Do you have Mold in Your Crawlspace?

8/15/2017 (Permalink)

Over the last few years I have received many calls from homeowners about mold underneath their house or in the crawlspace. This only occurs in a home that is built on a conventional foundation. Sometimes their floors inside have began to buckle but they have not had a water damage or leak. As our summers in Mississippi have grown hotter and more humid the problem has gotten worse. 

Mold or fungi have to have moisture and a food source to grow. Of the two, moisture is the easiest to control since it can feed on any organic material. If you haven't had a leak or drainage problem that is causing excess moisture underneath your home the most probable source of moisture is from condensation. 

Condensation occurs when warm moist air comes into contact with a cooler material like the floor boards of your home. Many homeowners are having problems with this now for the first time in forty years. Many of them have recently installed new storm windows or a new more efficient Air conditioner system or re-insulated their home. The point is that combined with the hotter more humid summers and the people keeping their homes cooler creates an environment conducive to condensation in their crawlspace. 

One of the ways to you can help prevent condensation in your crawlspace is to increase the amount of ventilation under your house and install some fans to keep the air circulating. This will encourage more evaporation and help to keep your floor joist and sub-floor dry. Wood can only support microbial growth at 16% moisture content or above. If you can keep your crawlspace dry you shouldn't have any problem with mold or fungi growing there.