If you have to go down into your home’s crawl space, you will do a bit of preparation before you go there. Crawl spaces can be dirty and dangerous if you are not wearing the proper personal protective equipment.
If you are going to be going down into a crawl space, you should wear a jumpsuit that covers your entire body thoroughly. You will also want to wear gloves, goggles, head protection, and elbow and knee pads. These requirements may seem excessive—but crawl spaces can be hazardous and dirty.
Crawl spaces can be dark and spooky areas—and present hazards to your safety. In the rest of this article, I will go into more detail about what protective equipment and clothing you need— and how they can serve to keep you safe and clean in a crawl space.
1. Jumpsuits or Coveralls To Protect Your Body
This clothing doesn’t offer much protection from injury, but it will keep your clothes clean as you crawl underneath your house.
It would be best if you had a jumpsuit or coveralls to protect your arms and legs.
It is vital to purchase the correct size jumpsuit, one that is thick enough that it won’t rip or tear when crawling around.
Having the jumpsuit fit you correctly is imperative to avoid ruining your clothes.
Some jumpsuits have elastic bands on the wrists and ankles of the suit.
These are the best coveralls because the sleeves and pant legs are secure and won’t move around as you try to work.
This Dickies Men’s Coverall (available on Amazon.com), a respected workwear brand, is a great option.
It offers a thick material, so it is very durable. It also features pockets with zippers, so anything you put in your pockets will stay put.
You can order a jumpsuit or coveralls online, but a good course of action is to go to a store and try on the jumpsuit to ensure it fits properly.
The last thing you want is to pay for a jumpsuit, only to realize that it doesn’t fit your dimensions once it arrives.
2. Gloves for Manual Work in a Crawl Space
Gloves are essential for going down into a crawlspace.
It is a highly unsanitary environment, especially when dealing with plumbing issues.
If you have a burst pipe under your home, the last thing you want to do is go down there and crawl around in the mud barehanded.
Crawl spaces are also inevitably full of insects.
Spiders, ants, and other bugs will be down there with you.
If you want to avoid being bitten by a spider or stung by ants, you need to wear gloves when you go down into the crawl space.
You will also want gloves on if you plan to do any repairs while underneath the house.
Things could be rusty or sharp in addition to dirty, and if you do get cut by something, it could potentially get infected.
I recommend the Ironclad Utility Gloves from Amazon, which offer impact and abrasion resistance and a neat velcro wrist strap to protect your hands from potential insect bites.
3. Goggles for Eye Protection
In the same way, you need to protect your hands; you will also need to protect your eyes.
There are a lot of things that can happen in a crawl space that is potentially dangerous to your vision.
If anyone is walking on the floor above you, it could cause dust and sediment to fall on you.
That can be problematic if you are lying on your back working on a pipe or something of that nature.
Goggles can also protect you from any pests that are living in the crawl space as well.
Your crawl spaces attract rodents—and snakes like to eat rodents.
If a snake was to strike at your face and you had goggles on, you would be okay.
But without goggles, you are in for some pain and possibly a trip to the hospital.
4. Head Protection for Nails and Bumps in Your Crawl Space
Head protection is not optional if you go down your crawl space.
You need to be wearing something to cover your head.
You could hit your head on any number of things underneath your house.
As I said above, there will be pests in your crawl space.
You could be surprised by a giant spider or a snake and flinch instinctively and hit your head hard.
In the worst-case scenario, this could potentially knock you unconscious.
You are in a potentially dangerous situation if you are alone and hit your head hard while working in your crawl space.
You can become disoriented and even injure yourself, but you will be under the house, so no one will hear you if you call for help.
Because space is limited in the crawl space—a bump cap is an ideal option that offers protection without taking up valuable space.
I recommend the Ergodyne Skullerz Bump Cap from Amazon, which you can insert into your baseball cap.
It is also breathable and flexible while offering protection against any stray nails.
5. Elbow and Knee Pads for Crawling
Crawl spaces get their name because there is not enough room for you to stand up in most of them.
You will be down on your hands and knees, crawling.
Doing this without any elbow or knee pads can become uncomfortable.
This problem is a genuine issue if you will be working in the crawl space for an extended time.
This requirement is less of a safety measure and more for comfort, but it will protect your knees and elbows from debris on the ground.
Elbow and knee pads are optional when going into your crawl space, but I recommend a product such as the NoCry Knee Pads from Amazon.com. They offer maximum comfort with foam padding—plus a gel cushion to remove the pain of visiting your crawlspace.
Conclusion
If you need to go down into your crawl space for any reason, it would be best if you wear some protective equipment to keep yourself safe and clean.
After all, crawl spaces are not the most sanitary places—and your restricted movement may make you vulnerable to injury.
You will need to wear a jumpsuit or coveralls, a pair of thick gloves, and some form of head protection.
You can also use goggles to protect your eyes—and some knee and elbow pads for added comfort—but this equipment is not as essential.
