporation of standing water or damp soil in your driveway can cause mold growth on the wood base and subfloor base. It can also cause warping or buckling of the subfloor and mold growth in the living area of the building. If your home has HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) ducts in the entry space and the system is compromised with excess humidity, microbial amplification can occur. All of these problems can lead to unhealthy indoor air quality. A broken sewer line in your driveway and the subsequent release of raw sewage onto the floor in your driveway can create a terrible odor problem in your home. There are also potential health problems from constantly inhaling sewer gas from an open or broken sewer line.
Some solutions to the problems mentioned above. Try to determine the source of the water intrusion and correct it yourself. This can be as simple as redirecting sprinkler heads, fixing leaky exterior faucets, or redirecting gutter downspouts. If you suspect plumbing problems, you should call a licensed plumber.
Often there is too much water under your home for a plumber to properly inspect your pipes, you may need to call a water damage restoration company. Many water damage companies offer de-flooding of driveways or sewage clean-up, in the event the leak is from a sewer drain line. Once the water is removed and the crawl space is made accessible, a plumber can check the pipes for leaks. If your foundation is damp, you may need a water damage restoration company to dry it out to prevent mold growth.
If you have problems with overwatering or a high water table, you may need to contact a landscape engineer or waterproofing contractor to design a French drainage system or other remedy to prevent water from pooling under your home. Many plumbing companies or waterproofing contractors will also install sump pump systems in the lower area of your crawl space to help combat water build-up. You may also want to consider installing an access space dehumidifier to regulate the relative humidity to a level that inhibits structural damage or mold growth. Another way to maintain airflow through the access space (and thereby promote evaporation) is to install access space vents over existing access space vents. There are also companies that can completely encapsulate your driveway with thick plastic, thus effectively sealing your home off the ground.
As you can see, there are many problems that can arise from excess water or humidity in the driveway of your home or buildings and many solutions. If you suspect a problem that may need a professional solution, a good place to start is on the Internet with your favorite search engine and a search for “crawlspace.” This should help you get started in the right direction with any crawl space (under the house) issues you may have.